Most meetings end the same way: someone says “anything else?” and the room performs a synchronized shrug like a school of fish pretending they did their homework.
Here’s the better move.
Right before the meeting ends, aim the flashlight where the treasure usually hides:
“Before we wrap, what do you think, [Name]?”
Not as a pop quiz. Not as a trap. As an invitation.
Because the quiet person is often quiet for a reason. They are processing. They are watching the whole chessboard while everyone else is arguing about a pawn. They might be new. They might be tired of repeating themselves in rooms that don’t listen. Or they might be holding the one sentence that saves you three weeks of rework.
That question does three things fast:
- It signals that silence is not invisibility.
- It upgrades the meeting from performance to participation.
- It catches the real risks before they grow teeth.
Do it kindly. Give them a beat. If they say “I’m still thinking,” great. Ask: “What would you want us to consider before we decide?”
Then watch how the meeting gets smarter, and how people start showing up like their brain was actually invited.
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