Understanding Different Levels Of Understanding
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One of the easiest mistakes in communication is assuming that another person begins where we begin. When I know a topic well, some steps become invisible to me. I stop noticing the background knowledge I am using. Then I explain something to another person and feel surprised when they do not understand. The problem may not be intelligence. It may be distance.
A teacher has seen the same concept many times. A student may be seeing it for the first time.
A programmer explains an error using words that make sense only if the listener already understands the system around it. This is why good explanation requires more than knowledge. It requires imagination. We have to imagine what the idea looks like without the knowledge we already have. Examples help.
Simple language helps. Questions help even more.
Instead of asking, “Do you understand?” I prefer questions that reveal what the other person understands.
Where did the explanation become unclear? What does this word mean to you? Can you describe the idea in your own words? Communication becomes easier when we stop treating misunderstanding as a competition between a bad listener and a bad speaker. Sometimes both people are doing their best.
They are simply standing on different steps. The goal is to find a bridge between them.