I will confess that I have done many of these things. Though I’m also often the quiet engineer who eventually speaks up.
Thought I actually do know what “Will this scale?” means. I often ask it, seriously. No one at NASA seems to understand it, though.
“Step out for a phone call” – that’s what von Stauffenberg did. Hit the other participants like a bomb.
Unfortunately, not all of them.
The Expert
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=red+perpendicular+lines&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=42458EBCF374A93B83C142458EBCF374A93B83C1
We need seven red lines, some drawn with green ink and the rest with transparent ink…
The one feckful guy in the meeting is the one who has to adopt the appearance of becoming as “smart” as his supervisors and clients… and tries one the ten techniques: “Can you describe what you imagine a red line, drawn with transparent ink, will, in the final result, actually look like?” Results are consistent with my own experience.
I guess that remark “bombed.”
The one sure-fire way to appear smart? Actually be smart, and know what you’re talking about.