Apparently, I’m supposed to read my clients’ minds. I’m supposed to know exactly the style, content, and length of every project a client wants taken care of, typically on the basis of a one-line email.

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only freelancer who is expected to offer telepathy as a form of client communication, either. Actually becoming telepathic isn’t particularly likely, but there are a few ways to get a better idea of what a client is actually thinking.

Every client has different needs — and it seems like the clients who expect us to read their minds always have a few out-of-the-ordinary requirements. That means asking every question you can think of will pay off: if you can get the answers that will tell you what your client is thinking, you’ve eliminated the guesswork. Even questions that seem like they should have obvious answers can have surprising answers.

There’s one question in particular that I’ve found crucial — asking a client what his goals for a project are can provide an immense amount of information, es