---
id: con-clarifying-questions
schema: concept/1
layer: garden
status: established
name: Clarifying questions
aka: ["ask me questions first", "interview me", "reverse prompting"]
summary: >
  Asking the AI to question you about the task before it starts, so gaps in your request surface
  early and you make the decisions the AI would otherwise guess at.
first_seen: unknown
relations:
  builds_on: [con-prompting]
  evolved_from: []
  related: [con-steering, con-productive-friction, con-deep-research]
  parallels:
    - idea: "the reference interview"
      field: "librarianship"
      note: "Librarians ask what you actually need before searching, because the first question is rarely the real one."
    - idea: "requirements gathering"
      field: "business analysis"
implementations: []
competencies: [cmp-frame-the-outcome, cmp-describe-the-task]
origin:
  kind: ai-proposed
  by: "seed agent 2026-10-16"
  rationale: "Low-effort, high-yield move that keeps the learner in charge of decisions; practised in a seed project card."
---

When a request is vague, AI tends to fill the gaps silently and hand you something polished that solves a slightly different problem. A simple fix is to say: "Before you start, ask me up to five questions you need answered to do this well. Ask them one at a time."

The questions show you what you hadn't decided yet: who the audience is, how long it should be, what is off limits, when it is really due. Answering them often clarifies your own thinking more than the final output does.

This works best when you answer in your own words and push back on questions that don't matter.

## Example

A team lead asks for an offsite agenda and adds "ask me questions first". The AI asks about group size, goals, budget, and whether there are tensions to handle. That last question makes her realise the real goal is repairing trust between two teams, which changes the whole plan.

## How it connects

- A twist on **prompting** where the AI asks and you answer.
- An early form of **steering**: you set direction before any work happens.
- A light dose of **productive friction** that makes you think first.

## Try it

On your next real task, add "Ask me three questions before you start, one at a time." Guess which question it will ask first.