You’re in the staff lounge, and the basketball coach walks in.

You: How’d the game go last night?
Coach: Pretty well.

You: What was the score?
Coach: The players dribbled, rebounded, passed the ball, and took shots.

You: Did you achieve your game objectives?
Coach: The kids played.

You: How will you prepare for next game?
Coach: We’ll keep practicing.

How are you feeling about the conversation? Personally, I’m frustrated. I’m beginning to wonder how well the coach understands basketball.

Let’s try the conversation again:

You: How’d the game go last night?
Coach: Pretty well.

You: What was the score?
Coach: 65-64 in double-overtime. We lost.

You: Did you achieve your game objectives?
Coach: Yes. We out-rebounded our opponents and made 80% of our freethrows.

You: How will you prepare for next game?
Coach: We’ll work on work on reducing the number of shots in the key. Our opponents scored 24 points in the key.

Sounds better.

Question: When someone asks you about your work, what does your conversation sound like?

Real question: What will you do to clearly communicate results?

Work smart. Today.