How do I say 'speak slower please'?

The Chinese learner’s survival toolkit has three core requests, and knowing when to use each keeps conversations from collapsing:

• 说慢一点 — “speak a bit slower.” Use when speed is the issue. The 一点 (a bit) makes it reasonable rather than demanding — you are not asking them to speak at half speed, just a notch down.
• 再说一遍 — “say it again.” Use when you need a full repetition. Often paired with 不好意思 or 请.
• 我没听清 — “I didn’t catch that.” Blames the hearing, not the speaking. Softer than 听不懂 which can feel like “your Chinese is incomprehensible.”

The politeness wrappers: a bare 说慢点 can sound like an order. Any of these make it a polite request:

• 请说慢一点 — most direct polite form
• 能不能说慢一点 — softer, asks about possibility
• 可以说慢一点吗 — gentlest, asks about permission

The phrase that keeps conversations alive: 你刚才说什么？(What did you just say?) signals that you are engaged and trying, not that you have given up. Adding 不好意思 before it acknowledges the inconvenience. The goal is to keep the other person talking, not to make them feel their Chinese is too advanced for you.