AEE: Why You Should NOT Say “For Your Information”
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This is an All Ears English episode. Why you should not say, for your information. 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.

fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection with your American hosts, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA. Hey.

To get real-time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the All Ears English app for iOS and Android. Start your seven-day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward slash app. How is the meaning of FYI different from for your information? There is a drastic difference that you need to know. Listen in today.

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Hello, Lindsay. How are you? I'm feeling pretty good today. We're getting towards the end of the week here. So feeling great, feeling great. Aubrey, what are we getting into today though? I have a fun question for you to start this out. Okay. I'll do my best to answer. Yes. What do you think is the difference between saying FYI and for your information? Oh,

I think for your information feels a little more direct to me. And FYI feels a little more playful. I feel like it's more common. Am I right? Yeah. I mean, this is really interesting. I would have said the same probably. I probably would have said before looking into this, I would have said they mean the same thing. And one is the acronym. So maybe the acronym is a little more casual, informal. Yeah.

But the more I looked into this, the more I realized how different they are and that you probably actually should never say for your information. I'm going to make an argument for that today. Interesting. Okay. Now you've gotten me intrigued here, Aubrey. So let's see why we should never say it. So should we cover FYI first for our listeners? Because this is the one they've probably seen, heard. Let's do it. Let's cover FYI and then for your information. And then we're going to give you guys more polite options

and really talk about intonation today because these intonation is really key on the message that you're sending with today's phrases.

Got it. Okay. All right. So what is FYI? It's an acronym, right? Yes. Right. So this is said or written. Often we put it in emails to share information without expecting an immediate response or action, right? You're just giving someone information and they don't really need to respond usually. Okay. So more written. Yeah. So for example, FYI, I'm running to the grocery store if you need anything.

Yeah, or the car is out of gas, FYI, right? So this is just your, and these are spoken phrases, but it's also written for sure, where you're just letting someone know something and you're, you know, it's sort of implied that you don't need them to respond. It's kind of like, hey, I hope you listen to this. You should pay attention to this, but I'm not expecting a response, right? It's basically what that means. Yeah. Yeah.

And so interestingly, for your information is what FYI stands for, supposedly, right? But our language, English, has really evolved to where FYI is now the only one that really means that. And for your information is always a confrontational way to correct someone. Like sometimes jokingly between friends, sometimes angrily, but people almost never say that.

for your information the long way out, just like there's almost always this connotation.

some energy behind it some anger maybe and i had to think about this i was trying to come up with examples where i could just say for your information and it would no it's like that's weird it either sounds weird and i wouldn't say it or it sounds confrontational so you're saying you wouldn't say the car is out of gas for your information right no all of a sudden i'd be like oh sorry did i you know i should have filled it up i guess like there feels confrontation it feels okay

So when we say for your information, we're adding a layer of confrontation. Okay. So maybe someone accuses you of leaving the milk out and you'd be like, for your information, I was not the one who left the milk out. That sounds like a fight, right? It sounds like a fight.

Yeah. But you might say, FYI, that still is going to be kind of confrontational just because of the context here. But I love that you pointed out, I wouldn't say, "For your information, I'm running to the grocery store if you need anything." If someone said that to me, I'd be like, "What's the problem?" That would be strange. It feels more like you're directly talking to me and you want to say something, right? It's very different. It feels confrontational. And then I'm confused like,

why why are you interesting or we can also in this same confrontational way we could put it at the end of a sentence i was not the last one to have the key for your information right so again you're standing up for yourself there might be a fight going on someone's accusing someone of

breaking into a house. I don't know because you had a key. Whatever's happening. Yeah. And keep in mind, even if we said FYI here because of the context, right? For like, I wasn't the last one to have the key FYI. Like there is still a little bit of confrontation here just because of the message of what you're saying. But if you really do want to just say FYI, like we use it all the time, you really just want to give someone some information and you don't need a response back.

Our recommendation after I had to think about this a lot, I thought of a lot of examples. I would never say for your information. I wouldn't say it out. I would say FYI and then reserve for your information when you want to be confrontational. When you're upset and you're standing up for yourself, for example. Yeah, exactly. This is good to know. You really don't think about it. But then when you dig in, you go deeper, you realize, yeah, they're not the same.

So we do have other options, though, for our listeners today. Yeah. Yes. Right. There are more polite ways because sometimes you do need to get this message across. But again, we want to be polite. And then we want to be careful with our intonation here because we're going to teach you three phrases that are more polite, but they could sound rude, confrontational, sarcastic, depending on the intonation. Yes. So the first one is just so you know.

Right. So this one, you got to be real careful here with the intonation, as you said. Yeah. So give it to us first, Lindsay, a sentence where it's like polite. We're trying to politely let someone know that we weren't the one that had the keys last. Okay. Here's something polite. So just so you know, I didn't have the keys last. I'm not sure who lost them, but it wasn't me.

All right. Much more polite than for your information. Yes. Yes. So that was a more pleasant, polite, non-accusatory tone or non-defensive tone, let's say. Yes. But with the exact same words, if you change the intonation, it still could be very accusatory. It could sound rude, right? I'll give you that example. Okay. I'm ready. Just so you know, I didn't have the keys last. I'm not sure who lost them, but it wasn't me.

Oh, gosh. The tone is so different. It's fascinating. Wow. Yeah. Shivers down your spine, right? It definitely, this can be a little scary to hear. If someone is saying that with that kind of tone, you know that things are taking a bad turn in your conversation. They're very defensive for some reason. They're angry, right? So you want to think about, you can be using the exact same vocabulary and depending on your tone of voice,

your intonation, you're sending a totally different message, which you especially have to think about in a second language because it's harder to hear the tone. You're thinking about the vocabulary and the grammar. So you have to be aware. Listen back. Rewind this and listen to Lindsay's and then mine. I'm sure you can hear the difference in tone. Yeah. And this next one, we're going to do the same thing. So we could definitely do this in... We could start... So what is it, Albrecht? What's the phrase? The phrase is, by the way...

And Lindsay, if you want to give us the polite version. I'll be the polite one on the podcast today. There we go. By the way, no, no, let me start again. So by the way, I wasn't the one who left the milk out.

Yeah. This is kind of hard anyway, because just with the context, like it's a little fresh, like let's say you've been accused of leaving the milk out. Like you need to get across the message that you weren't the one that did it. Right. The worst, the worst thing you can say, I think is for your information, the most rude, these are better options, but they're still, it's interesting. It's really tricky. It's hard to share that message without being defensive because you are defending yourself.

Right. It feels fresh. Maybe say something like, "Oh, by the way, I wasn't the one who left the milk out. I'm not sure who did." Right. When you add that, "I don't know who did it, but it wasn't me." That does help. The more you say, the more you add does help. But again, this can be said with very rude defensive intonation. I'll give us that. "By the way, I wasn't the one who left the milk out."

It's like every word changes, right? Because I'm adding this snarky tone. So when you hear that from someone, you know, again, there's a fight brewing. Maybe there's already drama in your home, for example. Right. Yeah. Okay. Third one, Aubrey, is for what it's worth.

Yes. This is a good one too. Yeah. So give us the polite way. If you're trying to let someone know, you know, maybe you've been accused of being late a lot. What could you say? Okay. Well, for what it's worth, I always try to be on time.

Nice, right? That's polite. Right? It's a nice way to say, you know, you're kind of this for what it's worth does soften it more. But again, I'll give the rude version. Depending on your tone, you could say, for what it's worth, I try to always be on time. And this one, actually, this sounds like I'm accusing the other person of always being late. Oh, yes. Okay. And there's, so there's extra meaning in there. I try to always be on time. I don't know about you. Yeah.

It is super interesting and super important for our listeners to hear both versions of all three of these expressions, right? Right. Yeah, that's interesting. You don't think about the, there could be hidden meaning or double meaning. You could be accidentally accusing someone of something when that's not in the words you're saying, it's implied by your tone. Wow.

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Okay, Aubrey, let's move on. Let's bring this all into a role play. And just so I'm clear, it sounds like we're in a fight. So we need to be fresh, fresh, fresh, fresh here. Yes. So the good thing is we are friends who fought recently, but we have now met up to talk about it. So we're still going to use these phrases, but we're trying to be polite. We're not in a fight. Okay, we were in a fight before. Okay, then never mind my comment. Okay. Yes. All right, here we go. All right. I'll start us out.

For what it's worth, I'm really sorry about what happened. Oh, thanks. By the way, I was mostly just surprised and I probably shouldn't have reacted the way I did. You had every right to be upset. I

I'm sorry about saying, for your information, I'm not the one who wrecked the car. That was uncalled for. I appreciate that. Just so you know, I found out later why you were upset and then I understood. I still shouldn't have taken it out on everyone, though. Thanks for understanding. Yeah, the tone here clearly is a make-up conversation, right? Yep. Yeah.

We're making up. We are kind of having, coming back together and we're saying, oh, we're apologizing. Yeah. And all of these phrases, right, are perfect for this where we're trying to say, um,

FYI, but in a more polite way. Like I want you to know that, but it's couched with apology and explanation of why something happened. Yes. So should we go back through them one more time? Let's do it. So you said, for what it's worth, I'm really sorry. And again, you could feel our tone of voice is different.

It's kind of like a little bit more pleasant, more calm, more even keeled a little bit. Yes. Right. And this, because we're talking about a fight we had and we're trying to smooth things over, it would make no sense to do the rude version. You would want to really be careful to keep that out of, you know, to be like, for what it's worth. I'm really like, if you sound sarcastic, it wouldn't make sense because you're genuinely trying to smooth things over. Yes. And then I said, thanks. Thanks.

by the way, I was mostly just surprised. And so here you're just saying, by the way, you're just informing. I'm informing you. Exactly. Yep. And then I had to quote myself in the past in order to use for your information. Right. So it's like, I'm sorry when I said, and then I'm kind of mimicking my own tone as I apologize. Right. I'm sorry about saying for your information, I'm not the one who wrecked the car.

Yeah, because I'm like, if I quote myself here that I can include it in the role. That makes sense. Because remember, guys, if you go back to earlier in the episode, we said that just saying for your information becomes quite serious and quite confrontative. Yes, exactly. So we're having a more coming back together apology conversation. Yeah.

Right. And then you said, just so you know, I found out later why you're upset. And then I understood. So all of these, you could take this whole role play and remove all of these because what they're trying to do is add this extra meaning of like, I'm just letting you know this, just FYI, same meaning, right? Just FYI.

just so that you know, and they're not necessary. You could just say, I appreciate that. I found out later why you were upset, but we add this to create really even more politeness to let them know, like, it's important to me that you know this. Yeah. It makes it more personal, the conversation, right? Yes. Okay.

And we want to send our listeners back to an episode that we just did. Was that episode 2316? I'm looking back to see what was the number. I think it was 2315. 2315. So just earlier this week, who asked you rude phrases to avoid in English? Yes, this is where we also talked about some phrases that you could accidentally sound really rude. Politeness is so important in English, especially you don't want to accidentally send a message you don't intend.

Oh my gosh, it is huge. And this is great. We have been going into a lot of stuff about politeness, rudeness, and how to make sure that we're not unintentionally being rude. Exactly. Yeah. And this is so interesting. I had never thought about before how FYI, and then when you actually say that out for your information, really has such a different meaning, conveys such a different

feeling. So definitely be aware. Yeah, this is I mean, if connection is our highest value, which it is on this show, we should be really, you know, looking into this and making this a priority, especially as our listeners move up into the C1 level, right? This becomes the priority. It's not so much about grammar, we've pretty much got the grammar, we're adding new vocabulary, but it's about this, it's about what your words convey.

meaning behind your words right we don't want you to accidentally ruin connections by having these hidden meanings that you're not aware of right this is there are these subtle nuances these double meanings sometimes and intonation really changes meaning yes before we finish up today i just want to remind our listeners guys you can always listen to the podcast in our ios or android app but when you listen over there you get special features

For example, for premium users, we now get a special weekly role play that no one else gets anywhere else but in the app. And what is that role play all about? I know it's amazing. All the keywords from all of the episodes for the week, we put them into one role play. So you can see how these unrelated vocabulary words could all come up in one conversation. It's really interesting. And that's just for users of the app.

Yeah, exactly. So that along with transcripts right on your phone as you listen to the episode. So guys, go over to allearsenglish.com slash app and download the app and give it a try. There's a seven-day free trial. So you can try that out. Yes. Awesome. Check it out. All right, Aubrey. Talk soon. Yep. See you next time. Bye. Bye. Bye.

Thanks for listening to All Ears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two-minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com forward slash fluency score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.

The national sales event is on at your Toyota dealer, making now the perfect time to get a great deal on a dependable new car, like a legendary Camry built for performance and available with all wheel drive. You can count on your new Camry to get anywhere you need to go.

And with available features like heated seats and a multimedia touchscreen, you can stay connected in comfort and style. Or check out an affordable and reliable Corolla.

With a trim for every lifestyle, from the hip and agile sedan to the sporty hatchback, there's a dependable Corolla built just for you. Plus, both Camrys and Corollas are available in hybrid models. So no matter your style, you can drive efficiently and affordably.

So visit your local Toyota dealer and check out amazing national sales event deals on Camrys, Corollas, and more when you visit buyatoyota.com. Toyota, let's go places.

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