quote:

Originally posted by klingklang77 i understand what you are saying, but i think you have to realise who you are talking to. you blame the demographics, but maybe you should just re-word what you are saying, explain yourself better or just dumb it down. you have to understand that people have different ways to understand concepts. so sort of read the person you are talking to and speak in their language. or maybe you are just talking quickly

dumbing stuff down is actually an important skill, because you WILL need to explain something to someone with less knowledge in the area at some stage in your life. Take for instance a mechanic, they need to dumb stuff down for most people cos otheerwise they wouldn't be understood. Its not so much a matter of being smart, but being able to explain concisely and in everday terms.

I'm Australian (hey, so is Klingklang), apparently we talk really fast and then apparently I talk faster again so people are always not undestanding me. That and my thought processes are pretty convoluted and I tend to think out aloud so all in all some people struggle to get my point. That goes back to what I was saying about wishing I could articulate my thoughts better.

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quote:

Originally posted by Trance Nutter dumbing stuff down is actually an important skill, because you WILL need to explain something to someone with less knowledge in the area at some stage in your life. Take for instance a mechanic, they need to dumb stuff down for most people cos otheerwise they wouldn't be understood. Its not so much a matter of being smart, but being able to explain concisely and in everday terms. I'm Australian (hey, so is Klingklang), apparently we talk really fast and then apparently I talk faster again so people are always not undestanding me. That and my thought processes are pretty convoluted and I tend to think out aloud so all in all some people struggle to get my point. That goes back to what I was saying about wishing I could articulate my thoughts better.

actually i am not Australian, but my fiance is and i will be a resident in august (marrying an aussie) and moving to Oz for a few years (i just spent the last year there). i am american, but did most of my linguistic studies in Oz, so i gained alot about different 'forms' of english. but i totally understand how you could be misunderstood. it took me a while to understand the accent, but my fiance is australian so i have lots of listening practice (but then again, we first met speaking german to each other, go figure).

i am an ESL teacher, so i have learned lots about dumbing stuff down. they (the students) are there to learn and i have to put it in words they can understand, i have no choice. plus it is not in their first language, so i have to be clear. explaining things is something that is an ongoing process for me as a teacher.

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