The Big Q: I'm having trouble understanding my colleague's accentPosted almost 5 years ago by Client Server

Q : I've just joined a team and one of my colleagues has an accent I struggle to understand. We're working together on an app and I feel rude asking them to repeat themselves several times over. What should I do?

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A : Unfortunately, there aren't any shortcuts. It's a matter of getting familiar with their accent, speed and inflections. But you shouldn't feel bad asking them to repeat themselves. One technique to help is to repeat back part of what they said and ask them to fill in the blanks.

For full understanding, you can send an email afterwards confirming the points you agreed on. If there's any confusion, it should be picked up there.

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