When you are in the middle of an English conversation, it’s normal to feel awkward or nervous. It’s normal to get stuck because you don’t understand what someone said, or because you can’t remember a word or you don’t know the right word in English. Don’t fight it. Don’t waste your time and energy thinking and worrying about how awkward or nervous you feel. It will just make things worse. Instead, memorize these useful sentences so that you know what to say the next time you get stuck in a conversation. 1. "Sorry?" Make sure that your voice goes up at the end of sorry so that it sounds like a question. This is not an apology. This is a polite way of asking someone to repeat themselves, or say something again. 2. "Sorry? I didn't catch that. Can you say that again, please?" In this context, the verb catch means hear or understand something that someone said. When you say, “I did...