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Don’t Speak
I am brimming with ideas, and when I hear someone with a question, I instinctively want to give an answer - the right answer, the funny answer, a wacky idea answer, whatever.
But in many situations, the best move is to stay quiet and download the information that others are sharing - including (often especially!) the information buried in the question itself.
The MIT Enterprise Forum Startup Clinic has (or used to have) a rule that companies presenting at the clinic had to stand silently in the front of the room while the panel and then the audience provided feedback. Some of the feedback was in question form, but the presenters are instructed not to answer.
I’ve presented at that clinic, and done the statue routine. It’s hard. And it is completely worthwhile - the information gathered is hugely valuable, and would not have been downloaded if the presenter was trying to engage in debate. Listening without the prospect of speaking gets you off defense of your current actions, and moves you to thinking about alternatives.
There’s an old question, “are you listening or just waiting to speak?” I try to keep this in mind and do more of the former than the latter. It’s not easy, and I don’t always succeed in maintaining that discipline, but it is worth it every time I do.