ask two questions

Free · interactive · about 10 minutes

Walk in with facts and two questions.

One page for a regular 1:1. List what is open between you. For each item, write the fact you hold and where it came from, what is still unknown, who decides, and the two questions you will ask. Then copy a plain-text agenda.

Jump to your agenda ↓

Every example on this page is fictional. What you type stays on this page: nothing is saved, sent or stored, and there are no cookies. Print gives you the filled sheet on one page.

Step 1. Who and when
Step 2. What is open

One box per open request or commitment: something asked and not closed, or something promised and not confirmed. For each, write the fact you hold and where it came from, what is still unknown, and who decides: one name and where the name comes from, or Unknown, or n/a when nothing needs deciding. A name is written as the one who decides only when it comes from their words or a record. Then write the two questions you will ask.

Item 1

Where does the fact come from?

Where does that name come from?

Item 2

Where does the fact come from?

Where does that name come from?

Item 3

Where does the fact come from?

Where does that name come from?

Item 4

Where does the fact come from?

Where does that name come from?

Item 5

Where does the fact come from?

Where does that name come from?

Step 3. My one ask

One thing, with a time. Say the fact you hold first, in the item above. Two asks: pick the one that matters most and put the other on the next agenda.

Step 4. Before I go in

Check each line only when it is true. The page warns when a checked line is not backed by what you wrote. An empty box is what to fix first.

Your agenda

It is built from the sheet above and updates as you type. Facts come first, questions are grouped, and blanks stay in [brackets]. Read it once and change anything before you use it.

A name in Decides is who you believe decides, until they confirm it. An agenda asks for facts and owners; it is not a status report or a way to win an argument. Not sure which mark to pick? Practice it in three minutes. This page is practice material, not advice about a real situation. It is template 7 of the template pack; the PDF version is in the template pack v3 add-on.

Practice the two questions first.
Play a short fictional case, ask for the missing facts and see who decides.

Play a free case ↗

Site last updated: