Things You Should Not Do In Meetings
Make excuses for your questions.
When you ask a question, just ask. Don’t precede it with “I know I should know this, but…” or “Is it OK if I ask a question” or “This may be a dumb (глупый) question, but…” When you precede (предварять) your question with qualifiers like those, you’re telling people you aren’t confident. Ask your question directly, without excuse.
Repeat what others have said just to be heard.
It’s important to make an impression in a meeting. Just being in a meeting is the equivalent of having a check mark next to your name indicating that you showed up to gym class. Attendance isn’t enough; you need to contribute (участвовать, внести свою лепту), but repeating others’ contributions doesn’t impress people. In fact, you just waste meeting time. Instead, acknowledge others for their brilliant point when you agree with it. “Chloe—as always—identified the most important challenge. As she suggests, I totally agree that we need to focus on that first.”
