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What to say when a client asks something you don’t know

It happens in every client meeting: a question about a date, a number or a detail you don’t have in front of you. A calm, honest line and a clear follow-up keep the client’s trust. A guess does not.

Updated 12 November 2026 · 5 min read · Published by Interview Sarthi, makers of Meeting Sarthi (help in client meetings on Windows)

Short answer: Never guess a date, a number or a commitment. Say what you do know, say when you will confirm the rest, write the question down, and reply before the time you promised. “Let me confirm that and get back to you by end of day today.”

Why a guess costs more than “I’ll confirm”

Whatever you say in a client meeting becomes something the client remembers, and often something they repeat to their own manager. A guessed go-live date turns into a promise. Correcting it a week later costs far more trust than saying “I’ll confirm” today. Clients rarely mind a short wait for a correct answer. They do mind a wrong one.

Lines that work

Each line does three things: it is honest, it gives a time, and it keeps the meeting moving. Avoid “soon” and “I’ll check internally” with no time attached.

Then follow up

1. Write the question down in the meeting, in the client’s words.
2. Give a time, not “soon”. End of day, tomorrow morning, Thursday.
3. Put it in the recap you send after the meeting, under your action items.
4. Reply before the time you promised. If you cannot, tell the client before the deadline, not after.

Prepare, so it happens less

Most client questions are predictable: status, dates, blockers, what changed since last time, and cost. Before the meeting, write down the five questions you are most likely to get and the answer to each. Keep your project status in writing, with dates and numbers, so you are not answering from memory.

Where Meeting Sarthi helps

Meeting Sarthi is a Windows app for client meetings, built around this exact moment:

• Before the meeting: Prepare lists the questions the client is likely to ask, with answers from your own project.
• During the meeting: live captions show what the client said, and a short reply from your own project appears when they ask something.
• It never invents dates, names or numbers: only what you confirmed in your notes and documents. When there is nothing to go on, it suggests “I’ll confirm and get back to you.”
• After the meeting: a recap with to-dos, as drafts you confirm, so the follow-ups are not forgotten.

It never joins the meeting and works with Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Webex or any other app. Captions and recaps are free. Live answers are free for the first 30 minutes on each computer, then ₹299 for 30 days on 2 computers, paid once and never renewing.

Questions people ask