{
  "id": 3522290,
  "title": "How to avoid asking stupid questions in meetings",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/how-to-avoid-asking-stupid-questions-in-meetings",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-26T14:03:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fast Company",
    "slug": "fast-company",
    "url": "https://www.fastcompany.com/91591199/how-avoid-asking-stupid-questions-meetings"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In today's meetings, there seems to be a common belief that no question is too foolish to ask, but is this really true? Generally, we admire those who pose insightful queries, but rarely criticize the opposite. However, it's no surprise that smart questions are far more rare than simple or average ones. To begin with, there are harmless questions that are simply expected and may be beneficial, such as confirming alignment on goals, defining success, analyzing data, identifying additional participants, and outlining next steps. Using these questions without fully understanding the discussion can give the impression of attentiveness and professionalism.\n\nWhen we move onto more advanced or clever questions, they should be distinctive and indicate significant expertise, intelligence, and good judgment. These questions might question underlying assumptions, challenge perspectives, expose team tendencies to solve the wrong problem, or encourage the group to consider counterarguments. For instance, asking \"What would have to be true for this to work?\" prompts participants to reveal hidden assumptions, while \"What is the strongest argument against what we are proposing?\" challenges the team to contest its own reasoning.\n\nHowever, not all questions are created equal. Some are quite foolish and can be categorized as dumb queries. These might include questions that are not genuinely inquiries, such as making declarations rather than asking, or posing questions you've already answered. Other dumb questions might be obvious ones you should have known the answer to, or questions you could easily find in a previous slide or pre-meeting materials. This often indicates a lack of focus or attention during the meeting, which can signal indifference or self-importance.",
  "summary": "It is rather common these days to say that there are no such things as stupid questions , but (and apologies if this sounds stupid) does anyone actually believe that? Interestingly, we tend to praise those who ask smart questions but rarely condemn the reverse . Yet, unsurprisingly, smart questions are far less common than dumb, and especially average ones. Let us start with those … Harmless…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}