How to give the right amount of context

If you want to get things done, it's in your interests to provide the right amount of context to people that you need things from. Wes Kao's post talks about when you need something from your manager, but I think it's more widely applicable. Any time you're asking someone a question and they're unlikely to have the context in their recent memory, take a moment to set the scene.

The whole post is worth reading, but there are two tips that you can adopt today:

Remind them where you left off.

Task switching takes a tremendous amount of energy. Your manager is probably reading your note in between meetings (or during one!). Assume they’re reading with partial attention. Remind them where you left off so they can task switch faster.

🚫 “Here’s the updated link.”

✅ “Here’s the updated pitch for X customer. I incorporated your feedback and included a change summary below. Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll plan on shipping tomorrow morning.”

Be specific about what you need

Don't assume that people know what you need from them from your message. Make it explicit

🚫 “The new ad is updated in the Google Doc. It’s published in FB, but not running.”

✅ “Please approve the new ad copy (screenshot below). Once you approve, I’ll publish and go live on FB.”