12/01/2025
Please repeat instead!
What is it about the killer phrase “never mind”…?
A tiny phrase we use every now and then.
A phrase we never really think about.
It comes naturally, without effort, without rehearsing.
It just slips out of our mouths.
But for deaf people… this small phrase carries a big weight.
Last week I saw it popping up in the comments section again.
Parents talking about it.
Deaf adults remembering it.
And from a bit of my own reflections:
“Never mind” isn’t deaf-friendly.
Not even a little.
When someone asks:
“What did you say?”
“Can you repeat that?”
“I didn’t catch it…”
And the answer is:
“Never mind.”
It doesn’t feel small.
It doesn’t feel casual.
It doesn’t feel harmless.
It can feel like:
You don’t need to know.
You’re not part of this.
It’s too much effort to include you.
“Never mind” isn’t just dismissive…
it’s exclusion in two words.
Most people don’t mean it that way.
Or they’ve used it without realising what it does
because it’s a habit.
A shortcut.
A filler phrase we throw out without thinking.
But for deaf adults and children,
it can shape how they see conversations…
how they see themselves…
how they see their place in the world.
Because inclusion is built in the small moments:
Repeating.
Turning.
Slowing down.
Making space.
And exclusion…
also happens in those small moments.
So maybe today, we can retire “never mind.”
Replace it with:
“Let me repeat that.”
“Here’s what I said.”
“I want you to be part of this.”
Because every deaf person
with or without technology
deserves to feel included in the conversation.
Every time.
Every moment.
Every word.
© Talking Deaf Kid, 2025
