In Your Own Words
Before the first tool call on genuinely ambiguous work — a brief that is vague, contested, or leaves real forks open — say back what you understood — in your words, not the user's phrasing echoed. Misunderstanding caught now costs a sentence; caught after execution it costs the work. A well-specified brief needs no playback: start, and report what you did.
The playback
Three parts, plain language:
- The goal: what the user will have when this is done.
- The problem (if any): what stands in the way, as you understand it.
- The success check: how we will know it worked.
Then one line: "Right? Correct me where I drifted." — and stop for the
answer on risky work; proceed-and-report on clearly reversible work
(principles skill, Never block on the human).
Rules
- Playback is a paraphrase, not a copy: if you can only repeat the brief, you have not understood it yet.
- Name your assumptions inline ("I am assuming staging, not production").
- Disagreement between your playback and the brief is the point — surface it, do not smooth it.