Dispute, pause, protest

Why this matters. A referee's decision must be explainable through a rule, not through personal authority.

What to do. When there is a technical doubt, stop the process in the permitted form, turn to the side or chief referee if there is one, and write down the circumstances. For a tournament, announce the order for filing a protest in advance.

How it sounds. "I call a technical pause to check the procedure; discussion among the players is stopped."

Practice. Model a dispute about the number of votes and write up the incident.

Typical mistakes. Arguing at length with a player at the table, or changing a decision without recording the reason.