E.39: How to Describe Growth and Decline — Talking About Trends in Business Reports

Hi there, and welcome to Business English Made Easy! I’m Victoria, and this is the podcast where we make learning English for work simple, practical, and—most importantly—doable. Whether you’re here to boost your confidence in meetings, write better emails, or, like today, describe trends in business reports, you’re in the right place.

If you’ve ever struggled to explain a graph or chart in a professional setting, this episode is for you. Maybe you’ve been in a meeting and thought, I see the numbers, I get the trends, but how do I actually talk about this in English? Well, that ends today.

In this episode, I’m giving you the tools you need to describe growth, decline, and everything in between. You’ll learn the key phrases and tricks to sound clear, confident, and professional. And yes, I’ll even help you practice so you can start using these skills right away.

Let’s get started by talking about growth.

Talking about growth is usually easier because it’s good news. But here’s the thing—you can’t just say, Sales went up. That’s too vague. It doesn’t give enough detail, and it doesn’t sound professional.

Instead, try using verbs like:

• Increase: Sales increased by 15% last quarter.

• Rise: Our revenue rose steadily throughout the year.

• Climb: Website traffic climbed significantly after the campaign launch.

See how these words feel more polished? But we can take it a step further. To make your description even more precise, you can add words that explain how much or how fast something grew.

For example:

• Sales increased sharply after the new product launch.

• Revenue climbed gradually over the past six months.

• Our profits rose steadily, month after month.

These small additions—words like sharply, steadily, or gradually—add so much meaning. They show how big the change was or how quickly it happened.

Here’s a real-life example. Imagine you’re looking at a graph, and you see that sales were $20,000 in January, $25,000 in February, and $30,000 in March. Instead of just saying, Sales increased, you could say, Sales climbed steadily from $20,000 in January to $30,000 in March.

Now, let’s talk about the less exciting part: declines.

Declines happen. Sometimes, you have to deliver bad news, like a drop in revenue or a decrease in customer numbers. The key is to talk about it without being overly negative.

Here are some phrases to describe declines:

• Decrease: Our expenses decreased by 10% this quarter.

• Fall: The number of users fell slightly last month.

• Drop: Stock prices dropped sharply after the announcement.

If the decline is really dramatic, you can use stronger words like:

• Plummet: After the market crash, stock prices plummeted.

• Slump: Sales slumped in the second quarter due to increased competition.

Just like with growth, you can add words to describe the size or speed of the decline. For example:

• Expenses decreased slightly, by just 2%.

• Revenue fell sharply, dropping 20% in one quarter.

And here’s a little tip: when you’re talking about a decline, it’s always helpful to focus on the facts, not emotions. Instead of saying, It’s terrible—our sales are down, you can say, Sales dropped slightly, but we’re seeing early signs of recovery this month.

What about when nothing much is happening? Not every trend is dramatic. Sometimes, things stay the same, or they move unpredictably.

If the trend stays flat, you can say:

• Remain stable: Sales remained stable at $12,000 for three months.

• Level off: After a period of rapid growth, revenue leveled off in July.

For trends that go up and down, try:

• Fluctuate: The exchange rate fluctuated throughout the quarter.

• Be volatile: Stock prices were volatile due to market uncertainty.

Here’s an example. Let’s say your company’s sales were $15,000 in January, $20,000 in February, $18,000 in March, and then $20,000 again in April. You could say, Sales fluctuated in the first quarter, with highs of $20,000 and lows of $15,000.

Now let’s put this all together. Imagine you’re presenting your quarterly report, and you see a graph that shows:

• January sales at $10,000

• March sales at $15,000

• April sales dropping to $12,000, and then staying there through June

Here’s how you could describe it:

Sales increased steadily from $10,000 in January to $15,000 in March. However, they fell slightly in April, dropping to $12,000, where they remained stable for the rest of the quarter.

Now it’s your turn to practice. Take a moment today to think about a trend you’ve noticed—maybe at work, maybe in your personal life. It could be anything: sales figures, how many steps you take each day, or even how much coffee you’ve been drinking.

Try describing that trend out loud using the phrases we covered. And if you want some feedback, send me a message with your example. I’d love to hear how you’re using this in real life.

Before we wrap up, don’t forget to grab your free worksheet for this episode. It’s packed with all the phrases we talked about today, plus some extra exercises to help you practice. Just scroll up to download it.

You’re doing amazing. Every time you show up for an episode like this, you’re building the skills and confidence you need to thrive in English. Keep practicing, keep learning, and remember—you’ve got this.

Thanks so much for listening, and I’ll see you next time on Business English Made Easy. Take care!