Hi
Have you ever been in a situation where someone doesn't understand what you're saying or they can't hear you clearly? Here are a few tips to help you overcome some basic communication problems in English.
If you don't understand what someone says:
If you are speaking to someone and you don't understand the meaning of what they say, you could say:
I’m not sure what you mean. Could you rephrase that, please?
If you ask someone to rephrase something, you are asking them to express the same meaning using different words. This is a useful phrase since you might not have understood because of the language they've used.
You could also use these phrases to clarify the meaning of what’s been said:
Could you explain what you mean?
What do you mean?
I’m sorry I don’t understand.
Could you explain what you mean by….?
Could you clarify what you mean when you say….?
If you can't hear what someone says:
If you can't hear what someone has said, try these phrases:
Sorry, I didn’t hear the last part of what you said.
Sorry, I didn’t catch the last part of what you said.
Could you say that again please?
Could you please repeat that?
Would you mind repeating that?
Would you mind talking a little slower, because my English is not fluent yet?
Sorry, could you speak up a little, please?
Would you mind speaking a little louder, please?
If someone can't hear what you've said:
Sometimes people may not understand what you are saying if you make a grammar mistake or use vocabulary in the wrong way. In these situations, you can say:
Let me rephrase that.
Let me try and say that again in a different way.
I’m trying to say that….
I wanted to say that….
Let me try to explain.
