Hi there 👋,
Have you ever sent a message at work… and later realized the other person understood something completely different?
It happens more often than you think — and surprisingly, the reason is usually small English habits, not big mistakes.
Here are a few quick fixes that can prevent those misunderstandings:
When you say:
“I’ll do it soon.”
People may not know when you mean.
A better way:
“I’ll send it in 20 minutes.”
or
“You’ll have it by 3 PM.”
Clear timing removes guesswork.
Another common one:
“Maybe we can try this.”
In some workplaces, “maybe” sounds unsure… even if you're confident.
Try:
“Let’s try this approach.”
or
“Here’s what I recommend.”
Small shift, big difference in how confidently you sound.
And one more that helps instantly:
Instead of
“I thought you meant…”
use
“Just to confirm, do you mean…?”
This one line avoids hours of confusion — especially in messages, where tone is missing.
These little adjustments can save you misunderstandings, extra work, and awkward back-and-forth.
If you’d like to explore a few more examples of clear workplace communication, I’ve included them here.
By the way…
Have you ever had a misunderstanding at work just because of one unclear sentence?
I’d love to hear — reply and tell me what happened.
(Your replies help me understand what to write next.)
Talk soon,
Raghavendra M (ClipYourEnglish)
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P.P.S. Forward this to a friend who's learning English. They'll thank you for it (and so will I).