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Let's say I'm in a meeting and the VP of Marketing says, "We all know this feature easily can be launched next week." At least in the US, my silence could be u
by ShabbyDoo 17y ago
Let's say I'm in a meeting and the VP of Marketing says, "We all know this feature easily can be launched next week." At least in the US, my silence could be used later to claim implicit agreement. There seems to be some cultural rule to the effect of, "If someone hears another person say something incorrect and doesn't immediately state disagreement, he is implicitly agreeing or did not care enough about Thing X to bother commenting." If someone believes that others follow this rule, then he could claim that a commitment had been made. At a minimum, it would be easy to raise doubt in others of my competence should I later provide an estimate of a month. So, given these risks, how can anyone not speak up?
I understand letting some non-essential facts slide if there's little threat that they can be used against you later, but US culture (at least Midwestern business culture) dictates near immediate rebuttal -- no matter how gauche.
- idlewords 17y agoIf you're in a formal business meeting, then you're in a social situation that has nothing to do with the focus of this article, which is informal two-way conversation.
- ShabbyDoo 17y agoI agree that group interaction was not the focus of the article, but the parent comment seemed more general. Also, to a lesser degree, I think this unfortunate social rule applies in person-to-person interaction. "Why did you not bother to object yesterday when I told you of our group's plans?" In more informal social situations, I don't think this odd social rule is an issue though. After all, if I start talking to somebody at Starbucks about his laptop, it's hard for him to later claim I had an obligation to help him choose the right wireless dongle -- even if he mis-stated his needs for G vs. N connectivity.
- dkarl 17y agoA good comeback for this is, "You can't expect me to correct all the bullshit Gary spouts. I don't have the time or a strong enough speaking voice. I'd be hoarse within a week."
- eru 17y agoIt's highly context-depended whether you can pull this comeback.
- harisenbon 17y agoYeah, I mean what if the guy's name is Bob?