This is a bit of an oversimplification but I've had really good results by making my first question "What have you already tried? Can you remind me in a couple

This is a bit of an oversimplification but I've had really good results by making my first question "What have you already tried? Can you remind me in a couple of hours?" I know you mentioned that, but often times asking that question makes people try again, or doublecheck what they are doing. Giving them the couple of hours gives them room to maneuver and _maybe_ save face. Do it a couple of times and the people with good intentions learn to learn.