Scope creep usually arrives disguised as a tiny request. The email has to be friendly enough to preserve the relationship and clear enough to protect the project.
| Client says | You can say |
|---|---|
| Can we also add this small thing? | Happy to include this as an additional item. I can send over the revised scope and cost for approval. |
| This should be quick. | It may be straightforward, but it is outside the agreed scope, so I want to document the added time before we proceed. |
| Can you just include it? | I can either swap this with one of the current deliverables or add it as a separate change request. |
The phrase 'happy to' does useful work here. It keeps the tone cooperative while making it clear that extra work is still extra work.