365QOD- Day1297

I Will Find Out

"Rather than nodding your head when you don’t know what someone is talking  about, or blindly guessing an answer (only to be proven wrong), give yourself  permission to not know it all. Simply admit that you don’t know the answer, while  adding that you’re happy to find out and tell them the answer later. Not only will 
you save yourself from   potential embarrassment,  you’ll be perceived as more 
reliable and trustworthy."- Hamza Khan article on U99.com website about not knowing the answer by Jason Freedman

I believe that the worst thing we can do when we do not know is to claim knowledge.  This comes naturally to me.  BUT I find that others struggle with this idea.  They would rather pretend that they know the answer and not showing that kink in their armor.

As Khan notes in his article, 

"..up to 70 percent of people have suffered from impostor syndrome at some point in their lives."

This leads us to mistrust the source.  If they are unwilling to admit lack of knowledge than how do we trust anything that they are saying or claiming as expertise.  We simply default to the position of complete mistrust.

So the best strategy to handle this situation is the suggestion that  Jason Freedman of 42 Floors offers:

"Saying I don’t know… turns a question into a homework assignment.  As long as I  follow up with the answer later, they never mind. And it’s 1000x better than  bullshitting a half answer."

I believe that this is better.  The best is to tell the person this and add a date by which you will give them the answer.

Today's question is:

"Do you give yourself homework assignments and due dates?"