Strategies for Success

The 7 Elements of Making an Effective Request

Most conflict and breakdown in communication both in organizations and relationships result from ineffective speech acts. One of the most common speech acts is to make a request. A request is when you ask a colleague, employee or supervisor for something. Typically we make incomplete requests and then misinterpret the behavior of the other person when the request isn’t met. Make a complete request and experience immediate beneficial results.

A request consists of the following 7 elements:

  1. The requestor: The person making the request
  2. The receiver: The person whom is being asked a request
  3. The action: An action to be carried out
  4. Conditions of satisfaction: Offer enough detail about the
    conditions required for the action to be satisfactorily met.
    For example, if you want feedback on a document specify
    the type of feedback you are seeking. A focus on content
    or editorial, written or verbal feedback, etc.
  5. Deadline: Offer a specified time for completion. For
    example, "Please give me your written input on the viability
    of this proposed budget for 2007 by noon on Friday April 7,
    2006.”
  6. A background of shared obviousness: The receiver has
    enough understanding of the organizations shared
    meanings (contextual information) that s/he will be able to
    understand the request and respond to it adequately. For
    example if at a staff meeting the group agrees that "Susan
    will complete and present the sales report at the executive
    board meeting next Monday,” we are operating under the
    assumption that Susan, as well as everyone involved, knows
    what a sales report specifically consists of, how to present it
    the report to the board, where and at what time the
    meeting will be held, etc.
  7. Competence: The person of whom you asked the
    request has the required competence and or skill in order
    to complete the request. If you are asking a colleague to
    review questions for a psychology textbook does the
    person have the expertise in psychology to do so?

Making a complete request is one of the most effective forms of communication that eliminates conflict and misunderstanding in the workplace.

The person responsible for ensuring a request is completed is the requestor NOT the receiver.

This summary is an adaptation of information from Newfield Network. Copyright Cogan Coaching.

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