In the early 1990s, I joined a course to learn basic Portuguese. On the very first day, our teacher told us that we must speak only in Portuguese in the class. She told us that this approach would help us learn the language better. And if we had difficulty in understanding we could say, ‘não compreendi!’ (Literally: ‘can’t comprehend)
I struggled to comprehend what was being communicated to me in Portuguese. However, I could keep the conversation going by saying ‘não compreendi’ repeatedly till I understood what was being said. The other person would use simpler language or body language or even speak in English to make me understand.
So often, so many of us do not reveal that we have ‘not understood’ what was told to us. Some worry about displaying their difficulty and be branded as a person with limited comprehension ability. Some feel that they will understand in due course. Some believe that the incomprehensible may not be of great significance.
It is pertinent to note that when we don’t ask for help, we will not get it. We must be transparent about disclosing our difficulties in comprehending the communication. When we do so, we can be helped by explanation or clarification by the other party. We also display our interest in the conversation.
There is no shame in declaring our inability to understand. We must know what we don’t know. And we must not pretend to know. We must show (tell) that we don’t know (understand). We must ask for assistance in our sincere efforts to comprehend. We must declare ‘não compreendi’ whenever we are in a situation of disconnect.
Don’t pretend to understand the difficulty
Trigger clarity by saying ‘não compreendi’!
~ Pravin Sabnis
I struggled to comprehend what was being communicated to me in Portuguese. However, I could keep the conversation going by saying ‘não compreendi’ repeatedly till I understood what was being said. The other person would use simpler language or body language or even speak in English to make me understand.
So often, so many of us do not reveal that we have ‘not understood’ what was told to us. Some worry about displaying their difficulty and be branded as a person with limited comprehension ability. Some feel that they will understand in due course. Some believe that the incomprehensible may not be of great significance.
It is pertinent to note that when we don’t ask for help, we will not get it. We must be transparent about disclosing our difficulties in comprehending the communication. When we do so, we can be helped by explanation or clarification by the other party. We also display our interest in the conversation.
There is no shame in declaring our inability to understand. We must know what we don’t know. And we must not pretend to know. We must show (tell) that we don’t know (understand). We must ask for assistance in our sincere efforts to comprehend. We must declare ‘não compreendi’ whenever we are in a situation of disconnect.
Don’t pretend to understand the difficulty
Trigger clarity by saying ‘não compreendi’!
~ Pravin Sabnis
No comments:
Post a Comment