The doctor
An ordinary appointment lasts about fifteen minutes, so put your main concern in the first one. The real worry mentioned with a hand on the doorknob gets no time at all. Describe and do not diagnose: "a sharp pain under my right ribs after meals, for two weeks" is more useful than your theory about what it is. Bring a list of every medication and supplement you take, with doses. Be truthful about alcohol, drugs, sex and the pills you skipped, because the doctor has heard it all and the answers change the treatment. Ask what the problem could be, what the options are, what happens if you wait, and what a proposed test will change. Ask about cost.
The lawyer
Many lawyers offer a first consultation free or for a flat fee, so ask when you book. Bring your documents in date order and a one-page timeline of events. Tell the lawyer everything, especially the facts that hurt you. What you say in order to get legal advice is generally protected by attorney-client privilege, and a lawyer ambushed by a bad fact later cannot protect you from it. Ask how the fee works, whether hourly, flat or contingent on winning, who will do the work, and what the whole matter is likely to cost. Get the engagement letter in writing. Hourly lawyers commonly bill in tenths of an hour, calls and emails included, so collect your questions into one message.
The mechanic
Describe the symptom and not the repair. Say what the car does, when it does it and since when: "a grinding noise from the front left when I brake, for a week, worse when cold." If you ask for a new alternator, you will pay for one whether or not it cures the problem. Settle three things before any work begins.
- Ask for a written estimate, and ask to be called for approval before the shop exceeds it, which many states require by law.
- Ask which repairs are needed for safety now and which can wait three months.
- Ask to have the old parts returned to you.
Before you leave any of them
Repeat the plan back in your own words: "So I take this twice a day for ten days, and I call if the fever is not gone by Thursday." Misunderstandings surface then, not next week.
Tip "I do not follow, so please explain it another way" is never a rude sentence. A professional who will not put the matter in plain words has told you whether to come back.
