This is the Business English Podcast Episode 486.
We forecast an improvement in your English.
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Hello, Michelle.
How are you today?
How's it going?
Hi, Lindsay.
I'm good.
How are you?
Michelle, are you a weather person?
Do you look at the weather forecast every day before you leave your house?
If I have time.
Um, and it's better if I do, because then I won't run into trouble.
But a lot of times I'm found, I find myself in the rain.
Yeah, like with the cut off jeans when it's gonna snow or something like that.
Yeah.
Um, so but I do try and look at it might.
I have family members that are very into looking at weather people, weather people.
Yes, yes.
There are, there are weather people out there who are always quoting the weather and letting you know, you know.
Oh, well, that's my dad for sure.
He'll be like, oh, there's a 33 percent chance of rain in a week.
And so we have to.
But yeah, no.
But other people in my family as well.
How about you?
Are you a weather person?
No, usually I just like to look out the window for the most part, but that can get me in trouble, because here in Denver what can happen in Colorado?
We have wild swings.
I remember once I went out to walk my dog in jeans and a t-shirt and then by the time I came home back home it was like an hour later it was starting to hail.
It was so crazy.
Oh my gosh.
We can go from summer to winter in a couple of hours here because of the altitude and Um.
So yeah, I I know like weather's a little dangerous here at times.
Didn't you also mention that once you got yourself into trouble, because when you go camping or something yeah,
Yeah, I don't always bring the right clothing.
I go up to the mountains in jeans, jean shorts and it's like a 50 degree drop as you drive up to the mountains.
So it could be a beautiful summer day in Denver.
And it's like 45 degrees in the mountains.
Yeah, it is always awkward when you're traveling or you know, and you know that you're traveling to a warm place, right?
Like, when I, in the winter, I usually try and visit my parents and they're in Florida.
And so you're.
You're all bundled up here and then you're packing the lighter clothes and it's hard for your brain to realize okay, these are actually the clothes I need.
And it feels so weird.
It's true.
And then you end up in Florida with your big winter jacket.
That doesn't work either.
And then you get off the plane in New York and you need your jacket.
It's just, yes, yes, it is.
Yeah.
Anyway, but We're not going to really be talking about the weather today, but we are going to be talking about the word forecast.
We're going to answer a really great question from a listener on YouTube and it deals with the word forecast.
So, Lindsay, would you like to read the question for us?
Yes.
This listener had three questions, really.
The question was, from Ardalan Bookart24 on YouTube.
Thanks for being over on YouTube.
And they said can you talk about predict, forecast and accelerate and tell us what is the difference between them?
Wow, this is an interesting question, Michelle.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, this is a really good one.
I'm excited to get into this today.
But first, before we go any further, I do want to say a huge thank you to a listener who took the time to go and leave us a review for this podcast, and a special thank you to Pijon 101, an Apple podcast from Taiwan, on September 2nd.
The review is a five-star review and they said, great business English podcast.
Thank you.
So thank you to Pijon and guys, go leave us a review.
If you haven't done it yet, we'd love to know what you think of this show.
Yes, absolutely.
Thank you so much.
Um, so yeah, this was a great question.
We're going to start.
So I would say the odd one out from these three is accelerate.
Would you agree, Lindsay?
Totally agree.
It feels like it doesn't really belong in this episode quite as much.
So we're going to kind of give you the quick definition and kind of move on, and maybe another day we'll come back to it.
Right, Michelle?
Right.
So to accelerate means to speed up.
So I think of a car the most.
When you're in the car and you press on the accelerator a little bit harder to go faster.
So you could say the car accelerated when it reached the highway.
Yeah.
I learned when I was in Norway that battery-powered cars actually accelerate faster than I thought.
I figured they'd be kind of weak and sort of like take forever to have no get up, as they say.
But they do.
They actually really like... They go.
They have... So...
Interesting.
Yeah.
So again, this is a very useful word.
I'm just talking about speeding up, not necessarily in a car.
But again, we can talk more about this.
You may make the decision to accelerate something like a project based on a forecast or prediction, though right.
Okay. you know, oh, our predictions say this, so we're going to accelerate this project.
Sure.
So it is possible.
So it's good to know these in context.
But we're going to move on now to predict and forecast.
Yes.
Lindsay, let's start with predict.
What is predict?
To predict something is really more of a guess, right?
It could be based.
I mean, it's usually based on some kind of information, but not necessarily.
It could be a strong prediction or just kind of a hunch.
You could have a hunch.
Some people just have hunches on things, you know?
Yeah, they have an intuition.
Yeah.
Do you think that's you, Michelle?
Do you have a good intuition?
Like, do you feel like you're able to foresee things that are going to happen a little bit?
Not in any like... special way.
But yeah, I guess I guess I will.
I will kind of go through different things that could happen in my head.
Yeah, I was reading a book recently.
And I was able to predict some of the things that will happen.
So that was okay.
Okay.
Or movies, for example.
Yeah.
What about you?
Are you a good?
Well, my partner always predicts the ending of every movie.
And it's kind of annoying.
But oh, no, it's okay.
It's okay.
I don't know that I am actually.
I think I get really caught up in the moment in life and I don't see what's coming down six months down the pipe.
I don't always see it.
I get really caught up in that moment, that emotion.
Well, that's good.
You're living in the present.
Yeah, I think to some extent.
All right, let's give some examples here.
We predict our sales will continue to increase if we don't decrease our marketing budget.
Yes.
Or business is slow now, but I predict things will start to accelerate once we hit March.
See, I put it in there.
Nice.
Yeah.
So it does fit in nicely into business English for sure.
What about verb, noun?
What's the verb?
What's the noun?
Right.
So predict is the verb.
Prediction is the noun.
So I predict something will happen, but you could also say she made a prediction.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yes, exactly.
And what is the difference in the words predicting guess?
Like I can make a guess that X will happen.
I can make a prediction that X will happen.
Which one feels more formal to you?
Prediction, right?
Don't you think?
I mean, a guess could be for anything, right?
Yeah.
Yeah, I think so.
A guess is a lot.
Like prediction feels like it has more behind it.
Right, right.
Yeah, I agree.
Mm-hmm.
So should we get into forecast?
Let's get into it, Michelle.
All right.
So to me, forecast is a little more intense, right?
In the way that it is a prediction, but it's based on data that can be used to say what may happen in the future.
So it's a little bit more, there might be something more on paper for a forecast, right?
Totally.
This is more, again, I think data is the key point.
I mean companies use economic forecasts to make real decisions, whereas predictions are a little more leaning in the direction of a guess right.
I predict this, but we're forecasting this, so we're going to change this. right?
Yes, exactly.
So we collected data from the past three years and we can forecast a 15 decrease in sales for the rest of the year.
We should get ahead of this problem.
And in our business English course, professional English level two, that we just launched, we talk a lot about people whose job it is to present kind of the risk analysis to executives, and they present this kind of thing.
Hey, I see a problem coming down the road and how do you tell that story to the company?
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Very interesting.
Another example would be the coordinator's forecast showed that we might we may end up needing a new employee next season.
Nice.
So yeah, kind of predict with hiring lots of different things.
Um, so, and a forecast, um, Is a noun and a verb.
So the forecast or to forecast something.
Right, Lindsay?
Yeah, it's interesting.
We should do another episode, Michelle, about words that are nouns and verbs and don't change.
That's kind of cool.
Yeah.
I don't think.
But yeah, a noun and a verb.
Exactly.
So it's the same thing.
All right.
Good.
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So predictions and forecasts, they're used to see what might happen in the future, Michelle.
Neither are 100%.
But again, like we said, forecasts usually use more data, right?
And again, predictions might as well, but the word is a little more flexible.
Right.
So it's possible that you're predicting something because of some data, but it's also possible it's just a hunch.
So but I mean, these are used in order to help decide certain things in business.
Yes.
So that's how they're all related, of course.
So let's go through some other words that are related to this idea.
Yeah, projection is the one.
So I tend to hear the word projection more than forecast, maybe because the kind of industry we're in or the level of business we're at versus like huge companies forecasting things on the stock market.
But projection is really common.
It is kind of like a forecast, right, Michelle?
Right.
It is.
Right.
It's more long term.
Um, it's what, what happens in certain conditions.
So like a forecast could lead to a projection in my opinion.
That's how I think about it.
But does that sound?
A forecast could lead to a projection.
Okay.
Yeah.
That's how I look at it.
But here, like, so like, so let's take a look at this projection here.
This is if all of our forecasts we made come true.
Okay.
It's like the possible result of the forecast.
It's like a diorama.
Look at the picture of what business will look like a year from now.
That's what's playing out.
And it's just, this is what we forecasted, right?
Right.
Yes, exactly.
But you could say projection is a noun or project, right?
We project something.
Which has other meanings too, which we can go into another day.
That's true.
But that does have other meanings.
Um, and the next one is just estimate.
Um, we, you've probably heard this one pretty frequently.
What's a, what's, what does it mean to estimate or an estimate?
It's kind of a guess, but like an educated guess.
I think uh like a prediction or a forecast.
But it's a rough, pretty rough uh guess.
Um, like I remember when I was a kid they always had like the big um jar of chocolates or something.
And like, can you estimate how many chocolates are in this jar?
You could say guess too, but maybe the idea is an educated guess.
So you think, how big is the jar?
Okay.
How big is one chocolate?
You do a little math maybe.
Right, right.
A guess is just kind of, I don't know, let's just choose a number, right?
An estimate, right?
And a lot of times you might hear the collocation, a rough estimate, right?
So, for example, let me jot down some numbers.
Okay, I estimate that we will owe $30.
And this is interesting.
We definitely have to take time on this, Lindsay.
So estimate and estimate.
I know.
I'm glad you pointed that out.
I was about to catch you on that because you did something weird with your vowel sounds.
I did something weird.
And we need to highlight this and make sure our listeners are on the same page.
What did you do here?
Well, what I did was I used it as a verb.
What's interesting is they are both spelled the same way, but they have different pronunciations.
So the verb and the noun for estimate are spelled the same way.
E-S-T-I-M-A-T-E.
Now, when it's a verb, we say estimate, right?
Just how it's spelled.
But what about when it's a noun, Lindsay.
Well, yeah, it's estimate.
So it has the it sound at the end.
But it's still spelled with an A. I know.
Another great episode idea, Michelle.
There you go.
We've got all the potential episodes for the next few months.
That would be a great episode because this can really trip us up here, especially in business.
We don't want to make this mistake.
Yes, exactly.
So Um, uh, now let's do one more we have is outlook.
So what is that outlook?
I think it's more broad, more rounded out, more longterm.
I hear this a lot when it comes to economic outlook, like macroeconomics.
I hear it a lot.
Stock market outlook, the, um, what's the outlook for the GDP growth for 2026.
I hear it like on the macro level quite a bit.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, if everything goes through the way we hope it will, the outlook for this year is extremely strong.
Nice.
So these are similar, but there are really key differences that our listeners are going to want to make sure they're familiar with in business.
Yes, exactly.
Should we put them all together?
I think we should, Michelle.
Let's do it.
So what's the role here?
What do we do?
All right.
So you're leading a meeting at work and I'm your colleague.
Okay.
Sounds good.
All right.
So we've looked into a ton of figures and data and I'm happy to announce that the outlook for this year is really, really good.
Oh, wow.
That's amazing.
I predict we will do even better than last year.
Yeah, I think so.
I'll show you the forecast based on all the hard numbers we received, as well as the feedback on our surveys from customers.
Then I have a few slides with projections based on different factors that may change both due to our decisions and unforeseen circumstances.
Okay, this is going to be really helpful.
I've been trying to estimate how much to spend.
So this data will really allow me to make some purchases for the company.
Perfect.
Nice.
Yes.
We're very economic here, Michelle.
Yes.
We're very financial in our discussion.
We're very professional.
So we use a lot of the words here.
So I said, I'm happy to announce that the outlook for this year is really good.
So things are looking good, right?
And then I said, I predict we will do even better than last year.
So again, I'm not... I mean...
This is better than a guess.
I'm using it because I'm saying predict because things are looking good.
So I'm just kind of echoing you.
But the predict is the hunch.
Oh, wow.
I actually I think it's going to be even better.
Right.
And you just got that piece of data for me.
So that's why, you know, I have a little bit of information to go off of.
It's not out of nowhere.
Yeah.
And really, you wouldn't say, I guess we'll do even better than last year.
That would really change the whole conversation.
That would actually make it sound better.
Sarcastic.
Yeah, I guess.
Or kind of insecure in a way.
Yeah.
Depending on how you used your tone of voice.
You might be able to say, like, I would venture a guess.
That might work here.
So we're going to do another episode on guess, I guess.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Interesting.
I guess.
Yeah.
Complicated.
What else?
Then you said, I will show you the forecast based on all the hard numbers we've received.
Yeah.
Good.
And then I have a few slides with projections based on different factors that may change.
And sometimes when you ask a company for projections, we often ask for projections on like when we partner with companies for advertising or that kind of thing.
We ask for a Conservative projection, like a mid-range projection or an aggressive projection.
And you get all three of them.
Sometimes they don't mean anything.
Yeah, it's all just projection, right?
I mean, you can't really know how things are going to go, right?
That's true.
That's true.
You try your best.
And then I said, I've been trying to estimate how much to spend.
So again, and I used estimate because it's a verb.
And so I did the eight.
Yes.
So you did not say the word estimate, different word essentially, right?
Used as a noun.
You said estimate.
I've been trying to estimate as a verb.
Love it.
All right.
Guys, another episode to check out here is Business English 476, just a few episodes ago.
Mastering Business English, way to go.
Nice.
Awesome.
Check that out.
Michelle, where should we finish the episode for our listeners in terms of connection and financial projections?
What do we think?
Yeah.
I would say you know, don't stress yourself out too much about this, because there are subtle differences.
There are a lot of similarities.
Um, I think, like I, if I were a listener, my key takeaway, I think, would be that, I guess is very informal.
Um and then that, like I would say that guess and predict are more in the same basket, whereas outlook projection, forecast are also in their own, and then estimate, estimate is kind of.
In the middle, in a weird way.
Yeah, I would agree with that.
And we're going to do another episode and look at the word guess and all the permutations of that word.
Oh, and guess, yep.
Yeah, we got a lot to do, Michelle, in the next few months here at All Ears English.
So guys, if you're not following the show, make sure you hit the follow button and go ahead and leave us a review.
Let us know what you think of the show.
Ask your question in your review so you'll be sure to get an answer.
All right.
All right, Lindsay.
Well, I guess I'll see you next time.
I guess so.
You take care, Michelle.
Bye.
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