"I once asked my manager to confirm the deadline for an upcoming project. He responded, "I think the bosses needed that, like, yesterday." I assumed he meant the project needed to be completed "asap," just like several other projects on my plate. When I sat down at my desk the next morning, he walked over and asked if I'd stayed up all night getting the project done. Of course, I hadn't. I told him it wasn't done, but it was the next thing on my to-do list. He was upset and explained that the project was now three days late instead of two. We both realized that we'd miscommunicated. I never imagined he was being literal in his response, but he thought what he said communicated the project was already a day late. We both agreed to use concrete dates going forward to ensure it didn't happen again."
