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I was asking for help wrong for a solid decade
I always just said 'I'm stuck' or 'this isn't working' when I needed help, online or in person. Last month, my apprentice looked at me after I gave him a vague problem and said, 'Okay, but what exactly did you try first? What's the actual error?' I realized I never gave people the basic info they needed to actually help me. Now I list the three things I already attempted and the specific error code or symptom. It cuts the back-and-forth by half. What's the one detail you always forget to include when you ask a question?
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spencerm4613d ago
That "what did you try first" question hits home lol. I used to just tell my boss the machine was down and then get annoyed when he asked a million follow ups. Now I lead with the three weird sounds it made before it quit.
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troythompson3d agoTop Commenter
Yeah, @cooper.nathan's pain is real too...
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