Improve your Vocabulary: 8 better ways to say “I don’t know”

Hey there, I'm Ronnie. The other day, I went  into a store, and I needed to buy something.  

It was something that I had no idea about, so  I had to buy something for my computer. I'm in  

a computer store, and I said, "Excuse me, I need  to buy this for my computer. Can you please help  

me?" And the guy said, "Nah, I don't know."  So, I waited for him to say something like,  

"But I can help you", or, "I can check" or,  "Let me Google that" or something! Not just,  

"I don't know". So, the customer satisfaction  with me at that store was nill, and I marched  

out the door. What kind of customer service  is this, where you walk into a store and  

need help and they go, "I don't know." Hm? This also happens to me. People, students ask me,  

"Ronnie, why do we say Thursday - Thur, like  thur, but for example, the word thirsty is thir,  

but it's a u sound?" I go, "I don't know". I have  no idea. This is an amazing question and you know  

what? People ask me amazing questions all the  time about English, about grammar. And instead  

of me saying, "I don't know", I actually do  something about it and I look it up, or I get the  

information, or I text my friend and go, "Excuse  me, why?" "I don't know". Oh, thanks, friend.  

So, my point is, if you don't know something,  that's okay. Because we don't know everything. So,  

if you're a teacher or if you are anyone and  someone asks you a question, and you don't know  

the answer, hey, just admit it. Don't lie to  people. Don't make up bullsh*t to tell people,  

because in the end, you're just harming your  reputation. If you honestly don't know something,  

that's alright. But communicate it to the  people, and more importantly, tell them,  

"I'm going to do something to help you.  I'm going to help you figure it out." So,  

if I had gone into the computer shop and I said,  "Oh, I need this piece for my computer" and again,  

the person says, "Oh, I don't know, but let's  Google it." I'd be like "Yes sir, okay! Let's get  

this computer started!" Instead, I walked away. So, what you have to do - of course, you can  

tell the person, "Hey, do you know what? I don't  know, but let's find a solution to the problem."  

If you're working and somebody asks you a  question that you don't know the answer to,  

you don't want to sound stupid. You  don't want to go "Oh, I don't know". Or,  

if your boss asks you something that they think  you should know, you panic and go "Oh my God,  

I don't know the answer. I'm stupid. What  should I do?" Okay, relax. Just don't say,  

"I don't know!" and do nothing. You can say to  the person, "Do you know what? I don't know" or  

when we say it very quickly, we say, "I dunno,  but let's Google it." Now, in this sentence,  

"google" is actually a verb. Isn't that  amazing? Our language changes. So, Google,  

you know, is a website, a browser, but it's  actually changed now into a verb. So, I can say,  

"You know what? I don't know, but I'm going  to Google it for you and find the answer."  

You can say, "Let me find out", or "Let me look  into that'. And then you say "look into?" It just  

means find the answer. This is a really beautiful  sentence, too. "Before I can answer that,  

let me see" or "let me think". Maybe you  know the answer, but it's just going to  

take you an extra minute or two to translate  or to think of your answer. You can also say,  

"Let me see, let me see, oh, Pam. I've got the  answer." Or, I've had enough time to translate  

what you need to say to your scary boss. This is fun, too. You know what, if I knew,  

yeah? I would or I could tell you. But I don't  know. So, instead of just saying "I don't know",  

you can use these and sound more professional  at your job or in a business meeting. If someone  

asks you a crazy question, instead of looking  stupid or appearing ignorant, you can say these  

beautiful English phrases. "I would be happy  to find that answer and get back to you. What's  

your email? Let me research it for you." This is always a good one, too. I love this. If  

somebody asks you a question and you need time to  think about it or you just don't know the answer,  

you can tell them like, "Hey, that's a good  question." Ahem, I don't know the answer,  

but that's a very good question! Again, I will  find out for you. Here's complete honesty:  

Honestly, I have no idea. But I will ask  someone. Mom, why is the "th" in this? You  

don't know, okay. Thanks, Mom, great, okay. So, if you just say to the person, "I don't know",  

or "Oh, I don't know the answer", you're not going  to really help the person. And you might appear to  

be a little bit stupid or ignorant towards your  boss or to other people. So, it's okay. Admit  

you don't know the answer and hey, grab your  phone. It's probably already there, and Google  

the answer. Get the information. But again, be  careful of the internet. Because a lot of things  

aren't true. But at least you tried. And try to  help people. It's the best thing we can do.  

Alright, I gotta Google this.  I'll be right back.