In the present article it is argued that some translators are loathe to ask too many questions of a client with regard to assignments, in particular medical translations. The aim of this paper is to encourage such questioning. The author claims that only by establishing the specifications for a translation a translator can analyze the translation situation and adopt an effective translation strategy. At the sime time the translator should learn as much as possible about the client's business. As a result both the client and the translator will benefit. This is what the author call the concept of cooperative advantage. The main focus of this paper is how cooperative advantage can be pursued with the translation situation.