Why I Keep Saying “I Don’t Understand” in SME Meetings

“I don’t understand.”

That’s the sentence I use the most when working with SMEs.

And no — it doesn’t make me look weak.

It makes the training better.

In technical environments (aviation, healthcare, engineering…), SMEs speak a different language: abbreviations, jargon, systems, regulations…

Sometimes, in the first meeting, I understand… maybe 30%.

And that’s okay.

Because my job is not to pretend I understand.

My job is to make sure the learner will.

So I ask questions.

A lot of questions.

👉 “Can you explain this in simpler terms?”

👉 “Why does this matter in real life?”

👉 “What happens if this is done wrong?”

👉 “Is this critical or just nice to know?”

And I don’t stop until it clicks.

At the same time, I do my homework:

I read, I research, I watch videos, I try to connect the dots before designing anything.

If the designer is confused, the learner will be lost.

Simple as that.

I’m Hoda, an instructional designer who spends a lot of time saying “I don’t understand” — until I do… so learners don’t have to😊