How to tell someone their work isn't what you needed

When to use it

Use it when someone delivers something different from what you wanted. Take your share of the miss, then restate exactly what you need. The conversation stays on fixing the work, not on blame.

Example

In an email or Slack message

By email: “Thanks for this. I don't think my request was clear: what I need is a one-page summary rather than a full deck. Can you pull the key points from slides 2–4?”