You've read ten sessions. That changes nothing yet.
Take one conversation you haven't heard from in three weeks. The one you keep thinking about and doing nothing with.
Three questions. That's all you need.
1. Do I know what it personally gains or saves him?
Not what it gains his company. What it gains him. Who is pleased, and who gets the complaint if it goes wrong?
If you can't write that in one sentence in his own words, that is your answer. The stake is missing, and no follow-up email will fix it.
2. Does he dare take this risk, with me?
Does he know what happens if it disappoints? Has he spoken to someone for whom it went the way you promise? Does he have to carry this alone, or does someone carry it with him?
3. Is there a reason it has to be this month and not in March?
A reason of his. Not your quarter, not your promotion, not your calendar.
Your work lies on the question you cannot answer.
And then the email you send
Not: "I just wanted to check whether you'd had a chance to look at my proposal."
But: you write down what you heard, in his words, and you ask one question. Is this what you expect from us? And if it isn't right, I'll adjust it before we begin.
Or, if you had no answer to question three: "I don't think this is urgent for you right now. I think you're right. Shall we look again in March?"
That second one feels like giving up and is the opposite. You are the only one who hasn't been pushing him.
What you have now
No script, and no twenty lines to memorise. One question you can ask of any stalled conversation: which of the three is missing?
That is the whole difference with the lists from session 1. Those told you what to say. This tells you what to know before you say anything.
And if you find you have the answer but don't know what to do with it: that is in the book. Part I is free and complete, no email address.
The exercise
One conversation. Three questions. Five minutes.
Write down the three answers, including the one that stays empty — especially the one that stays empty.
Then send that email today. Not tomorrow. The only way to know whether this works is to do one thing differently than usual.
The closing question
Which of the three is missing in the conversation you're thinking about right now?
That closes the course.