Making Sense Of Unclear Requests.
When you’re on the receiving end of vague requests, you need a toolkit.
Are you ever in meetings where you have zero idea what’s expected of you?
Welcome to the club. Nearly 50% of employees have no idea what is expected of them.
Instead of spiralling, there’s something useful you can do in the moment: ask clarifying questions.
It’s not rude to clarify. It shows you take your work seriously and want to do your best work.
To do that, you’ll benefit from a tool called a ‘reverse brief’.
This tool will help you use every conversation you have with a client, colleague or stakeholder to get clarity, before committing to a ‘yes’.
Here’s a quick guide.
The quick guide to a ‘reverse brief’.
A reverse brief is a checklist for yourself so you know what’s expected of you. It’s when you ‘interview’ your stakeholder until you’re clear what they want.
It’s called a reverse brief because you’re repeating back to them what you understand they’re asking. It’s a way of figuring out whether you can help them first, before saying yes.
Why is knowing how to do a reverse brief important?
One survey found nearly 50% of workers have no idea what’s expected of them at work. Half the workforce, secretly thinking, ‘I have no idea what they want me to do’.
If you can relate to this feeling, a reverse brief might be really useful for you.
How does a reverse brief work?
A great reverse brief makes it clear to both parties what is being asked of you, why you are doing it, and what will be able to happen as a result of you doing it.
It’s important, because if that isn’t clear to you, it isn’t a strong enough case for you to say yes. You need more intel before you can say yes. A reverse brief helps you get it.
What does a reverse brief look like?
A reverse brief can be anything from a document, a follow up email, a quick direct message online or a verbal check in.
A verbal check in looks like repeating what you understand the person is asking of you so you’re both on the same page.
A reverse brief in five easy steps.
If you find it useful to break it down, think about getting clarity on five things:
Play back what you understand, so you’re both on the same page.
Frontload their expectations, so they know what to expect.
Give them clarity on what could be a ‘yes’.
Share a quick timeline.
Make an agreement.
Let’s take a look at those steps.
Play back the request.
Play back your understanding of what you’ve heard. You’re doing this to make sure you’ve interpreted it correctly and the person understands what they’re asking of you.
This is particularly useful when it’s not 100% clear what they’re asking of you.
Examples:
“The CEO needs a report by tomorrow, is that right? The bit you need me to do is …”
“You’re thinking of a visual that showcases the milestones, is that right?”
“The most important thing this needs to do is …”
Sometimes, playing it back prompts them to clarify what they really need. Especially useful if they’re repeating someone else's instructions and the detail got lost in transit.
Not sure what they’re asking of you?
Don’t be afraid to get super specific, so you focus on the right tasks. After all, you can’t say yes (or no) to something if you don’t know what it is they’re needing.
Examples:
“Did you want a draft, or a finished version?”
“Just so I’m clear, you need four sentences, is that right?”
“Do you have an example so I can paint a picture?”
You’d be surprised how easy it is to misunderstand a request, or to deep dive into a task, when all they wanted was something small. Get more intel so you can say yes or no, with confidence you won’t let them down.
Frontload the expectation.
Frontloading an expectation means telling someone early what’s possible. When you are upfront about what is and isn’t possible, you build more trust. (As opposed to saying a flat no without a rationale, which gives them the impression you aren’t interested in helping them. This erodes trust).
Examples:
“I’m fully booked for Dec, but we can look at this in Feb.”
“I can’t get it all done by next week but I can deliver the first two elements.”
“It’s not my expertise, and I don’t want to let you down.”
Clarifying = showing respect for their request. It isn’t rude. What is rude is saying no, without a rationale.
What can you say yes to?
All your stakeholder wants to hear is ‘yes’. They don’t want you to say no. So, how to deal with the pressure of feeling like you have to say yes?
Flip it. Figure out what you can say yes to. Then, share that.
Examples:
“I can do the document today, but to manage your expectation, not the presentation. Would that work?”
“I can help you figure out what the next step looks like, and we can have a chat about who might be the best person to do it.
You kind of are saying no, but giving it to them on a platter of ‘yes’. This way they get the quick dopamine hit of an easy win, and you manage their expectations.
If you struggle with saying no …
Try this idea: I don’t need to be the doer, I can be the Chief Solution Finder.
e.g How can you help them find a solution, without defaulting to being the person who does the work?
A timeline.
One step better than ‘yes’, is ‘yes, with a plan’. The main thing is to let them know the earliest they can expect some form of progress.
Examples:
“I can get you a quick guide by tomorrow, and the rest next week.”
“The overview can be done today, and the timeline over two weeks.”
Manage their expectations on what they can get, by when.
You never need to say ‘yes’ on the spot.
Instead, buy yourself time to figure out what they want first, by going into ‘reverse brief mode’. By getting a reverse brief, you figure out whether you can help your colleague or not.
If you were that colleague asking, wouldn’t you want the same?
Do you want employees to have skills like this to manage expectations?
In our workshop, Managing Expectations, employees get tools to manage expectations of stakeholders. This creates more trust, less single person reliance and less stress.