3 ways to work with someone who wont respond to your messages

3 ways to work with someone who wont respond to your messages3 ways to work with someone who wont respond to your messagesYou know when youre working on a huge assignment with a coworker, and while they mean well, they fail to respond to your emails, Slack messages, or calls on time? You might be wondering how to keep the ball rolling so you dont fall behind - and going through these emotional stages of waiting for someone to respond to your email, as humorously detailed by Levo.Here are three ways to keep things moving.Leave the ball in their court - but just temporarilyGive them a window of time before moving on.Ashley Cobert, a PR professional, writes in The Muse that you should give assignments deadlines.To prevent your email or voicemail from being put in the pile of whenever I get to it, ask specific questions or give action items, and provide a timeline for when youd prefer a response, she writes. With certain projects and clients, Ive found success with stating, Please prov ide feedback by Friday. At that time, I will be updating and sending this document to the rest of the team for review. Its a nice way to imply, If you dont get to it in time, youve lost your say in the matter.Do half of the work for themAlison Green, author of the Ask a Manager blog, writes on Quick Base that you should make it easy for the person to give you a quick answer.Some people put off responding to requests because it looks time-consuming and they figure theyll do it later (and then often just never come back to it). You can sometimes head this off by making it really easy for them to give you a quick response, she writes. For example, try to ask yes/no questions, so the person can respond quickly. (One thing that will help with that is giving a quick proposal and does that sounds okay to you? rather than an open-ended what should we do about X?) And keep emails short so the person doesnt have to wade through dense paragraphs.Talk to them in personYou could always approach them about it.Etiquette expert Peggy deutsche bundespost, author and a director of The Emily Post Institute, writes in Good Housekeeping about what to do when a colleague repeatedly doesnt respond to your emails asking for information, which holds up assignments and is making you think its hurting your reputation.She lists three options - taking the situation to her boss, confronting her, or escalating it to her boss/working around her, or creating a personal electronic reminder system letting you know when your email requests havent been answered.Post writes that the second option is the right choice.Its time to pay a visit to the woman - in person (not by email). Calmly explain your need for the information and the importance of the time frame. But keep an open mind and remain friendly. There may be many reasons why she isnt responding She could be overworked or she may not see your request as a priority assignment. Once youve amicably worked out the best way to get the informat ion - she may tell you to ask someone mora appropriate - the right person should accommodate you. If not, go up the ladder to her supervisor, she writes.