Real time response
The do not know framework
Handle being asked something you genuinely cannot answer.
The problem it addresses
The two available reflexes are bluffing and freezing, and both cost more than the missing knowledge did.
The shape
- Acknowledge that you do not have it
- Think aloud, so the reasoning is visible
- Attempt the part you can reach
- Offer how you would find the rest
Why that order
The offer is the part that keeps your credibility. Not knowing a fact is ordinary. Not knowing how you would find it is the thing that reads as unprepared.
A worked example
I do not have that number in front of me. What I do know is that the trend has been upward for three months, and the two likely drivers are delivery and onboarding. I can have the exact figure to you this afternoon.
You have it right when
You are asked again next time, which is the actual test.
What usually goes wrong
Saying I do not know and stopping. That is honest and it is also the end of the conversation.
Practise it
Knowing the shape is about ten minutes of work. Running it while somebody senior is looking at you is a different thing, and that is what these are for.
Mostly serves Presence, and reaches into Message and Connection.
A framework tells you what shape the answer takes. It cannot tell you whether shape is what you are short of, and for most people it is not. Which one is yours, and whether a framework is the right instrument at all, is what a Discovery Call is for.
Take the AssessmentOr read the whole glossary first.