I often see, when working with Spanish-speaking professionals in English, that people underestimate how much they actually understand. This usually happens when they are listening to something complex, especially when the topic is unfamiliar or the speaker is using a different communication style. They focus on what they missed, such as a word they did […]

A listening problem, or a measurement problem? A senior IVD professional had just completed a listening exercise. I asked him to rate his understanding on a scale from one to ten. His answer came without hesitation: “About 30%.” At first glance, that sounds like a listening problem. But I wasn’t interested in the percentage itself.