I find it useful to have a conceptually explicit translation layer in some social interactions. Essentially, the meaning behind the words is often quite different from the literal words uttered and it's the job of the translation layer to figure out the former.

To riff off another thread, for whatever reason I don't have a problem pronouncing words "I don't know". But many people do. So if I ask someone a specific question and start getting some vaguely related bullshitty handwaving in response, the literal interpretation would be "He didn't understand the question". But then the translation layer kicks in and says "Oh, he actually means he doesn't know but cannot admit so openly". And instead of continuing on the futile path of trying to rephrase the question to be more clear, I'll just go find someone else who might know the answer.