Xjyuk

I'm the youngest/most junior in my office and often one of my managers will come and give me something to do or change some requirement for a project, then just stand behind my desk repeating the same sentence for 30 minutes to an hour.

It'll be something like:

"So I need you to change this function so that it takes in a CSV of filenames instead of one single filename. The function should take in a CSV of filenames instead of one filename. The function should take a CSV of filenames as its input instead of how it is now, where it just takes a single filename..."

See how annoying that is? So I just keep saying:

"Ok. Ok. Ok. I have all I need to work now. Ok"

But that doesn't stop him from continuing to talk. If I put on headphones or start typing he says:

"Hey I'm not finished!"

…and gets mad and aggressive, and keeps repeating the same sentence. I can't tell why he stops when he eventually does.

What's a work-appropriate way to say "Please stop talking and let me work"?

What's a work-appropriate way to say "Please stop talking and let me
work"?

Once they state the request, repeat it back to them and then say:

Do I understand the requirement/change correctly?

If they say yes:

You say "Great, now let me get this done for you", then turn from them and start working.

If not continue the dialog with the person making the request until they agree that you understand the request and then state:

"Great, now let me get this done for you", then turn from them and start working.

A word of caution, be sure to use a respectful tone as this person is your manager.

The key to this working of course is making certain the person making the request knows that you understand their needs. My educated guess is the person communicating with you is uncertain of your understanding of the new requirement or change.

In short: Make sure the person making the request knows you understand the need by repeating the request back to them.

An alternate approach: Another approach you could take is to ask them to email you the request so that you are certain nothing get's missed. This approach allows you to show you care about the requirement while putting the onus on them to give you the details in writing.

What's a work-appropriate way to say "Please stop talking and let me work"?

I'd suggest, don't say that verbally, let your actions speak for you.

Question: Do you know why they are being repeatative ? Do they feel you did not understand enough? Do they feel you're not paying enough attention?

Thing is, you need to make it clear to them that you understood the requirement clearly and not in need for further clarification.

So,

• listen attentively


• take notes if necessary


• and, once they finish providing the instructions, you can try saying:

"Thanks for explaining that. So I need to do X, and to get that done I need to
change P,Q,R and add Y to Z. Finally, the outcome should be X. Is my understanding correct?"

This is a method called "brief back", one of the popular tools in effective communication. This way they will have confidence that you understood the requirement clearly and in case there is a gap / mistake, they will get to correct it.

The outcome:

• If they say "yes" and move on, that's the intended result.


• 
  

  If they still continue to explain, ask them politely

  
  
  

  
  

  "Yes, but I think we covered that already, is there anything else you'd like to add?"

  
  

  
  
  

  Use different variants, to the best of your wisdom, based on the person / situation.

  
  

Educate your boss and get those requirements written down because verbal requirements aren't formal requirements and therefore don't count.

After about the second or third requirement, say

Ok, I'm probably going to forget these requirements or miss things because I'm working and listening at the same time. Could you please write these up and email them to me, and then I'll work on them all at the same time.

Then go grab a coffee while he walks back to his desk.

If any of those emailed requirements don't make sense, or contradict, then answer the email and request clarification. You now have a paper-trail.

I’d recommend just asking them to have the conversation over chat. You can explain that that way you’re able to refer back to the discussion as needed. Also, it’s important that your requirements be documented - so, when you do have the conversation, if your team uses a project management software, ask that your colleague write down the requirements somewhere.

Documenting requirements is hugely important. I live by the rule that “if it’s not in tracking software, it doesn’t exist”. This provides you with reference material to ensure you’re building and testing the right product, and it gives the designer an audit trail if anything happens to go wrong at the end and they want to know if they asked for a feature or functionality.

What I learned from the military is to keep your answers short, yes, no, and I don't know. Do not make eye contact and focus on what you're doing. This can be done nicely. The employer will see that he is interrupting your work at the least.