⚡ Go-to phrases for common work scenarios.
👉🏼 Find more free work templates at workbaby.com
These are NOT-AI-GENERATED phrases that I genuinely use all the time.
I’ve picked them up over a 20-year career and through studying (and interviewing!) some of the best communication experts in the world: Jefferson Fisher, Wes Kao, Kate Mason.
| Go-To Phrase (and Alts) | Use Case and Example |
|---|---|
| My recommendation is… | |
| In my experience… | |
| Based on what I’m seeing… |
| Instead of “I think” or “I guess”. Sound more confident and credible.
Example: “My recommendation is we hold off launch until we have stronger signal from users. Keen to hear how you’re thinking about it.” | | Building on what [name] said……
| Easy all-purpose entry point to speak in meetings.
Example: ”Building on what Max said, let’s also consider XYZ” | | I’m hearing a few themes come out… What I’m hearing….
| Summarise or synthesise in a meeting. Good way to contribute if you’re not feeling confident to in other ways.
Example: *“I’m hearing a few themes coming through—it sounds like we’re trying to (a), (b) and (c).
“What I’m hearing is that I should partner with Max on production, Mark takes the lead on comms, and we regroup by Thursday—does that sound right?”* | | Testing my understanding… Replaying this for clarity… | Clarify expectations, make sure you’re aligned.
Example: ”*Testing my understanding are we saying that we should delay the launch until X then move ahead with Y?
“OK, replaying for clarity—I’m going to draft the first version by Friday, then loop in legal before it goes to the client next week. Sound right?”* | | Can you share an example of what you mean What does the end-product look like? | Good if you’re still feeling unclear.
Example: *“Can you share an example of what you mean by ‘make it more polished’?”
“Do you have an idea of what the end product looks like for this? Want to make sure I’m not missing the mark.”* |
| This slide is probably the most important If you only remember one thing from today… | Landing your point, making memorable.
Example: ”This slide is the most important in this whole presentation.””If you only remember one thing from today make it this.” | | --- | --- | | Here’s where it gets interesting… The surprising thing was… The cool part about this is… | Easy way to bring in storytelling and keep attention in the room.
Example: "Here’s where it gets interesting—once we switched platforms, our churn rate dropped by 15%.”
”The interesting part is—we stopped offering discounts, and our average order value actually went up.” | | Why this matters is… So what does this mean for you? | Summarising the point in context for the audience / individual.
Example:“ *”Why this matters is, a faster onboarding process means happier clients and fewer support tickets.”
“We’re shifting to a new project management tool. So what does this mean for you? You’ll spend less time on manual updates and more time on strategic tasks.”* |
| I see it differently We might have different inputs… | Disagreeing without sounding difficult.
Example: “I see it differently—can I explain my thinking?”
“We might have different inputs behind this—I’ve been looking at X, which might be giving me a slightly different lens.” | | --- | --- | | I can’t do that, but here’s what I can do | Saying no while still helping.
Example: “I can’t pull a full report by EOD, but I can share the key numbers you need for the meeting.” | | Let’s talk through the trade-offs | Pushing back on or reprioritising requests.
Example: “Let’s talk through the trade-offs—I can jump on this, but it’ll delay the [X]deliverable.”
"Right now I’m focused on [project/task], which is important to [specific goal/result]. Let’s talk through the trade-offs eg i’ll have to delegate this thing”. |