Ask That Question

You're on a conference call. The topic is interesting but the speaker isn't making sense. You don't know if it's just you or if everyone else is following along fine.

So you stay quiet. Safer that way.

Then someone else unmutes and asks exactly what you were thinking. Turns out you weren't the only confused one.

Here's what happens next: your respect for that person goes up. Not because they revealed ignorance—because they were honest enough to admit they didn't understand something. That's a rare thing in most workplaces.

The person who asks looks confident. The person who stays silent just stays invisible.

I've sat through hundreds of these calls. The people who ask "dumb" questions almost never look dumb. They look like they're actually paying attention. The silent ones? Hard to say what they're doing.

Next time you're confused, ask. You'll probably help three other people who were too cautious to speak up.