Participants in my training sessions always enjoy looking at the differences within global English. There’s nothing wrong with, say, Indian English. After all, millions use it every day. 

However, when it comes to business communication, whatever your native language, it’s useful to be aware of idiomatic words and phrases that may sound a little strange to your international counterparts.

‘Greetings of the day!’, ‘revert back’ (I will revert back to you), ‘for your perusal’, ‘do the needful’, and ‘back side’ (back page) are phrases often heard in Mumbai or New Delhi that may cause a polite chuckle or two in London or New York. This cuts both ways, ‘drink the Kool-Aid’ or ‘take a rain check’ may be easily understood in the U.S. and the UK but sound strange to a foreign ear.  

So what can you do to give your language a professional international feel? Well, being aware of ‘Indianisms’, or ‘Americanisms’ is the first step, and then you can tailor your communication to your audience and use global English instead.

What other words and phrases do you often read and hear in business communication that jar cross-culturally?