This week I emailed a colleague with a simple, straightforward request. My message included context. She responded:
I don’t understand.
What do you need?
Her blunt reply surprised me. A few colorful ways of responding came to mind (“Did you read?” was one of them), but I was hungry and went to lunch. After I ate, I wrote:
Hi [colleague name], apologies for any confusion.
Then I followed with three bullet points stating the same things in the previous email. This time, she said:
On it. Thanks.