When information is unclear, we need to claritfy it
We will practice confirming key information using specific, professional language.
This lesson will focus on a variety of strategies to clarify key information during an interview.
There are other lessons about confirming in this Interviews course, this one focuses on how to confirm one specific piece of information.
When you are doing interviews, how do you confirm information? What do you do or say if you only miss one key point?
Most students will have a good grasp on how to ask the person to repeat. Phrases like "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" should be easy. Ask them to think of a few, however this is not the lesson focus.
- I didn't catch that;
- What was that?
- Sorry, I missed that;
- Would you mind repeating that; or
- Could you say that once more?
This lesson will focus on what to do when you hear everything except for one key point. We will practice confirming only key information in the language section.
You can use question words like what, who, when and where to clarify one piece of information in a sentence.
Consider this dialog:
A: Turnover was ———
B: Sorry, turnover was what?
A: Turnover was about 3 percent.
B: Got it, thanks.
Person B repeated what was said, with the key information replaced by what. This way, person A knows that most of their information was communicated, and they only need to repeat the key piece of information.
If the information is still unclear, then person B can clarify:
A: We finished last ———
B: Sorry, you finished when?
A: We finished last w—k.
B: Did you say last week?
A: Yea, last week, on Friday.
The focus on this lesson is to repeat the information that you understood, up to the part that you didn't. Repeating information is the best way to show that you understand, and if you understand part, then repeating part is a good communication strategy.
If the information is still unclear, they can use phrases they thought of in the warm up, or:
- Did you say ---?
- I think you said ---?
- Was that ---?
- Sorry, ---?
Note that for non-native speakers, sometimes knowing that the information they missed is a who or a what etc. can be very difficult. It relies heavily on context.
Your instructor will read a key piece of information, confirm the part that is unclear:
- Sales were ———
- Our main advantage is ———
- We found that ———
- We'll start the project ———
- We’ve had this information since ———
Now try again, and repeat the information you hear, and confirm the part you don't.
Finally, your instructor will tell you about a topic. Try to politely ask for clarification as they are talking.