Prime the process

Sometimes people need a bit more specific instructions to begin

"Is there anything I can help you with?" This is probably one of my most commonly used questions to solicit requests from my students. As you can imagine, the answer in many cases is "No, all good".

Another good example is balancing "enhancing students' peer-review experience" and "overloading them with extra work". A good practice is to make it clear that "(PI) I will assign you relevant manuscripts to review from time to time, mostly for you to practice the critical review skills and/or to learn from your peer researchers in your field. But, accepting the assignment is completely optional; please prioritize your other commitments".