Successfully Using English at Work. Tip #5: If Your Co-workers Didn’t Understand You at First, Try Saying It a Different Way
You know the situation. You start explaining something to a co-worker or boss, and when you are finished, they shake their head and say “I’m sorry, I didn’t understand.”
When that happens, don’t just repeat what you said again—try explaining your idea in a different way. Use different vocabulary and examples if you can.
For example, if you said at first “How do I fix this error?” but maybe mispronounced something, say instead, “There is a mistake, how can I correct it?” Sometimes, it also helps to simplify your language the second time around. Be extra obvious and the first explanation may just “click” (make sense) for your co-worker.
