In communication, clarification involves offering back to the speaker the essential meaning, as understood by the listener, of what they have just said. Thereby checking that the listener's understanding is correct and resolving any areas of confusion or misunderstanding. May 25, 2019 Language, then, is the sum of all human experience since the beginning of humankind. Without language, humans would be unable to express their feelings, thoughts, emotions, desires, and beliefs. Without language, there could be no society and possibly no religion.
In the humorous American television program Seinfeld, the characters often find themselves in strange situations because of small communication failures. These little misunderstandings grow to the point of total confusion.
For example, in one show, Jerry and George take a limousine, or limo, meant for other passengers. They act like they are those passengers by using their names.
Listen to George express excitement about what they have done:
This is incredible! This is one of the greatest things I've ever done in my life! I'm going to call my mother.
What for?
To tell her I'm in a limo.
Hello, ma. It's me. Guess where I am – in the back of a limo! No, nobody died.
Some of the planned passengers later unexpectedly get in the limo and begin to make unusual comments. Jerry and George are unsure what these comments mean. But they soon find out they are among very, very bad people.
On television, communication failures can make for funny stories. But in real life, you probably want to avoid such confusion.
In today’s program, we will tell you how to get clarification on what someone has said or written.
When you ask someone for clarification, you are asking them to say something in a different way or provide more information so that you understand them better. This is different from asking a person to repeat something.
The person might not have explained themselves clearly, for example. Or maybe they used difficult language. Or maybe you think you know what the person means but want to make sure that you are correct.
Here is how you can respectfully get the information that you need.
Express lack of understanding
The first step is to tell the person that you are not sure that you have understood them fully. Let’s listen to a few useful phrases:
- I’m sorry but I’m not sure (that) I understand.
- Sorry, I’m not sure (that) I know what you mean.
- Sorry but I don’t quite follow you.
Using the word “that” in two of the phrases is more suited for formal written communication, such as work-related emails.
Other times, you may understand part of what someone has said but need clarity on another part. In such situations, you can be more exact. Let’s hear a few examples:
- I’m sorry but I’m not sure I understand what you mean by 'tech giants.'
- Sorry but I don’t quite follow what you’re saying about the new policy.
Ask for clarification
After you express your lack of understanding, the next step is to ask the person to clarify what they have said. Here are some phrases you can use.
For many of them, you can use “can” or “could,” with could being a little more formal:
- Could you say it in another way?
- Can you clarify that for me?
- Could you rephrase that?
- When you say…, do you mean…?
The phrase “When you say…, do you mean…?” of course is not a complete sentence. Here is how it sounds when complete:
- When you say workers are on furlough, do you mean they’re temporarily laid off from work?
Other times, you may simply need more information or a helpful example. In such situations, the following are useful:
- Could you be more specific?
- Can you give me an example?
- Could you elaborate on that?
“Could you elaborate on that?” is usually more suited to formal situations, such as in the workplace.
Put it together
OK, we have talked about the two steps. But we haven't yet put them together. Let’s do that now. Listen to someone expressing lack of understanding and asking for clarification:
- I’m sorry but I’m not sure I understand. When you say workers are on furlough, do you mean they’re temporarily laid off from work?
Here’s another example:
- Sorry but I don’t quite follow what you’re saying about the new policy. Could you be more specific about gift card restrictions?
Confirm understanding
There are some social or professional situations in which you may want to avoid directly saying you haven’t understood. In such cases, you can check your understanding by rephrasing what the person said. For instance, you might say, “Let me see if I understood you correctly. You are saying that…”
- Let me see if I understood you correctly. You’re saying that airport security workers are now working without pay?
Here is a very similar phrase: “If I understand you correctly, you’re saying that…”
- If I understand you correctly, you’re saying that airport security workers are now working without pay?
Another phrase you might use is, “So, what you’re saying is…”
- So, what you’re saying is (that) some hotels offer discounts to guests for not using their cellphones?
Or, you might say, “So, in other words…,” which we usually use when we are restating something in a simpler way:
- So, in other words, complex carbohydrates are starches that have not been refined.
Offer thanks
After the person clarifies themselves, you can let them know that you now understand and are thankful. Have a listen:
- I got it. Thank you!
- Ah, I see. Thanks for clarifying.
- Now I understand. Thanks a lot.
Clarify your ideas
There are other times when someone will ask you for clarification. In such cases, phrases like these can introduce what you want to say:
- In other words,…
- Let me clarify that.
- To put it another way,…
Of course, there are many ways to ask for or offer clarification, but we hope these examples help.
I’m Alice Bryant.
Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
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Practice
Now, you try it! Practice what you learned today. You can do one or all of the situations below. Write your responses in the comments section.
Situation 1
You are in a bank and you want to open a new account. The bank representative is describing the different types of accounts and telling you about online banking. You are not sure you understand his explanation of online banking. Express your lack of understanding and ask for clarification.
Situation 2
You missed an important assignment in one of your university classes. Your professor is telling you about things you can do to improve your grade. But she is not giving a lot of detail and hasn’t said how much each thing will raise your grade. Ask her for more information.
Situation 3
You are at a doctor’s office telling your doctor about a health problem. Your doctor gives you several suggestions to improve the problem. You think you understand but you want to make sure. Check that you’ve understood what your doctor has said.
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Words in This Story
character – n. a person who appears in a story, book, play, movie or television show
limousine – n. very large and comfortable car usually driven by a professional driver
phrase – n. a brief expression that is commonly used
formal – adj. suitable for serious or official speech and writing
lay off – v. the ending of employment of a worker or group of workers
discount – n. a price reduction
starch – n. a substance that is found in certain foods, such as bread, rice and potatoes
introduce – v. to present something for discussion or consideration
account – n. a record of money that has been paid and money that has been received
assignment – n. a task someone is required to do
Related
Following on from her tips for teaching speaking for academic purposes at graduate level posts, Li-Shih Huang, Associate Professor at the University of Victoria, Canada, now gives some practical suggestions and examples to apply those techniques outside of the EAP sphere.
Clarify In Japanese Language
You have probably heard your students say “I’m not sure how to explain it . . .” while speaking, as they search for ways to get their ideas across. Think of the last time your students (or maybe you) were searching for ways to clarify explanations so that the idea you were trying to convey would not only make sense to your listener, but would also stick!
In one of my previous articles, 7 Tips for Teaching Speaking for Academic Purposes at the Graduate Level: Part 2, I mentioned the importance of linking tasks that learners need to perform outside of class to in-class activities. In that post, I included an exercise that requires students to clarify a key concept using various communication strategies.
In this article, I’d like to follow that up with some brief explanations and simple examples, because the eight techniques presented here are not limited to the teaching of speaking for academic purposes. Being able to present explanations clearly, which is a key attribute of a speaker’s effectiveness in communication, is a skill that all speakers strive to develop, regardless of whether they are language learners or aspiring or practicing teaching professionals.
Researchers have established the effectiveness of various instructional strategies across disciplines, such as: using concrete examples to illustrate abstract concepts, using analogies from outside the classroom, and using personal examples (e.g., Civikly, 1992; Tobin & Fraser, 1990; van Rooyen, 1994). The following eight communication techniques are presented with the goal of helping your learners develop the ability to achieve their communication goals. Then some simple, fun application tasks that you can try are presented at the end of the article.
Warm-up questions:
Identifying Challenges and Brainstorming Techniques/Strategies
1. How do you feel about your ability to clarify your ideas or explanations when listeners have difficulty understanding you?
2. Share with your speaking partner(s) an instance in which you encountered difficulty in clarifying your meaning. What are some personal difficulties that you faced (or anticipate facing if you can’t think of an incident in the recent past) in clarifying explanations?
Eight suggested techniques:
1. Use a practical example: Provide a practical example that your listeners can relate to.
e.g. To understand what the phrase “leisure activities” means, think of activities that you enjoy during time free from school or work.
2. Share a personal experience: Provide an example from your experience.
e.g. To understand what “code-switching” means, think of the last time you or someone else simultaneously used more than one language or dialect in a single sentence or in one conversation.
3. Provide a definition: Define the key term that you are trying to convey.
e.g. The term “analogy” is defined as “a comparison of one thing with another thing that has similar features.” It’s used to explain and clarify meaning by comparing two different things, concepts, processes, or relationships in order to highlight similarities.
4. Make an analogy: Make an analogy to some other concept that listeners already know.
e.g. In writing, the idea of fixing micro-level issues, such as mechanics, without attending to macro-level issues, such as organization and idea development, is analogous to having the intention to paint a house that has a crumbling, shaky foundation.
5. Offer a comparison and a contrast: Compare the term with a similar term or contrast it with an opposing term.
e.g. Twitter is a type of social networking tool like Facebook, but it is different from Facebook in that, for example, you can usually start following anyone you want to follow without knowing the person or sending a friend request.
6. Refer to word origin: Share the origin of the word.
e.g.: The term “motivation” is derived from the Latin “movere,” meaning “to move.” (This can be followed by a definition.)
“Prefix” comes from Latin. It has two parts: “pre,” which means “before,” and “fix” from “fixus,” which means “to attach.”
7. Link to previously learned/mentioned information: Tie the term to a previously learned, presented, or shared piece of information.
e.g. The concept of metaphor is related to what we learned about “analogy” last week…. (Note: This is an example that you can combine with such techniques as using a definition, referring to a word’s origin, and offering comparison or contrast.)
8. Provide visual means: Illustrate what you are trying to say visually, with a drawing, picture, diagram or chart, to support your verbal explanations.
e.g. This graph illustrates the relationship between market supply and demand.
The word “wince” means a facial expression that shows sudden pain (illustrate with your facial expression).
Application Task
What has worked very well for me in my teaching of graduate English-as-an-additional-language students is having students get into pairs or groups of three. Ask students to choose two or more strategies and brainstorm an example that illustrates each one. Request that students be prepared to share their team’s examples with the class without revealing the names of the techniques. The rest of the class then will identify the technique(s) that each team used for each example.
Follow-up Task
Effective academic speakers may use a combination of techniques in clarifying a complex idea. The follow-up tasks I have implemented attend to this and can have multiple variations depending on the class size, time allocation, and learners’ proficiency levels. For example, when time permits for a follow-up task, I introduce a fun challenge, where I ask students to incorporate as many clarification techniques introduced as they can and create a one-minute talk. After each mini-talk, the class will identify (by individually writing down and/or calling out) the number and type of clarification techniques used; the latter is game-like and creates more fun and excitement during the application activity. The speaker who integrates the most techniques in the talk is made the winner of the challenge with an acknowledgment of his/her accomplishments.
Now the challenge is making the eight techniques become part of students’ communication repertoires that they can pull out of their communication tool kits with little or no hesitation. Share your creative ideas about how to encourage the application of those eight simple techniques outside of class in the comments below.
References:
Civikly, J. M. (1992). Clarity: Teachers and students making sense of instruction. Communication Education, 41, 138-152.
Tobin, K., & Fraser, B. J. (1990). What does it mean to be an exemplary science teacher? Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 27(1), 3-25.
Van Rooyen, H. G. (1994). The quest for optimal clarity of presentation. American Biology Teacher, 56, 146-150.
Clarity Language Access