AEE: Learn Roughly Five New Ways to Stay Broad in English

Summary

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All Ears English Podcast

Episode: “Learn Roughly Five New Ways to Stay Broad in English”

Hosts: Lindsay McMahon & Michelle Kaplan
Date: February 14, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Lindsay and Michelle dive into the art of being “broad” or non-exact in English—an essential skill in both business and daily conversation. Listeners learn various words and expressions that allow them to provide approximate information without sounding uncertain or unprofessional. This episode is particularly useful for ESL learners seeking to enhance their workplace communication but also applies to informal, everyday use.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Why Stay Broad in English?

• Practicality: Life and business often require flexibility. You can’t always give—or be expected to give—exact numbers.
• Politeness & Flexibility: Using broad terms shows openness and respect in conversation, especially when you lack all the details.
• Contextual Usage: Language choice shifts depending on social or professional settings.

“Sometimes we can't give numbers or information that is 100% accurate. So we want to use words to show that there is some wiggle room.”
— Michelle (03:23)

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Core Vocabulary and Phrasing

1. Approximately

• Context: Slightly formal; best for workplace or official settings.
• Example: “There are approximately 10 charts we still need to get through before the end of the day.” (05:37)
• “We should reevaluate these figures in approximately three months.” (05:42)

“I think this word’s a little more formal...you might not ask your friend, like, ‘approximately how many people are coming to the party.’”
— Lindsay (05:05)

2. Roughly

• Context: Similar meaning as “approximately,” but slightly less formal. Can be used at work or in general conversation.
• Example: “There are roughly 250 corporate employees and we need to get holiday bonuses to all of them.” (06:28)
• Example: “We will be done at roughly 9:30.” (06:41)

“I wish I used ‘roughly’ a little bit more often because it sounds more interesting to me...maybe I will go for it.”
— Lindsay (06:09)

3. Around/About

• Context: Informal, very common; suitable for social settings and can work in business.
• Example: “Our meeting will be over at around 4.” (07:16)
• Example: “There are around 20 new patient forms to finalize.” (07:29)
• Note: “About” is almost interchangeable with “around” in these contexts.

“This is the one where I was thinking, if you don’t want to say ‘approximately,’ you might say ‘around how many people are coming [to the party]? Or ‘about’.”
— Michelle (06:54)

4. Nearly

• Context: Means “almost”; used when something is just short of a certain point.
• Example: “We nearly tripled our revenue from last year.” (10:02)

5. Circa

• Context: Advanced, formal, “special”; generally connected to years or historical context.
• Example: “Their company has been around since circa 1980.” (11:36)
• Used in: “We established the scholarship circa 2005.” (11:45)

“It definitely points to a more articulate speaker...it's the special one of the episode.”
— Lindsay (14:58)

Bonus Expression: Wiggle Room

• Meaning: Flexibility in plans or numbers.
• Example: “You add a little wiggle room for this and that...” (15:53)

“Wiggle room...It’s a great one. Maybe we’ll do a whole episode on that!”
— Michelle & Lindsay (15:50-16:06)

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Role Play Demonstration

Scenario: Planning a conference (12:46–14:28)

Michelle: “So how many people will be there?”
Lindsay: “I heard there will be nearly a thousand attendees.” (12:58)
Michelle: “Wow. So how many bags should we make?”
Lindsay: “Roughly 400, I’d say.” (13:05)
Michelle: “That sounds about right. I heard each day ends around 4, so maybe we can also organize some extra activities for potential clients.”
Lindsay: “Good idea. There are approximately 30 companies I have my eye on.”
Michelle: “Yeah. And this conference is huge. How long have they been holding it?”
Lindsay: “Oh, wow. I don’t know. I’d say it started somewhere circa 2000.” (13:24)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “So rarely in life are we just [exact]; there’s so much wiggle room in business and regular life.” — Michelle (15:12)
• “Flexibility. You don’t want to get locked into something.” — Lindsay (15:44)
• “If you’re making a budget, you round up to give yourself wiggle room.” — Lindsay (15:53)
• “These are just all really useful for, you know, because very rarely in life are we just—this is this, and this is that. There’s so many times in business and regular life, there’s just wiggle room.” — Michelle (15:12)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:22] — Introducing the topic (“We should record roughly five or six episodes today.”)
• [03:05] — Why being broad matters in conversation
• [04:32] — Deep dive into “approximately”
• [06:00] — How and when to use “roughly”
• [06:54] — “Around” versus “about”
• [09:47] — “Nearly”: what it means and how to use it
• [10:12] — “Circa”: the ‘special’ term for historical context
• [12:46] — Role play putting all expressions in context
• [15:44] — Discussion of “wiggle room” as a useful bonus term

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Final Takeaways

• Use these words and phrases to express non-exact quantities and times in both professional and casual English.
• Choose based on your social context: formal (approximately), less formal (roughly), casual (around/about), or for special flair (circa).
• Adding “wiggle room” to your language toolkit helps you maintain both clarity and flexibility in English communication.

“We don’t want to get locked in to having to give exact amounts of things because life is never exact. That’s what I’ve learned.”
— Lindsay (16:30)

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Further Listening

• For more business English, the hosts recommend: Business English Podcast, Episode 524: “Who Assigned What: How to Know in English”

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If you want to sound more like a native and interact confidently at work or in life, try mixing in these new expressions and keep the focus on connection—not perfection!

Transcript

[Michelle Kaplan]

This is an All Ears English podcast. Learn roughly five new ways to stay broad in English.

[Podcast Announcer]

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American hosts, Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, coming to you.

[Lindsey McMahon]

From Colorado and New York City, usa.

[Podcast Announcer]

And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe do you ever want to give an approximate answer? Instead of citing an exact number today, find out how to do this so that you can stay broad while also being clear in English. Do you ever start speaking English and.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Suddenly the words disappear?

[Podcast Announcer]

You pause too much, you hesitate. You know what you want to say, but only later, not in the moment when it matters. This is where your fluency is breaking down and it's fixable. That's why we created our two minute fluency quiz. It shows you your exact English level right now so you know what to work on next. Are you B1, B2, or C1? Find out. Go now to allearsenglish.comfluencyscore and get clarity on your English level and how you can improve this year starting today. One more time, go to allearsenglish.com Flutecysc O R E.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Hey, Lindsay, how are you? Hey.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Doing great. Michelle, how's it going for you?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Good. Yeah, it's been so. It's so nice to get back to recording, guys. We were on a little break and now we are happy to be back. But Lindsay, approximately how many episodes do you want to record today?

[Lindsey McMahon]

I would say we should record roughly five or six episodes today. Michelle, what do you think about that?

[Michelle Kaplan]

I think that's a good idea. All right, we'll go for it. So. So, guys, today we are going to teach very functional vocabulary to help you give out information without being completely concrete. And guys, we know that a lot of you listening to the Ollie's English podcast are really also listening to learn for the workplace. So this is a really great topic for business, but also could be for anything in your regular life. So whether you're here to learn about business, regular life, regular English, we got you covered.

[Lindsey McMahon]

We got you covered. Exactly. And so just real quick, Michelle, why would we want to be vague here? It's essentially being a little vague. I don't know if vague is the right word, but broad. Broad in what we're saying, maybe we don't. Why would we want to be Broad in our answer.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right. Well, I mean, sometimes we can't give numbers or information that is 100 accurate.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So we want to use words to show that there is some wiggle room. Right. We don't want to be totally stiff. And this is for those moments. I can't say. Okay, I can't tell you. We will be finished in 20 minutes. Yeah, but. Oh, I know. 20 to 30. Roughly. 20. So today's examples. Actually, we're going to do our business oriented, and we've been touching on this already, Lindsay. But we have this whole other podcast. Lindsay, you want to tell us about it?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. It's crazy. Maybe some of our listeners don't know, but we have another show called Business English from Allers English. Guys, to find this show, all you have to do is open your search bar right now, type in Business English, and you'll get it. You'll see the yellow that will come up, and you'll know it's us hit follow on that show. We do publish there three days a week, and we focus really very much on our listeners who do use English at work, whether it's once a month in that conference or that presentation or whether it's every single day or whether you aspire one day to work in English. So go check out that show.

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right. Absolutely. So let's get started. So the first one we threw out was approximately. I asked you approximately how many episodes, and this is kind of for me, for ask. Asking the question in that way, it kind of showed a little bit of respect. Also, like, it showed that I am willing and I am open to. To whatever. Like. Like I have time and.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

It's okay if we want to record five, we want to record six, right?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, I think this word's a little more formal. So that's why it's good for work. Right. I mean, you might not ask your friend, like, approximately how many people are coming to the party. Right. Because that feels a little too formal for the friendship world. Right. Do you agree with that? I guess you could get away with.

[Michelle Kaplan]

It, but no, I mean, you could. I mean, we're going to get to another word that I think that would be more appropriate for that. The third word down on this list I think might be best. But yeah, this means just about or basically. So.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

For example, There are approximately 10 charts we still need to get through before the end of the day.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yep. Or we should have. We should reevaluate these figures in approximately three months. Okay. So great to use if you're a Manager, you're making a presentation. Really, anytime you're at work, it's fine. This is good. This is up leveling, making your English a little fancier. Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. The next one is roughly. And this is the same as approximately. A little less formal sounding, but not by much.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, I like this one. I wish I used. Because I tend to use about right about. There are about five people coming, which is super common. And it's just. It's nothing. Right? It's just. It's everywhere. I wish I used roughly a little bit more often because it sounds more interesting to me. So maybe I will go for it.

[Michelle Kaplan]

New Year's resolution.

[Lindsey McMahon]

New Year's resolution. There are roughly. Did you ever say the first example? No. No. Okay. There are roughly 250 corporate employees and we need to get holiday bonuses to all of them. Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Or we will be done at roughly 9:30.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Nice. And then there's one more. Well, there's a few more. But we'll give our listeners one more before we go for a break. It is around. How is this one different, Michelle?

[Michelle Kaplan]

So this one is less formal than the other two for sure. But it could also be used for work. But Lindsay, this is the one where I was thinking, if you're saying in. If you don't want to say approximately how many people are coming to the party for your friend, you might say around how many people are coming. Or this would go with what you said about. About. Right. About how many people are coming. Around how many people are coming.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Sure. Both would work. Our meeting will be over at around 4. You could also say our meeting will be over around four.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, you could do that.

[Lindsey McMahon]

You don't need the at in every case. What's another example?

[Michelle Kaplan]

There are around 20 new patient forms to finalize.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. Around. So around or about Also work really well. Same.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Really? I'm going to add about to this list. Yeah, officially.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

It's good stuff. So, yeah. So here we have. We started with three. Approximately, roughly and about or around. And we're gonna do one more after the break and talk through. Oh, wait. Oh wait. Actually, we have a special one too.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay, stay tuned for that.

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right.

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[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, Michelle, we're back from the break and now you have our listeners attention. So what is the special one? Oh, it's coming.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Well, this isn't the special one, it's the next one. Okay.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So this one is nearly. Nearly is like almost. Right, so this is not. This is different really from roughly or approximately? This is more about. We're very close to this.

[Lindsey McMahon]

So for example, we nearly tripled our revenue from last year. Or she nearly beat the record. Almost. Almost did something. Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Okay, so now here's the. Here's the special one. This is one that has to do with years. So it doesn't have to be just with years, but I think that's the most common way. So it's circa. Yeah, yeah.

[Lindsey McMahon]

This is special, Michelle. Right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

It is a special one.

[Lindsey McMahon]

We see this a lot. I feel like you see plaques on buildings.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Y. Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Say like circa 1775 or something when the building was. Was built.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right, yeah, Yep. Yeah. So it says. Yeah. I'm just looking at the AI overview here, just to give a little more context. A Latin word meaning around or approx. Used before a date to indicate an estimated time. Yeah, so yeah, you will. Yeah, exactly. You might see it on a plaque, whatever it may be. Also on a plaque, do you ever see like est?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, Established. Right, Established.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So similar. Whenever I see est, though, even though I know it means established, I still think estimate. And I'm always like. I'm just always like. It just seems weird to me. But so circa. Their company has been around since circa 1980.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. Or we established the scholarship circa 2005. So you're it's just a fancy way of saying around that time, yeah, we did this. Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And you're not gonna say this. You're not gonna say this all the time. Like Lindsay said, you might see it on a plaque. You could definitely use it in a presentation, things like that. But I. I don't think that it's something that I would say to my friend. It doesn't come up as often, but it is a special one. That's good to know.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yep. Or categorizing items. Like, if you go on. I like to go on historical tours, and they might say, oh, this furniture is circa early 1800s or something like that. That's kind of fun. By the way, ghost tours are the best ways to get history. To learn history about things. It's amazing. Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I did one in New Orleans. Where?

[Lindsey McMahon]

One again, A bunch of places. We just did one in Rome, right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, you did one in Rome.

[Lindsey McMahon]

We did one in Rome, which was super cool. And I've done one in, actually, I think South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, and a few other places. But, yeah, I highly recommend ghost tours if you guys are traveling. Random tip.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So let's do a role play and put these together. So here we are, meeting about an upcoming conference.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. Here we go. Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Okay, okay. So how many people will be there?

[Lindsey McMahon]

I heard there will be nearly a thousand attendees.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Wow. So how many bags should we make?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Roughly 400, I'd say.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That sounds about right. I heard each day ends around 4, so maybe we can also organize some extra activities for potential clients.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Good idea. There are approximately 30 companies I have my eye on.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. And this conference is huge. How long have they been holding it?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, wow. I don't know. I'd say it started somewhere circa 2000.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I think you're right. Wow.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay. All right. So planning a conference. Something our listeners might end up doing in English. Right. Or planning to meet at the conference. So I said, first, there will be nearly a thousand attendees. And I could have said about a thousand attendees. I could have said approximately a thousand attendees, Right? Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And I think just the difference is you could have said Approximately, and it's 1050 or it could be 1100, but nearly is like 950. You know, less. Some less than almost.

[Lindsey McMahon]

So almost almost, right? Yeah. Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So that's the difference there. And then I said, how many bags should we make? So maybe we're doing, like, a gift bag or a promotional bag. You said roughly 400, I'd say, good.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And then you said, that sounds about right. I heard each day ends around 4. Right. 4pm so maybe we can organize extra activities. Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And then you said, good idea. There are approximately 30 companies I have my eye on.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. And just to go back to the last one, I could have said, I heard each day ends at about 4. But be careful there, guys, because if you use about. You do need the ad. You can't say, I heard each day ends about 4. That would be weird, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. What about circa?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Did you use the circa? Yes. You said, I'd say it started somewhere circa 2000.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, yeah. And this is fun to. To slip in sometimes. You're not gonna. It's. It's. It definitely points to, like, a more articulate speaker. Right? It makes you seem like a more articulate speaker when you use it. It's the special one of the episode, so. Of course it does.

[Michelle Kaplan]

It's so. But yeah, these are just all really useful for, you know, because very rarely in life are we just. This is this, and this is that. There's so many times in business and regular life, there's just wiggle room. There's just room to. To move around and things can change. And this language just gives you the opportunity to express that, but also not shy away from giving numbers or information.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. Flexibility. You don't want to get locked into something. And I think is the bonus for today. Wiggle room. I actually love that expression.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, me too.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Wiggle room.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah.

[Lindsey McMahon]

You add a little wiggle room for this and that, and maybe if you're making a budget, you. You round up to give yourself wiggle room. But guys, write down that phrase and start to use it. It's a great one.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Maybe we'll do a whole episode on.

[Lindsey McMahon]

That overall Business English its own episode. Yeah, I love it. All right, what's another business English episode? Or what is an episode over on Business English? Our listeners should check out make the journey over there.

[Michelle Kaplan]

There. Yeah. So, guys, if you want to hear more Business English episodes, go on over to that podcast. And episode 524 was who assigned what how to know in English. So another really good one.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. What's the final takeaway for today, Michelle? I mean, I think you kind of said it earlier. It's that we do want to be. We don't want to get locked in to having to give exact amounts of things because life is never exact. That's what I've learned.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right. And there is a time when it comes to. Does need to be exact. You know, tax season and going over specific numbers and, you know, there's definitely a time and place for that. But these are the words to use when you're not in that kind of situation and you do want to have that Wiggle Room. And guys, stay tuned. Hit follow because we will do an an episode, a whole episode on Wiggle Room coming up.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, good stuff today, Michelle. I'll see you next time on the podcast. You have a good rest of your day.

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right, you too. Bye guys. Say bye.

[Podcast Announcer]

Thanks for listening.

[Lindsey McMahon]

To all ears.

[Podcast Announcer]

English Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com forward/fluencyscore.

[Lindsey McMahon]

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[Podcast Announcer]

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[Michelle Kaplan]

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[Podcast Announcer]

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