Have you ever been presenting to a group and asked “does everyone understand?” and got a sea of blank faces?
When that happened, did you a) assume everyone understood, or b) seek to make absolutely sure by asking again and differently? if the latter, how did you go about it?
Of course it would be ideal if someone who did not understand simply said “I don’t understand”, however there may be multiple reasons why someone may not do so, including
- Lack of confidence
- Perceived or actual lack of stature in the group, as well as
- Cultural norms between cultures (eg some countries are very direct in their responses, others absolutely will not show weakness or disagreemetn in a group setting).
When I am presenting, I do like to check in regularly during the presentation that what I am saying is understood. I typically use a phrase like: “is this making sense?” as it feel more open than “do you understand?”.
If I still feel that people are hesitant, reticent to speak up, I may personalise things with humility to normalise speaking up. I might say something like: “I totally get that this is a new idea that may be counter-intuitive to you. The first time this was presented to me I was confused so asked a number of questions until it became clear to me, so I am guessing there are questions in the group. I’d love to hear them now!”.
I’d love to hear your tips and tricks on this, as well as any shared learnings and experiences.