soft-skills
What should I do when I don't understand an answer? 2026-01-12 
It is normal and very acceptable to not understand things. As we often do things that we have not done before this is to be expected. If you don't understand something, please ask questions.
When you don't understand an answer it's important not to reply with the statement that you don't understand. Instead you should try to formulate a question that you think might uncover information that will help.
Try to evaluate the following things:
- Are there words I don't understand completely? If so, you should either ask for a definition of the words or confirm that your understanding of them is correct.
- Is there part of the answer that does not match with something I heard before? If so, ask for clarification on that point.
- The answer does not seem to be related to the problem I'm trying to solve. Indicate that you think there must be a miscommunication and that you will ask a new question. When you ask a new question try to add more context.
- You think the answer will cause problems. Try to confirm that the answer will lead to that problem and solve it together.
- The answer is too generic. Try to provide more context and ask if they can give an answer for the specific problem.
- None of these. Try asking them if they can give a reasoning for their answer or ask them to give a less detailed answer.
- None of the above worked. Tell them that you don't understand but will try asking a different question in the future.
It sometimes helps to use LLMs by asking them to rewrite the answer in a way that a junior developer would like.
Related
- What is a good question?
- What is the difference between a question (information gathering) and asking someone to do something (delegation)?
- When and how should I delegate work?
- What should I ask when I don't know what to ask?