Follow Up on an Unanswered Request
Added 2026-10-31
Do not push — lower the cost of replying with options, a deadline and an easy out.
I sent a request and got no reply for three days. Write a follow-up: 1) no blame — assume they are busy or missed it; 2) turn the request into a choice (option A or B, a single letter is enough); 3) state a natural default ("if I do not hear back by Friday I will go with A"); 4) make it fine to say no; 5) under 80 words.
Site original
Chinese original
How to use
跟进的关键是让对方用最小代价回复。
Try tweaking it
- Ask for three columns: conclusion, owner, deadline — ready to paste into a table.
- Let it organise only your notes; do not add decisions that were never made.
What you should get
- Task list with owner, deadline and blocker
- Escalations that need a decision, listed separately
Common mistakes
- Feeding raw notes and letting it fill in decisions that were never made.
- Getting owners without deadlines, so no task can be created.
How to check the output
- Every item has an owner and a date — ready to become a task.
- It does not record decisions that were never made.
Where it works
- Good for: turning verbal discussion into owner, deadline and blocker.
- Watch out: let it organise only the notes you supply — never let it infer decisions that were not made.