Indirectly Getting to the Point

I seem to surround myself with indirect people. This is amusing since I can be so aggressively direct that I often insult people. While tact is something I've learned over the years (especially since I've been married), I still expect people to tell me what they want. I don't know about you, but being asked if I want to take out the garbage 10 times in a row doesn't make me want to do it... in fact, it makes me more likely NOT to do it.
My favorite, though, is when someone proposes an activity or game plan, but starts it with "well, do you want to..." instead of saying "hey, I'd really like it if..."
With indirect people, half the time you have no clue what they really want because they're too frightened to actually come out an tell you. And then later when they're feeling picked on and ignored, it's you that gets in trouble for not listening to what they really want.
While women or more commonly guilty of this, many men do it as well.
So what is the answer? Obviously being literal doesn’t help, because the indirect people are aggressive enough to continue to ask the same question over and over until you get the point. So, I'm thinking that once again duct tape may be the answer.