27-Aug-2025

Greetings from Fluent & Fearless,

Meetings, deadlines, and constant communication — in the workplace, how you say things is often as important as what you say. This week we’ll sharpen your business English with the phrase “touch base,” a must-know term for professionals who want to sound clear, confident, and collaborative.

ESL Word/Phrase of the Week

English Phrase: “Touch base.”

Meaning: To make contact with someone, usually to check progress, verify details, or exchange updates in a business setting. Information-oriented, as compared to the action-oriented term follow-up.

Example Sentences:

• “Let’s touch base next week to review the proposal.”

• “She touched base with the client before finalizing the contract.”

Quick Tip: Think of “touch base” as a quick, purposeful check-in — like tapping someone on the shoulder just to say, “Are we aligned?”

• “Let’s touch base tomorrow about the report.” → “Pongámonos en contacto mañana sobre el informe”.

• “I’ll touch base with the client after lunch to confirm the schedule.” → “Me pondré en contacto con el cliente después de comer para confirmar el horario”.

Highlighted Language Mistake of the Week

Mistake: “Let’s touch the base tomorrow.” ❌
Correct: “Let’s touch base tomorrow.” ✅

Why?
“Touch base” is a fixed expression — don’t add “the.” Think of it like a sports move (baseball!) where you only say “touch base,” never “touch the base.”

Examples:

• ✅ “He touched base with them yesterday.”

• ❌ “He touched the base with them yesterday.”

Memory Tip: Think of a “the” in the middle of “touch base” as adding a middle manager to a project—it’s just not necessary.

Punctuation Tip of the Week

Spotlight: Quotation Marks (“ ”)

What is it?
Use quotation marks to indicate the exact words someone said, or to highlight a specific term, phrase, or title.

Examples:

• The manager said, “Please submit your reports by Friday.”

• The term “synergy” is often overused in business meetings.

Quick Tip: Periods and commas go inside quotation marks in English; colons and semicolons go outside.

Nota: En español, la regla es diferente: los signos de puntuación como el punto o la coma generalmente se colocan fuera de las comillas, a menos que formen parte del texto citado.

Featured Story of the Week

THE BIG POWER OF SMALL MESSAGES: THE MAGIC OF “TOUCHING BASE”

Business communication is often viewed as a “big stage” performance — the high-stakes presentations, the polished pitches, or the delicate negotiations. But here’s the twist: most of the trust and credibility you earn doesn’t happen under spotlights. Instead, it’s built quietly in the everyday gestures — a quick e-mail, a short message, or even a thirty-second hallway chat.

In business terms, touching base is a proactive, brief informative check-in that builds trust and keeps relationships alive, while a follow-up is a reactive message focused on prompting further actions to complete a task, or responding to a request for an action.

Think about it: when someone consistently keeps you in the loop, even in small ways, don’t you feel more confident about them? Compare that with the colleague who goes radio silent until the last minute and then delivers excuses instead of progress. It’s not hard to guess who you’d prefer leading a critical project.

Spoiler alert — it’s not the one starring in a last-minute drama.

Trust isn’t usually destroyed by one giant mistake; it erodes slowly, thanks to silence and assumptions. That’s why touching base at intervals can sometimes save entire weeks of potential misunderstanding. When you check in regularly, even briefly, you signal respect, reliability, and professionalism. People don’t just hear your words — they notice your habits.

For bilingual professionals or anyone working on building stronger professional skills, this is great news. You don’t need the vocabulary of a diplomat or the charisma of a TED speaker to make an impact. Even short, simple sentences like, “Just a quick update — all is on track” can do wonders. The goal isn’t formality; it’s showing up in small, consistent ways that others can rely on.

Here’s the best part: mastering these check-ins doesn’t take hours of practice. It just takes awareness and consistency. Each small message is like putting a coin into your “trust bank account.” Before you know it, you’ve built up credibility that can carry you through tougher, higher-stakes moments in business.

So the next time you wonder if it’s worth sending that quick Slack message, short e-mail, or speedy call — the answer is usually yes. Those little updates add up, reinforcing the picture of you as someone who’s dependable, engaged, and proactive. That’s the kind of reputation that not only leads projects smoothly but also makes clients and colleagues eager to work with you again.

Moral of the story? Touching base regularly isn’t trivial. It’s the secret ingredient that turns good professionals into trusted ones. Don’t underestimate its power. It may seem insignificant in the moment, but over time it can be the reason people see you as dependable… instead of forgettable.

Cultural Corner – Idiom/Slang of the Week

Idiom: “Keep someone in the loop.”

Meaning: To keep someone informed about progress or decisions.

Example:

• “Please keep me in the loop on the negotiations.”

Spanish Equivalent: “Mantener a alguien informado” o "Manténgame informado".

Ejemplo:
• Mi jefe dijo: "Manténgame informado".

Note: En inglés, "in the loop" sugiere estar dentro de un círculo de información. En español, el enfoque se centra en "información" o "estar al tanto". Ambos resaltan la inclusión: nadie quiere quedar excluido cuando se toman decisiones.

Reader Poll / Puzzle / Comment

Brain Teaser:
I’m short when I’m new, but I grow longer the older I get. I mark progress, and without me you’d lose track. What am I?

Answer: A timeline.

It starts short when a project or plan is new, grows longer as time passes, marks progress at intervals, and helps you keep track of tasks and deadlines.