Predict the Obvious Follow-Up

The kind of people I enjoy working with the most are those that predict the obvious follow-up and answer them proactively.

When you share information, people don't just hear what you say. Most folks, especially experts in any field, are mentally mapping the gaps, the missing pieces, the "well, what about..." moments.

Bad Communication Example:

Developer: "The integration is taking longer than expected."

Me: "Why?"

Developer: "Some technical challenges."

Me: "What kind of challenges?"

Developer: "There have been some API compatibility issues."

Me: "With which part of the system?"

Developer: [looks frustrated]

This is not fun for either parties involved.

Good Communication:

"The Stripe integration is taking longer than expected. We're facing API compatibility issues with their newest webhook authentication method. Our current authentication library doesn't support the latest security protocols. I've already spoken with our security team - we'll need to refactor about 40% of our existing connection logic. This'll push our timeline by roughly two weeks. We have a temporary workaround that'll keep the current integration stable while we rebuild."

See the difference?

I didn't have to ask:

• What specifically is delayed?

• Why is it delayed?

• What's the impact?

• Do you have a plan?

• How long will this take?

  
  

Proactively answering these shows:

• You've thought deeply

• You respect the listener's time

• You're credible

This applies everywhere:

• Project updates

• Technical explanations

• Client communications

• Team meetings

• General conversations with literally any sane human being

The meta-skill? Empathy. Put yourself in the listener's shoes. What would they want to know next?