Have you ever argued with your loved ones over simple misunderstandings（误解）?Little wonder.

We often believe we′re more skillful in getting our point across than we actually are,according to Boza?Keysar,a professor at the University of Chicago.In his recent study,speakers tried to express their?meanings using unclear sentences.Speakers who thought listeners understood were wrong nearly half the?time.Here′s some good advice to reduce misunderstanding:

（1）Don′t trust what you see from the listener.Listeners often nod,look at you or say"uhhuh"to?be polite or move the conversation along.But it′s easy to consider these as signs of understanding.

（2）Train the editor（编辑）in your head.If you say,"Beth discusses her problems with her?husband,"it′s not clear whether she′s talking to her husband or about him.Try instead,"Beth?talks to her husband about her problems."or"Beth talks to others about the problems with her?husband."

（3）Ask listeners to repeat your message.Introduce your request by saying"I?want to be sure I said?that right."Questions like"How does that sound?"or"Does that make sense?"may also work.

（4）Listen well.When on the receiving end,ask questions to be sure you′re on the same?page.After all,it isn′t just the speaker′s job to make his speech understood.

In the last paragraph,the words"you′re on the same page"mean that__________

• A.you're following the speaker closely
• B.you're reading the same page as the speaker does
• C.you should know which page the speaker refers to
• D.your story is written on the same page as the speaker's