Consigne
Asked to sign something I don't understand
Don't sign. Asking first is normal and delays nothing; undoing a signature afterwards is another matter.
**Don't sign yet.** Asking what it is and what it is for is a normal request answered in a minute; a signature already given is far harder to argue with afterwards, because what you sign is presumed read.
The three questions that clear up nearly everything
- 1
What exactly am I confirming?
That I received something, that I agree, or that I commit to something. Three very different things.
- 2
What does it commit me to, and until when?
A term, an automatic renewal or a penalty changes the decision.
- 3
Why am I the one being asked?
Sometimes the answer reveals that someone else should have signed.
Important
**Asking for time does not make you look bad.** «Give me until tomorrow, I want to read it» is a sentence everybody hears every day and nobody reads as distrust. What does raise eyebrows is signing five pages in thirty seconds: the sender does not always welcome it — sometimes it means you never opened it, and that is a problem for both of you.
Signs it deserves a slower look
Watch out
A confusion worth undoing because it reassures a lot of people: **signing from your phone does not change the weight of what you sign**. The convenience of two taps makes it feel like something minor, and it is not: it binds exactly as if you had signed with a pen at a notary's. The convenience is in the process, never in the consequences.
Worth knowing
What your signature means on a specific document, what it commits you to and what room remains afterwards depends on the content and the type of document. **If what you are asked to sign carries significant consequences, your adviser looks at it first**; here we explain why asking beforehand is always cheaper than fixing it after.
›Can I ask them to explain it?
Yes, and it is the most normal thing in the world. It takes a minute.
›Can I sign only part of it?
No: the whole document is signed. If something is wrong, ask for it to be changed first.
›I already signed and did not understand it
Say so as soon as possible, in writing. The later, the harder.
A real case
The situation
A five-page document arrives urgently and gets signed on the spot so as not to look difficult.
What you do
- Asks for a day and puts the three questions before signing
What you get
An automatic renewal nobody had mentioned comes to light.
The situation
The document was meant for the director and reaches someone else.
What you do
- Asks why they are the one being asked, before signing
What you get
The recipient is corrected and the signature comes from whoever can give it.
The situation
It is signed to avoid seeming difficult.
What you do
- Asks before signing
What you get
Asking costs a minute; undoing a signature costs far more.
The situation
The document has a clause that is not understood.
What you do
- Asks for it to be explained in writing
What you get
The explanation is recorded alongside the document.
The situation
A document that does not concern their company is signed.
What you do
- Says so before signing
What you get
An ineffective signature and a correction are avoided.
The situation
There is pressure and it is signed unread.
What you do
- Asks for a reasonable window to review it
What you get
Haste stops being the criterion.
This article answers
- asked to sign a document i dont understand
- can i ask for time before signing
- what happens if i sign without reading
- i dont understand what im signing