Saying “I don’t know” can be one of the smartest, empowering, and most liberating things you can say during a pivotal point in any meeting. As I feel I have enough meetings (lifetime) under my belt to begin to comment on what works and what doesn’t – nothing glaringly stands out like the power of “I don’t know”
I use this phrase quite often in my office, as Andrew can vouch for, as I am a newcomer to the venture capital world – but this is not quite the context I mean for this phrase.
I have seen people stumble through a bad answer or try to piece together a coherent thought when the clear answer to a question should be “I don’t know”.
Others have extrapolated on this thinking before, and I am certainly not the first to claim it is a smart thing to say, but word hasn’t spread fast enough.
Sometimes the best questions have no right answer and are a test of how you will answer them. To say you “dont know” something makes people feel weak and helpless, but I believe the opposite is true. I believe it is harder to say “I dont know” as it takes a tough person to admit that.
Once you have stated you don’t clearly know something, you can go down hypothetical paths, show competency in strategic thinking, and thought leadership in your area. This can be much more telling than a concrete answer with only one outcome.
Disclaimer: this is clearly not a good approach to every question and can only be sparingly used as if it happens too often, that is equally as telling.
This post does not come out of a specific meeting or person but rather my experiences in meetings over the last 5 years, and directly brainstormed over the past few weeks.
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May 2nd, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Eric, I found you through an entry in Grace Boyle's blog where she acknowledges the wisdom in the points you make here. As I commented on her blog, I agree that “Saying 'I don’t know' can be one of the smartest, empowering, and most liberating things you can say,” in meetings, but also elsewhere in life. Pretending to know something we don't can result in a load of trouble, and if we admit to not knowing, we may just be recognized for our honesty. A great post!
May 2nd, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Eric, I found you through an entry in Grace Boyle's blog where she acknowledges the wisdom in the points you make here. As I commented on her blog, I agree that “Saying 'I don’t know' can be one of the smartest, empowering, and most liberating things you can say,” in meetings, but also elsewhere in life. Pretending to know something we don't can result in a load of trouble, and if we admit to not knowing, we may just be recognized for our honesty. A great post!
May 2nd, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Eric, I found you through an entry in Grace Boyle's blog where she acknowledges the wisdom in the points you make here. As I commented on her blog, I agree that “Saying 'I don’t know' can be one of the smartest, empowering, and most liberating things you can say,” in meetings, but also elsewhere in life. Pretending to know something we don't can result in a load of trouble, and if we admit to not knowing, we may just be recognized for our honesty. A great post!
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:33 am
Thanks for stopping by, Grace did a nice writeup, and thanks for your support. I think it takes a big person to admit they do not know something.
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:33 am
Thanks for stopping by, Grace did a nice writeup, and thanks for your support. I think it takes a big person to admit they do not know something.
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:33 am
Thanks for stopping by, Grace did a nice writeup, and thanks for your support. I think it takes a big person to admit they do not know something.
May 5th, 2009 at 4:00 am
Couldn't agree with you more – the smartest people know when to say they don't know something
May 5th, 2009 at 4:00 am
Couldn't agree with you more – the smartest people know when to say they don't know something
May 5th, 2009 at 6:00 am
Couldn't agree with you more – the smartest people know when to say they don't know something
May 12th, 2009 at 3:02 am
Eric there is a worse situation that we routinely encounter in India.
A person does not say 'I don't know'. Instead you are misguided completely.
I quite sure something similar happens from person to person in the US. This is usually a person specific trait.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:02 am
Eric there is a worse situation that we routinely encounter in India.
A person does not say 'I don't know'. Instead you are misguided completely.
I quite sure something similar happens from person to person in the US. This is usually a person specific trait.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:15 am
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