Hone your office language skills
It's virtually impossible to work with native English speakers without hearing phrases such as 'touch base', 'out of the loop' and 'jumping through hoops'. These are examples of management speak, a sort of sub-language, used inside and outside the workplace. In this article I will focus on the meaning of some phrases and how to use them.
'Touch base' means to get in touch with someone after a short time. It is typical to end a phone call with a client saying something like, 'I'll give you a call again next week to touch base and make sure that everything is going okay'. It's not always desirable to be 'out of the loop'. You could complain to a colleague that you feel out of the loop about a certain project. This is a less direct way of saying that they have not kept you updated about what is happening.
In many companies it is normal to have to 'jump through a few hoops' to get things done. This short, strong phrase captures some of the procedures which have to be followed in some companies. The phrase refers to what a performing dog has to do in a circus. It is not rude to use this phrase, but never use it to describe what your boss does to their face.
A similar phrase is 'an exercise in box-ticking', which again is negative but not rude, and shouldn't be used with your boss. You can use it to describe a task which you do but you know has no real meaning or function - it's like a series of mindless, pointless tasks.
The 'bottom line' - or conclusion - is that management speak is everywhere and we need to understand it. My advice is to use it sparingly. Let's touch base again in two weeks.