Career / Work · Advice & Questions · Oct 18

Work decisions happen in a language I don’t understand. When should I ask for a recap?

Career / Work

I ordered the blue sample because that was the last decision in our project thread. At the next meeting, a colleague asked why I hadn’t ordered green. The team had changed its mind during a desk conversation I couldn’t follow.

Most of my colleagues share a language I don’t speak. Our documents and formal meetings use English, but quick conversations naturally switch. I don’t mind people chatting comfortably or talking about lunch without translating for me.

The difficult part is recognising when a chat has become a work decision. Sometimes someone gives me a quick summary. Sometimes everyone assumes I followed enough to know that the plan changed.

I’m considering asking for any change to an agreed order to be added to the thread, regardless of what language it was discussed in. I could also ask for recaps in the moment, but I don’t always know when there’s something to recap.

How would you raise this without making colleagues feel that every conversation needs to be in English for my benefit?

Discussion

2 community replies

@MaxOnMain

Your proposed thread update seems well matched to the sample mistake. “When we change an agreed order, can we put the new choice in the project thread?” asks for the decision you need to do the work. It doesn’t require translating every desk conversation or controlling which language colleagues use socially.

@MorganSays

The distinction you’re making is fair: you don’t need access to every chat, but you need to know what you’re responsible for delivering. I’d describe the blue and green samples as the concrete example. That makes the missing information visible without guessing that colleagues intended to exclude you.

Work decisions happen in a language I don’t understand. When should I ask for a recap?

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