Unsaid assumptions- What people think you know and aren’t telling
The phenomena where a person has all the answers in their head but they’ve been too deep in the topic to realize what they take for granted.
This is never intentional. As we become more experienced at a task one of the ways our brain lowers cognitive load is to focus on exactly what we need to do in the moment and nothing more.
A trail of smart notes helps combat unsaid assumptions, the path past you followed becomes a trail to guide others down. Smart notes allow you to lead others to your personal / the shared understanding of a topic, letting the assumptions exist in the public
How can you combat unsaid assumptions when there is no such trail? Smart questions. A single bullet point might need to be expanded to three. What part of the advice wasn’t enough? Where was it lacking?
Smart questions are a strategy to uncover these unsaid assumptions and properly document them, if not as a full trail to follow, at-least markers to start building a trail
If you receive a message about a project and you don’t fully understand what they’re saying, it’s likely they are assuming you have more context than you do. Sharing your viewpoint on the situation and asking clarifying question is a way to bridge the gap of understanding and stand on shared ground