I’ve noticed two expressions being used more and more these days, mostly in a work context.

First, the use of the word “So” to begin an answer to a question. This seems particularly rife amongst presenters on the conference circuit.

Often it seems to be used to acknowledge a question and the questioner as if to say “Okay, I understand the question… here’s my answer…”, a way of taking the baton and gliding gracefully on. A conjunction between two people.

The other is “going forward” to describe time after a point in time. It doesn’t seem to have reached official idiom status yet, but surely it’s only a matter of time, if you’ll pardon the pun. And what on earth did people say before it came along?