Ever noticed that your Slack messages and emails are getting shorter and -sometimes- more difficult to decipher? It seems that the language at work is full of abbreviations, also known as business acronyms.
Even if you’re an expert at acronyms, there is always a new one that you don’t quite know. And if the idea of admitting that you don’t understand something sounds cringeworthy, you’ll want to keep this cheatsheet.
As I was saying, BTW, sometimes your HRM tells you it’s NBD and TYT but TBH they just want that file ASAP by EOB and, you know, ATEOTD, they’re the manager. Does this look to you as if I just bashed my head on the keyboard a few times? You’re not alone.
Download this cheatsheet, save it in your Desktop and check it out whenever you don’t know an abbreviation, use it to prep before a meeting with any of your teams or to show off in one of your Slack channels.
Slang to understand your younger colleagues
These used to be used for texting among friends, but nowadays they are getting more and more common in business communication, especially among the younger sectors and when the speakers already know each other fairly well.
- BTW: By The Way
- TBH: To Be Honest
- NBD: No Big Deal
- Def: Definitely
- BC: Because
- OMY: On My Way
- LMK: Let Me Know
- BRB: Be Right Back
- FYI: For Your Information
- IMO: In My Opinion
- ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
- AKA: Also Known As
- ATM: At The Moment
- ASAP: As Soon As Possible
- TYT: Take Your Time
- GTMTA: Great Minds Think Alike
- ATEOTD: At The End Of The Day
- AYW: As You Want/Wish
- IAC: In Any Case
- TL;DR: Too Long, Didn’t Read
More official acronyms you’ll see at work
What do I mean by ‘more official’? Well, the acronyms from the previous section were more common among friends’ texting, and they are progressively taking over the business world. However, in this section you have the acronyms that were born in the office, so to say. They are not that informal and it is OK to use them in your emails, even when you don’t know the other person that well.
- EOM: End Of Message
- EOW: End Of Week
- EOT: End Of Thread
- COB: Close Of Business (Also EOD: End Of Day)
- OOO: Out Of Office
- RSVP: Please Respond
- N/A: Not Applicable
- TBD: To Be Decided
- AWOL: Absent Without Leave
- ETA: Estimated Time Of Arrival
- PTO: Paid Time Off
- PTE: Part-Time Employee
- NWR: Not Work Related
- Re: Referring to
Who are these people and what are these departments?
It is easy to get lost if you are new in the office and you don’t know how things work yet. Get to know your people and your departments.
- CEO: Chief Executive Officer
- CFO: Chief Financial Officer
- COO: Chief Operating Officer
- CTO: Chief Technology Officer
- VP: Vice President
- HR: Human Resources
- HRM: Human Resources Manager
- QC: Quality Control
- R&D: Research & Development
- BD: Business Development
- CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility
- PR: Public Relations
- PA: Personal Assistant
- HQ: Headquarters
Financial acronyms
For when you talk money.
- ACCT: Account
- AP: Accounts Payable
- AR: Accounts Receivable
- BS: Balance Sheet
- CPU: Cost Per Unit
- CR: Credit
- DR: Debit
- EPS: Earnings Per Share
- FIFO: First In, First Out
- ROA: Return On Assets
- ROI: Return On Investment
- P&L: Profit and Loss
Marketing & Sales acronyms
Use these acronyms in the world of social media, marketing and sales.
- B2B; Business to Business
- B2C: Business to Consumer
- BR: Bounce Rate
- CMS: Content Management System
- CTA: Call To Action
- CTR: Click Through Rate
- CR: Conversion Rate
- LTV: Lifetime Value
- CRM: Customer Relationship Management
- ESM: Email Service Provider
- KPI: Key Performance Indicator
- PPC: Pay Per Click
- PV: Page View
- RT: Retweet
- SEO: Search Engine Organization
- SM: Social Media
- SMB: Small to Medium Business
- SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
- OC: Opportunity Cost
- WOMM: Word Of Mouth Marketing
Technical abbreviations
No more nodding and pretending you understand. Make sure you know what your IT colleagues are talking about when they mention these.
- API: Application Program Interface
- CSS: Cascading Style Sheet
- FTP: File Transport Protocol
- HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol
- HTTPS: HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure
- IM: Instant Messaging
- IP: Internet Protocol
- ISP: Internet Service Provider
- OS: Operating System
- LAN: Local Area Network
- DNS: Domain Name System
- XML: Extensible Markup Language
- UI: User Interface
- UX: User Interface
- IT: Information Technology
- ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange
- ISO: International Standards Organization
- VPN: Virtual Private Network
- RSS: Rich Site Summary
- AI: Artificial Intelligence
Save this list and check it out any time you need it. Would you like to practice these with a native-English teacher? Get in touch with us and we'll tell more you more about the Talaera online business English training.
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