We've all done it. You’re ending a Zoom call or finishing an email thread that’s dragged on for three days, and you just want to move on. So, you type those four little words: please keep me posted. It feels polite. It feels like you’re staying "in the loop." But honestly? It’s often the kiss of death for actual productivity.
Language matters more than we think. When you tell a colleague or a client to please keep me posted, you’re basically offloading all the cognitive load of follow-up onto them. You’re saying, "I care enough to want the info, but not enough to schedule a check-in." In a world where everyone is drowning in notifications, this vague request usually results in... well, nothing. Silence. Then, three weeks later, you realize a project has stalled because everyone was waiting for someone else to "post" them.
The Psychology of Vague Communication
Most people think they’re being low-maintenance. They aren't.
According to Dr. Albert Mehrabian’s famous research on communication, the actual words we use are only a small part of how our message is received, but in a digital-first workplace, those words carry the entire weight of our intent. When you use a phrase as nebulous as "keep me posted," you create what psychologists call "high-context" ambiguity. The recipient doesn't know what to post, when to post it, or how you want to receive that information.
Should they Slack you? Email? Call?
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Is a "post" a 500-word update or a thumbs-up emoji?
Why it feels like a brush-off
Think about the last time a boss said this to you. Did it feel like they were empowering you? Probably not. It likely felt like they were checking out. It signals a lack of urgency. In high-stakes environments—think crisis management or rapid-growth startups—this phrase is a red flag. It’s the linguistic equivalent of a shrug. If a project is actually important, you don't just "stay posted." You set milestones.
Better Alternatives That Actually Get Results
If you want to sound like an expert who actually gets things done, you have to kill the fluff.
- "Can you send a brief status update by Friday at 4 PM?" This is the gold standard. It has a deadline. It defines the "what."
- "I’ll check back in with you on Tuesday if I haven't heard anything." This takes the pressure off the other person and keeps the ball in your court.
- "No need for a full report, just a quick Slack message when the contract is signed." Now they know exactly what the trigger is.
Specifics are kind. Vague requests are unkind.
Honestly, the most successful people I know—the ones running companies or managing massive teams—rarely use open-ended phrases. They use "If/Then" logic. "If the client says no, let me know immediately. If they say yes, just add it to the Monday recap." This saves everyone about four hours of wondering what the hell is going on.
The "Information Gap" Trap
When you tell someone to please keep me posted, you’re assuming your definitions of "important" are the same. They aren't. Ever.
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Imagine you’re a real estate agent. You tell a buyer’s agent to "keep you posted" on an offer. You might mean "tell me the second they sign." They might think it means "call me tomorrow morning when I'm back in the office." By the time they "post" you, the house is gone.
I’ve seen this happen in software development constantly. A lead dev tells a junior to keep them posted on a bug fix. The junior fix it, but then spends four hours "polishing" the code because they think that’s what the lead wants. Meanwhile, the lead is sitting there fuming because they just wanted to know the site wasn't crashing anymore.
Breaking the cycle of "Checking In"
The phrase "keep me posted" is often a precursor to the dreaded "just checking in" email. These two phrases are the twin pillars of inefficient business communication. One creates the vacuum, and the other tries to fill it with more noise. If you stop using the first, you won't need the second.
When It’s Actually Okay to Use It
I’m not saying you have to banish it from your vocabulary entirely. There are social contexts where it works. If a friend is going on a first date, "keep me posted!" is a perfect way to show support without being a weirdo who demands a 9 PM status report.
In a professional setting, it works only when the relationship is so established that the "rules" are already understood. If you’ve worked with the same assistant for five years, they know exactly what you mean. For everyone else? You're just creating a mystery for them to solve.
The Cost of Professional Vagueness
Let’s look at the math of a bad phrase.
If you send "please keep me posted" to five people, and each person spends five minutes wondering if they should update you now or later, you’ve just wasted 25 minutes of collective company time. Do that every day for a year? You’re looking at over 100 hours of wasted brainpower across your team.
In 2026, where AI tools can summarize threads and manage workflows, being a "human router" of vague information is the quickest way to become obsolete. Your value isn't in "staying posted." Your value is in making decisions based on specific data.
Nuance in Remote Work
Remote work has made this worse. Without the "watercooler" or the ability to pop your head into an office, we rely on these linguistic crutches to feel connected. But they are false connections. Real connection in a remote world comes from clarity and shared expectations.
If you’re managing a remote team, swap "keep me posted" for a shared Trello board or a Notion page. Let the system do the posting so you can do the leading.
How to Handle Being "Posted"
What if you're on the receiving end? What if your boss tells you to please keep them posted?
Don't just nod. Ask for the "Definition of Done."
"Sure thing, would you like a daily ping, or just when we hit the final milestone?"
This forces them to clarify their expectations. It makes you look like a pro who values their time and yours. It’s a subtle way of training your superiors to communicate better without being a jerk about it.
Actionable Steps to Fix Your Communication
Instead of defaulting to passive phrases, implement these three changes today.
First, define the trigger. Never ask for an update without stating what event should trigger that update. "Let me know when the deposit clears" is infinitely better than "keep me posted on the payment."
Second, choose the channel. Explicitly state where the info should go. "Drop a note in the project Slack channel" prevents your inbox from becoming a graveyard of tiny updates that you'll probably miss anyway.
Third, set a "Silence Deadline." If you need to know something, give a date where silence becomes a problem. "Keep me posted; if I don't hear from you by Wednesday, I'll assume we're delayed and reach out to the vendor." This creates an automatic fail-safe that keeps the project moving without constant manual intervention.
By tightening up these small linguistic habits, you stop being a passive observer of your own projects and start being the person who actually drives them to completion. Accuracy and specificity aren't just for data scientists; they are the foundation of any career that's actually going somewhere.