The first idiom “to get the ball rolling” means to start, to take action on something.
The etymology of this idiom is said to come from sports, namely croquet, where the ball is literally rolled to start a game.
The second idiom “on the same page” means to have the same knowledge about something and to be in agreement with someone about something.
The etymology of this phrase seems to come from two sources, music and the business sector. In music, choral singers needed to be in sync and therefore on the same page in order for their singing sound cohesive. In business, all members at a meeting had to be reading from a single copy of meeting notes to ensure everyone understood what was being discussed.
These are great idioms to use in the office.
To help you, below are some examples of using these idioms.
“Ok, let’s get the ball rolling and start the meeting.” or “We need to get the ball rolling before lunch time.”
“Before we start the meeting, let’s make sure we’re on the same page about the format.” or “It doesn’t seem like they were on the same page about the flight schedules.”
In this week’s video, I get the ball rolling with my friend and colleague, Paul Duke, and we talk about the challenge of scheduling in different time zones. Paul is an English language coach and teacher. His website is: http://www.teacherpaul.ca where you can see his extensive library of video lessons for students and teachers!