# How I Give the Right Amount of Context  ## Metadata - Author: [[Wes Kao]] - Full Title: How I Give the Right Amount of Context - Category: #articles - Summary: Giving the right amount of context is crucial for effective communication. Too much or too little information can lead to misunderstandings and inefficiencies. To strike the right balance, consider your audience's needs, provide a concise main point, and offer to elaborate if necessary. - URL: https://newsletter.weskao.com/p/how-i-give-the-right-amount-of-context?r=3mtnp9&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true ## Highlights - how to give the right amount of context: 1. Remind them where you left off. 2. Be specific about what you need. 3. Mention if it’s an FYI. 4. Avoid being too detailed in the wrong ways, not detailed enough in the right ways. 5. Consider these variables to give more or fewer details. 6. Mention your criteria and assumptions. 7. Aim for the minimum viable backstory. 8. Main point above, context below. 9. Give a concise answer, then offer to elaborate. 10. Ask yourself what your manager will likely ask you. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j3xf9bat1s8md5rqxnbacp8p)) - how to give the right amount of context: 1. Remind them where you left off. 2. Be specific about what you need. 3. Mention if it’s an FYI. 4. Avoid being too detailed in the wrong ways, not detailed enough in the right ways. 5. Consider these variables to give more or fewer details. 6. Mention your criteria and assumptions. 7. Aim for the minimum viable backstory. 8. Main point above, context below. 9. Give a concise answer, then offer to elaborate. 10. Ask yourself what your manager will likely ask you. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j3xpnkf9hzq966hdpsc1ackm)) - When you share the wrong level of context, you waste time on: • Needless back-and-forth • Avoidable follow up questions • Misunderstandings and confusion (*“Where are you going with this?”*) ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j3xppa38zja5qfzdzsfmz105)) ## New highlights added August 10, 2024 at 1:08 PM - how to give the right amount of context: 1. Remind them where you left off. 2. Be specific about what you need. 3. Mention if it’s an FYI. 4. Avoid being too detailed in the wrong ways, not detailed enough in the right ways. 5. Consider these variables to give more or fewer details. 6. Mention your criteria and assumptions. 7. Aim for the minimum viable backstory. 8. Main point above, context below. 9. Give a concise answer, then offer to elaborate. 10. Ask yourself what your manager will likely ask you. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j4g837m951j0h550498m886t)) - When you share the wrong level of context, you waste time on: • Needless back-and-forth • Avoidable follow up questions • Misunderstandings and confusion (*“Where are you going with this?”*) ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j4g83mnkx2zkmx32m2xvxn3w)) - 1. Remind them where you left off. ... Assume they’re reading with partial attention. Remind them where you left off so [they can task switch faster](https://newsletter.weskao.com/p/how-to-present-to-your-ceo). ... 🚫 “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.” - 2. Be specific about what you need. ... Don’t assume your manager knows what you need from them. Be specific about what you need and what the next step is. Otherwise, they’ll assume you’re making progress–and will be surprised to find out you’ve been stalled for weeks. ... 🚫 “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.” - 3. Mention if it’s an FYI ... Don’t make people guess if they need to take action. If your recipient has to follow up to ask why you sent this, you’ve already slowed everyone down. ... 🚫 [No context] ✅ “FYI. Sharing because you mentioned wanting to see examples of X.” - 4. Avoid being too detailed in the wrong ways, but not detailed enough in the right ways. ... 🚫 “Consider extending the enrollment period. For cohort 1, your course was announced on May 13, providing 6 weeks to accept students, up until the August 1 start date. For cohort 2, you announced the course on October 7 and only accepted for the following 10 days.” ← This is confusing. ✅ “Consider extending your enrollment period. For your first cohort, you had 6 weeks to fill the cohort. But for your second cohort, you only had a bit more than 1 week. So next time, I recommend giving students more time to sign up.” ... Consider what the person needs to know vs what’s secondary. Every detail adds cognitive load for your audience because they need to discern what’s important. Now that you have this vocabulary about “too detailed in the wrong ways, not detailed enough in the right ways,” watch out for it in your own writing and help point it out in your peers’ writing. - 5. Consider these variables to give more or fewer details. ... You can share LESS context when… • You’ve made this type of decision many times and you have task-relevant maturity • The decision is relatively cheap and reversible • This is top of mind for your manager—not one of 25 projects they’re managing ... Aim for MORE context when the decision is… • Irreversible and expensive • Customer-facing or public • You’re making this type of decision for the first time - 6. Mention your criteria and assumptions. ... 🚫 “I recommend this platform.” ✅ “I recommend this platform because of XYZ criteria. The potential trade-off is A, but seems manageable because B. I vetted options, including [insert options] but thy didn’t seem ideal because [briefly mention why they weren’t ideal]. I chose [my recommendation] because it better fits our needs.” - 7. Aim for the minimum viable backstory. ... Backstory scope creep is real. You start with the intent of sharing only the basics, but before you know it, you’ve gone down multiple tangents—and you’re embarrassed to admit you forgot the original question! It’s hard to be concise when you’re trying to *process information, decide what to share, and speak the words*—all in real time. ... [Start right before you get eaten by the bear](https://newsletter.weskao.com/p/start-right-before-you-get-eaten-by-the-bear). [  ](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc628e084-3073-47ab-a109-6ac7eab53949_1920x1080.jpeg) - 8. Main point above, context below. ... The key is to *visually put the context separately*. This creates an obvious demarcation between the main point vs the supporting context. ... 🚫 [Actions, backstory, and context all jumbled together] ✅ [Main point at the top, context below] - 9. Give a concise answer, then offer to elaborate. ... • This [makes you look strategic](https://newsletter.weskao.com/p/how-to-present-to-your-ceo) and shows you were thoughtful about the decision. • This makes your manager’s life easier because you give them something to build on or push back on. ... 🚫 “I can elaborate on anything.” ← This is not helpful. ✅ “I can elaborate more on a few areas: For example, the other options I looked at, including (a) if we optimized for speed and could get this done in a week, (b) cheaper/more expensive options that I thought weren’t worth it, and (c) looking ahead a few steps, the risks I foresee and how I’m planning to derisk.” - 10. Ask yourself what your manager will ask you. ... • What questions does my manager usually ask? • How much detail—and what type of detail—does my manager usually want?