(Don’t) Say It As It Is — Business English — 150 Modern Idioms (PDF download)

What?

Modern, jazzy idioms sourced directly from the workplace by S. Vandenbosch, Master in Linguistics with +10 years of corporate experience, currently working at Microsoft.

Uplevel your corporate voice with this non-cliché idiom guide crafted for ambitious professionals who want to sound confident and competent in a snazzy way.

Ready to hold your new voice in your hands?
This digital over 150-card deck is designed to always be just one click away.

Inside you’ll find:
✨ +150 modern idioms (not the dusty ones) used in high-performance workplaces
✨ Clear definitions + easy-to-understand example sentences
✨ Unique tone tags so you know how each idiom feels
✨ Stunning minimal layout ready to print or save on your phone

This deck is perfect for:

👉 Non-native speakers leveling up fluency
👉 Ambitious young professionals/early-career pros
👉 Managers, coaches, trainers looking for interesting, new ways to express themselves
👉 Anyone tired of bland corporate talk

Why?

Social psychology and linguistics research— including findings published in the Journal of Language and Social Psychology — shows that people who use stronger, more vivid, expressive, rich language are often perceived as more credible, competent, and intelligent.

Idioms are one way of using expressive language. Nevertheless, there is an important nuance as typical corporate jargon can work counterproductive in the sense that it can isolate employees, and can even make them lose trust in their leadership. With “typical jargon” I refer to 1) the most cliché, overused idioms, those which 2) solely focus on sales and finance matters, and 3) sound slightly harsh and/or inappropriate. This collection leaves most of those out and introduces idioms appropriate for all teams and situations: from marketing to people management to lighthearted puns to lighten the mood.

❌ So no “on the same page”, “thinking outside the box”, “corner the market”, “crack the whip”, “open the kimono” here.

✅ Instead you’ll find: "dogfooding", “keep your eyes peeled”, “more holes than Swiss cheese”, "noodle", “put out feelers”, “sweat the small stuff”, “under the hood”, and many more!

Are you ready to invest in and transform your professional self?