Can I please ask how to not look dim at work?

[sparklins]

Apologies I did not know which topic to post in...

I am not very smart, but I have landed my perfect job a couple of months ago. Lovely boss, small company, growing.
I am part time as opposed to pretty much everyone else who is FT and I WFH apart from the odd day in the office.
Without being too outing I do a type of data inputting.

Unfortunately I am not very smart and it usually takes me a while to wrap my head around something that others just ''get'' - but also unfortunately I unintentionally come across super capable even when I have no idea.
My issue is that when I sometimes try to clarify something or work out the best way to do something I have the hardest time following someone talking to me about it or explaining something. Especially as they are all always on the ball being FT and more up to date with the systems we work on (which are custom built for this company so I can't even try to google tutorials or any instructions). I feel desperately out of my depth in comparison to everyone else who just gets on I usually just pretend I understand in fear of feeling like an idiot.

I am not very good with words or even explaining myself and I am now terrified of burying my head in the sand until I lose this brilliant job.
The company is very relaxed and laid back and they talk that way too - taking this into consideration could anyone suggest good ways for me to ask for clarification aka for it to be explained to me like they are explaining it to and idiot (that I am) without making myself sound completely stupid or admitting that I am just not very smart?

I am capable of doing the majority of the work but it becomes trickier when there is something that requires stepping away from the usual way of doing things/something that needs an additional or different way of inputting and I need to discuss the best way to do it with someone.

I think you're smarter than you think you are and that this is more a question of self esteem than capability. Everyone learns in different ways. Just because you don't learn in the way your colleagues do, doesn't make you 'dim'.

If it were me and I was learning something new and complex, I'd say to them, 'ok, explain this to me like I'm a kid, just so that I can be absolutely clear I've got it right'. You'll find that most people (if they're nice) will 'dumb' it down so that you can really get a handle on it.

Also, if you don't know what a thing is, say so. I work in a senior management position but I know that people can get carried away in meetings, using buzz words and 'lingo' in order to make themselves look more important. I've often found that if I say, 'it might be just me, but what is XYZ?' there's a sort of collective sigh of relief as others admit they too don't know what's going on. Never be afraid to admit you don't know what's going on. You'll probably find many other people don't too, they're just good at hiding it.

I think your self perception is holding you back. I am “intelligent” but if I don’t understand something, or know something, I say. I've been in my new job over a year and I'm still asking millions of questions! Otherwise it takes longer to get things right, and risks making mistakes. It's ok to have someone explain something and to say, “no, I still don't get it”. Or to interrupt to ask when someone is explaining, “what do you mean by X?” if you don't know what X is or means. Or “I just want to check I've got this right; you've said I need to do...”
Sometimes if I know I'm doing something I'm unsure of, I'll call someone to check I know the correct process beforehand. Or I'll ask someone to check what I'm doing by sharing my screen whilst I'm doing a particular task. By asking questions it doesn't make you seem stupid, it just shows you want to get it right first time. Go for it!

You come across as being very smart. One of the smartest people I know is very good at knowing what they don't know and clarifying things. They are very humble and will ask and ask until they get it.
I think it's a rare skill to understand where the gaps in your understanding are and fill them thoroughly rather than just trying to fudge through. It sounds like you are on the right track.

I am sure you are doing brilliantly, it's just hard starting somewhere new.

People forget how much jargon they use at work and just how much of it is nonsensical to a new person.

I just had to show a new starter how to do an easy but oddly fiddly task and ended up feeling really sorry for as she was never actually going to have to do it but it was obviously stressing her out. I just told her not to worry and if she was ever going to have to do it I'd provide her with screen shots and instructions because otherwise it just wouldn't be fair.

Luckily our team manager knows all our work is easy but fiddly so we're all used to providing written guidance with lots of screen shots, we go through the process together, then the new person does it while one of us watches and then finally they get to do it by themselves with the documentation but able to ask as many questions as they need to. It takes a while but means everyone knows what they're doing and can ask for help.

Good luck with the new job and don't be scared of looking daft, better to ask questions than to mess it up!