Engineer's meeting advice: never guess, say 'I haven't validated that yet'
_jaydeepkarale · x · 2026-10-31
Two ways to answer a technical question you can't: casually — "I'm not sure, let me verify before we decide"; professionally — "I haven't validated that scenario yet. I'll check the failure cases and share a recommendation by tomorrow."
Guessing saves five seconds but can cost the team five days. Admitting a knowledge gap isn't incompetence; pretending you don't have one is worse. The best engineers know when not to guess.
Related event: Engineers Advised to Admit Uncertainty Rather Than Guess in Meetings(2 posts)→
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