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CB.2:4.3 - Prepare the request, material and participation conditions

Help the recipient formulate a request that a suitable contributor can act on. For a case discussion, include the situation, what has already been tried, the uncertainty or choice, the permitted material and the requested kind of response. Distinguish an observation from its interpretation. Remove detail that burdens the exchange without changing the question, while preserving conditions that change the answer.

Confirm that the contributors have the necessary material and understand the requested result. If they need preparation, include it in their time commitment. Offer a smaller or different contribution when the whole request is too demanding. An explicit refusal or unavailable contribution is useful information about the arrangement.

Choose the simplest medium that supports the work:

  • use asynchronous exchange when participants can supply interpretable material and respond at different times;
  • use a bounded live conversation when rapid clarification or joint attention to the same material matters;
  • use a private or smaller setting when the permitted material or participants’ conditions make a broad space unsuitable.

A written case can prepare a live discussion, and a short conversation can produce a written result. Make the connection between the two explicit.

Agree how people ask for clarification, decline a question, signal uncertainty and obtain help with the interaction. Explain what may be shared beyond the exchange and who decides that. These minimal conditions let the first activity proceed; a wider or continuing arrangement may need more developed entry, norms and governance.