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> you’ll definitely look dumb if you do the totally wrong thing because you didn’t ask a question. > Do not, DO NOT, assume they are too busy to answer clarify

> you’ll definitely look dumb if you do the totally wrong thing because you didn’t ask a question. > Do not, DO NOT, assume they are too busy to answer clarifying questions as you work on the [t]ask. Any tips for this when you're working remotely and online chat isn't an option? In-person, it feels easier to ask lots of small, quick, imprecise, and half-baked questions because you get a quick reply then can follow-up. Over email though, I end up spending more time articulating what I'm confused about and trying to pre-empt possible replies because it feels more formal and interruptive. Video calls can take time to arrange and have a lot of overhead. One trick I use for client projects is to have a Google Doc that I append small questions to as they crop up, I ping the client occasionally to check the doc (or they subscribe to edit notifications from the doc), the client writes the answers directly into the doc, and this repeats as the task goes on. Pros: the client doesn't have to answer everything in one go, client gets less notifications, feels like less formal writing is fine on both ends, feels more collaborative, it's easy to add follow-up questions next to the relevant snippet, you can add comments to the doc for quick discussions and to assign/track small tasks, easy for others to read and contribute to. (Edit: I'm thinking contract work here with non-techy people where you don't know them or their business well, and you'll have lots of little questions)

pc86 3y ago
> Over email though, I end up spending more time articulating what I'm confused about and trying to pre-empt possible replies because it feels more formal and interruptive I would try to fix this first. You're putting constraints/feelings onto email that other people don't. Just fire off an email with your question(s). Unless you're emailing the CEO or something, just type your questions stream-of-consciousness and hit send. Don't be afraid of immediately sending a second email "oh I forgot this question too, thanks! $QUESTION" Take a look at https://twitter.com/TechEmails https://twitter.com/TechEmails and the emails from high-level executives. Most of them are super informal. Some of the older ones between Bill Gates and MS execs are barely more coherent than text messages between a couple HS freshmen. I'm not saying to start including emojis in your emails to your boss's boss's boss's boss, but an informal quick email won't be a career ender by any stretch.
- brazzy 3y ago
  > I would try to fix this first. You're putting constraints/feelings onto email that other people don't. Just fire off an email with your question(s). Unless you're emailing the CEO or something, just type your questions stream-of-consciousness and hit send. Hard, HARD disagree from me. The point is not at all about formality or appearing bad towards your boss, it's about avoiding misunderstandings, confusion, and endless followups that multiply the latency and further increase misunderstanding and confusion.
jjk166 3y ago
"Hey Boss, I'm having a little trouble understanding this request, can you please elaborate a bit on what exactly you're looking for? I'd especially like clarification on X, Y, and Z. Thank you." Offload the cognitive workload onto them.
intrepidhero 3y ago
A phone (or a video) call has no more overhead and is no more of a bother than walking over to someone's cube for a chat. I understand that it feels like more to a lot of people but I don't think it is, objectively, more of a bother for either party. If you need the back and forth interactivity to clarify your question then do it. Your trick with a shared doc is also a great idea and has two additional benefits. 1. The act of writing is an extra step to help you clarify your question. 2. The question and answer are now documented for the future. Both big wins versus a quick chat that then needs to be written down.
nicoburns 3y ago
This seems like more of an issue with working with an external client than with working remotely. Within a company you can generally just ping someone on slack (or whatever messaging your company uses) for a quick 5-minute video call. For colleagues I work closely with, I will also just call them unannounced. The latter could potentially work with external clients (perhaps using their actual phone number rather than a video call) if it was arranged in advance. i.e. you have a kick-off meeting where you discuss how much contact the client wants and what kinds of questions should lead to immediate communication vs. slower async communication.
bcrosby95 3y ago
Even with access to online chat or even in person, I prefer to batch my questions together. It's better to interrupt someone once than several times throughout the day. Whenever I get a new issue to work on, I go through it, plan what I'm going to do, dig in my head for potential issues/conflicts, create a sometimes giant list of questions, break it apart into who will most likely be able to answer what question, then start the online chat conversations.

pc86 3y ago

> Over email though, I end up spending more time articulating what I'm confused about and trying to pre-empt possible replies because it feels more formal and interruptive I would try to fix this first. You're putting constraints/feelings onto email that other people don't. Just fire off an email with your question(s). Unless you're emailing the CEO or something, just type your questions stream-of-consciousness and hit send. Don't be afraid of immediately sending a second email "oh I forgot this question too, thanks! $QUESTION" Take a look at https://twitter.com/TechEmails https://twitter.com/TechEmails and the emails from high-level executives. Most of them are super informal. Some of the older ones between Bill Gates and MS execs are barely more coherent than text messages between a couple HS freshmen. I'm not saying to start including emojis in your emails to your boss's boss's boss's boss, but an informal quick email won't be a career ender by any stretch.

brazzy 3y ago
> I would try to fix this first. You're putting constraints/feelings onto email that other people don't. Just fire off an email with your question(s). Unless you're emailing the CEO or something, just type your questions stream-of-consciousness and hit send. Hard, HARD disagree from me. The point is not at all about formality or appearing bad towards your boss, it's about avoiding misunderstandings, confusion, and endless followups that multiply the latency and further increase misunderstanding and confusion.

jjk166 3y ago

"Hey Boss, I'm having a little trouble understanding this request, can you please elaborate a bit on what exactly you're looking for? I'd especially like clarification on X, Y, and Z. Thank you." Offload the cognitive workload onto them.

intrepidhero 3y ago

A phone (or a video) call has no more overhead and is no more of a bother than walking over to someone's cube for a chat. I understand that it feels like more to a lot of people but I don't think it is, objectively, more of a bother for either party. If you need the back and forth interactivity to clarify your question then do it. Your trick with a shared doc is also a great idea and has two additional benefits. 1. The act of writing is an extra step to help you clarify your question. 2. The question and answer are now documented for the future. Both big wins versus a quick chat that then needs to be written down.

nicoburns 3y ago

This seems like more of an issue with working with an external client than with working remotely. Within a company you can generally just ping someone on slack (or whatever messaging your company uses) for a quick 5-minute video call. For colleagues I work closely with, I will also just call them unannounced. The latter could potentially work with external clients (perhaps using their actual phone number rather than a video call) if it was arranged in advance. i.e. you have a kick-off meeting where you discuss how much contact the client wants and what kinds of questions should lead to immediate communication vs. slower async communication.

bcrosby95 3y ago

Even with access to online chat or even in person, I prefer to batch my questions together. It's better to interrupt someone once than several times throughout the day. Whenever I get a new issue to work on, I go through it, plan what I'm going to do, dig in my head for potential issues/conflicts, create a sometimes giant list of questions, break it apart into who will most likely be able to answer what question, then start the online chat conversations.