sounding out someone's intentions; gauging someone's wishes
Used in business or formal contexts when you discreetly ask about another person's plans, opinions, or willingness before making a proposal or decision.
Before starting the project, we sounded out the intentions of the people involved.
The transfer hasn't been officially decided yet, but my boss sounded me out about it.
打診 alone means 'sounding out' or 'making a preliminary inquiry' in general. 意向打診 specifically targets someone's intentions or wishes.
意向確認 is more direct, meaning 'confirmation of intentions', while 意向打診 implies a softer, more tentative approach.
Compound of 意向 (intention) and 打診 (sounding out, originally a medical term for percussion). The figurative use of 打診 for 'testing the waters' is well established in business Japanese.