this post was submitted on 21 May 2024
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what's it called when you try to be aware of this and inadvertently say stuff that comes off as condescending, umm, asking for a friend
ooooof
I know for men who are equal opportunity overexplainers it can still be seen as “mansplaining” when overexplaining to women.
But in general, if your tone of voice is right and it’s still happening, perhaps communicating your intention and a safeguard would work, at least sometimes?
I'm always worried about inadvertently doing this, so I've been trying to make a conscious effort to ask people if they need more context rather than assuming they do or don't. It's actually a good approach I think. Although it does depend on whether the person you're talking to is likely to just say "oh yeah, I know what that is" when they really don't
I've had to train literally hundreds of people over the various jobs I've had and it causes me to over explain in almost every conversation.
I got two tricks to figure out how much someone knows about a topic and encourage them to ask questions rather than lie just to avoid being a little uncomfortable.
First, I look for them to use vocabulary that I haven't already mentioned or if they seem to understand something just by using a couple words.
Second, I ask them to explain something early in the conversation to make it easier to ask if they don't understand something later. It's usually really simple, but it really does work to lower communication barriers.
I like to think it makes us feel more like equals trading expertise, rather than like I'm some authority talking down to them.
I hope this helps anyone