Communication problems derail projects constantly. Three developers translate what clients actually want.

Q: What's the most frustrating client phrase?

"'Make it pop,'" says Zara immediately. She's dealt with this for three years. "Completely meaningless. I now respond with specific questions: brighter colors? More contrast? Bigger animations? Force them to articulate actual requirements."

Chen mentions another one. "'It doesn't feel right.' Okay, what specifically? Is pacing too slow? Payouts unclear? Animations not satisfying? I've learned to build feedback forms with specific categories. Makes clients think about what they actually mean."

Q: How do you handle contradictory feedback?

"Screenshot everything," Tomás says firmly. "Client approves design direction in week one. Week three they want something completely different. I pull up the original approval email. Not to be difficult, but to show there's a cost to changing direction. Manages expectations."

Zara adds: "Sometimes different stakeholders contradict each other. Marketing wants flashy animations, product manager wants fast load times. You can't optimize for both. I make clients prioritize in writing. Forces internal alignment."

Q: What about scope creep?

"Happens on 70% of projects," Chen estimates. "Started as simple pick-me game. Client adds progressive multipliers. Then cascading rewards. Then social sharing. Now it's three times the original scope. I send revised quotes for each addition. Usually stops the creep."

Q: Best practice for project kickoffs?

"Detailed brief with mockups," all three agree. Tomás elaborates: "I spend extra time upfront creating rough prototypes and probability tables. Client signs off on these before I write production code. Prevents 90% of 'that's not what I imagined' problems later."