"request" is a pet peeve of mine....
I know it's considered standard phraseology but it rings "stupid" and inefficient to my ear....
"Approach, Cessna 12345, request."
Cessna 12345, say request"....or sometimes they will make an assumption that the request is for following and will just cut to the chase and issue a code....
Seems to me better to either
a) if the freq is slammed and the controller is obviously busy, just say "Approach, Cessna 12345"
the controller will know that Cessna 12345 has some sort of request or question.....
or b) if it's not busy, just cut to the chase with "Approach, Cessna 12345, request following" or "Approach, Cessna 12345, request flight following"