Supervisor Foundations · Lesson 2.3
CONFIRM UNDERSTANDING WITHOUT BEING INSULTING
A supervisor should not assume that silence means understanding.
Employees may stay quiet because:
- they are embarrassed to ask
- they think they understand
- they fear appearing inexperienced
- the supervisor seems rushed
- they do not realize what they misunderstood
A useful way to confirm understanding is to ask the employee to explain the plan back in their own words.
This should not feel like a school examination.
Poor
“Do you understand?”
Employee:
“Yes.”
Supervisor:
“Good.”
This may reveal nothing.
Better
“Before you start, walk me through what you’re going to do so I can make sure I explained it clearly.”
WORKPLACE EXAMPLES
EXAMPLE 1
A new cashier is being shown a refund procedure.
Instead of only asking “Do you understand?”, the supervisor asks:
BETTER RESPONSE
EXAMPLE 2
A delivery employee receives several instructions at once.
The supervisor says:
BETTER RESPONSE
EXAMPLE 3
A school employee is assigned a sensitive parent communication.
The supervisor asks:
BETTER RESPONSE
EXAMPLE 4
An experienced employee receives a routine task.
The supervisor does not need to over-explain every detail.
Confirmation should match the complexity and risk of the task.
Remember
Checking understanding is not the same as treating someone as incapable.
Workplace action
Use one confirmation question today instead of: “Do you understand?”
Quick Check
Which is the best way to confirm understanding?