Instead of what's new

What to ask to make sure you learn useful information

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to ask people what is coming up that
you should know about? Rather than the nebulus what's new?

(00:24):
This question tends to lead to information that really will
be useful to you. Today's tip comes from freelance writer
Diana Kelly Levy. In a LinkedIn post, she recommended asking
what are you working on next that I should know about?
Levy says she asked this question as a magazine editor

(00:45):
and asks it now as a freelance writer. Asking this
question means she gets to hear about topics that might
make good articles in the future. For instance, if an
editor has a major feature package coming up, she could
figure out what might fit with that. A writer in
this scenario knows exactly what she should pitch. I think

(01:06):
this is also a smart question to ask. In general,
what's new tends to drum up answers about any sort
of activity going on in a person's life or the
answer not much, which can kill a conversation right there,
what are you working on next that I should know about?
Or the personal version, what's going on in your life
now that I should know about tends to pull out

(01:28):
information that probably is going to affect you. So, for instance,
if you ask your boss what's coming up that I
should know about, she may remember to catch you up
on a project so you will be ready to do
your part in a few days. If you ask your spouse, kids,
or roommates this question, you might hear about things that

(01:48):
will affect your shared life, like a major work project
that will occupy your spouse for the weekend, a school
event you'll need to send, bake goods for a science
fair project you need to help with, or that a
friend of your roommate will be staying in your apartment
this weekend. Now, of course, these are things that you
might hope the people in your household would bring up

(02:11):
without being asked, But sometimes people forget or they figure
they'll mention it closer to when it's happening, But you
would be best off knowing it sooner. In any case,
you will probably all be happier if you ask this
question from time to time. Sometimes, when you ask what's
coming up that I should know about, the responses may

(02:33):
not be truly actionable, and that is okay. Your direct
report might share that she's been learning Canva in her
free time, now, you know. But still that's better than
asking what's new, which has a high probability of returning
the answer nothing much, and you can't really do anything
with that. If you ask a version of this question,

(02:57):
what's coming up that I should know about? I'd love
to hear hear what you learn. You can reach me
at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime,
this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

(03:23):
If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

(03:45):
listen to your favorite shows.