Rephrasing
The four kinds of rephrasing, Porter's six attitudes and turning a vague need into a verifiable request.
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Clarifying rephrase: what is it?
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Restating what you understood from a muddled statement, in order, so that the other person confirms or corrects it.
It checks understanding rather than giving an opinion: if the other person corrects you, the gap is caught before it gets costly.
A user says: "Your software wastes a crazy amount of my time." Which reply is the judgement attitude?
- "You should have attended the training."
- "You are losing time: at which moment mostly?"
- "Use the Ctrl+K shortcut."
- "That is annoying, I understand."
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"You should have attended the training."
Judgement evaluates the other person's behaviour. "At which moment mostly?" is inquiry, the shortcut is a solution, "I understand" is support.
The … attitude answers a statement with a question that seeks more information.
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The inquiry attitude answers a statement with a question that seeks more information.
It helps to dig deeper, but not to check that you understood: it can also divert the interlocutor from what they wanted to say.
Echo rephrase: what is it?
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Repeating the interlocutor's last words exactly, often with a questioning tone, to invite them to continue.
It adds nothing: that is what sets it apart from the reflection, which names the underlying feeling or idea.
A user says: "I haven't had time to test the new version." Which reply is the interpretation attitude?
- "Don't worry, everyone has been swamped this week."
- "Deep down, you don't want to change tools."
- "What took up most of your time this week?"
- "You haven't been able to test the new version yet."
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"Deep down, you don't want to change tools."
Interpretation attributes to the other person an intention they never stated. "Don't worry" is support, "What took up" is inquiry, and the plain restatement is understanding.