Sometimes in life the less we say, the bigger impact it has upon those around us. I didn’t really comprehend the previous statement until several years deep into my experience as a manager at work. At my office job I’ve begun to notice how a casual remark can turn the tide of my department’s future. Let me illustrate.

My job obligates me to sit through a lot of meetings. We have meetings in the morning, meetings in the afternoon, and meetings during lunch and meetings right before the end of the day. Often times we have meetings to plan out the meetings we will have in the future and then have post-meetings to recap the events that took place within those meetings. Nine times out of ten these meetings are important and determine future practices and protocols that I need to be familiar with in order to help manage them. However, there are the occasions where a meeting is so extremely dull in nature, that instead of paying attention to the ideas and details being thrown out around me I will drift off and occasionally do long division in my head just to pass the time. After I’ve spent a chunk of time drifting and I have solved the world’s biggest problems and pondered my future two or three times over I will return to my body in time to hope that the meeting doesn’t end right as my leg is falling asleep for the eighth time that hour. Let me tell you, nothing is more embarrassing and awkward than walking out of a meeting while dragging a dead limb behind you.

I normally do very well controlling my zoning. I went to high school and college, thus giving me years of experience in this field. If I am led to believe that my participation will be needed at any point in one of these meetings then I will stay focused and contribute as necessary. The trouble comes during those times when I have resigned myself to the fact that I am just filling a seat and begin the zoning out process. Then it happens: suddenly and without warning I am thrust into the midst of the conversation by someone asking me a question. I am immediately snapped back into my body to realize that A.) I have no idea what the question was, and B.) I now have five sets of eyes staring at me intently, waiting on pins and needles for an important answer. It’s during these situations where my vague answers can save the day.

My vague answers come in three forms: agreement, deep thought, and confident indifference. All three of these formats have saved me at one point or another. Often times when the question is asked the first thing I will do is quickly scan my memory banks and attempt to identify the last person whose voice I heard while I was zoning out. If I am able to do this quickly enough then I can produce a response to let everyone know that, “I agree with Jim.” This causes everyone to sit silently for a moment before the heads start nodding and the discussion continues. When I go with deep thought, I furrow my brow, put my chin onto my first and let out a “Hmm” that lets everyone around me know that I am pondering their question. Eventually they will tire of the silence and announce that maybe it’s smart to rethink the situation. Lastly, there are the times where I snap out of my daydream to find myself armed with no prior knowledge of the conversation that is in progress. In these tough situations I will sit back, make eye contact with each individual in the room and give them a very confident yet indifferent, “Sure!”

It’s not uncommon for my managers to tell me after these meetings how much they respect my ability to make quick decisions under pressure and that if I hadn’t been in that particular meeting then there’s no way they would have reached the conclusion I provided. After these meetings all I’m usually thinking about is how long division is easier with a calculator.

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