[Exploring Effective Presentations] Why does that "something feels off" feeling grow later? — Why we tend to ignore the smallest sense of unease | Inception-style Presentation

[What you will learn in this article]

Whether in meetings, proposals, or designs,

"I feel like something is off"

there are moments when you think this.

Even though there were no objections in the meeting and everything was decided smoothly, for some reason, you feel a sense of unease in your chest on the way home.

Have you ever had an experience like that?

However, if you cannot explain that sense of unease well,

"Maybe it's just my imagination"
"Maybe I'm being too picky"
"If I can't state a proper reason, I should stay silent"

you might end up thinking things like this.

However, what is truly dangerous might be not the "unease you can explain," but the "unease that hasn't been put into words yet."

This is because by the time you can explain it, the problem may have already grown quite large.

It passed in the meeting, but something is bothering me.
The design is polished, but for some reason, it doesn't click.
The presentation and materials should have been fine, but for some reason, I can't be completely happy about it.

In cases like these, your body may have noticed it from the beginning, but you were just putting that feeling on the back burner.

Ignoring a sense of unease is not because you are insensitive.

On the contrary, the moment people notice a sense of unease, they tend to look for reasons to ignore it.

• Because we already decided.

• Because we've come this far.

• Because no one else is saying anything.

• Because there are many good aspects, too.

That is how we sometimes use logical arguments to silence that small "something feels off" feeling inside ourselves.

Truth be told, I myself have had the thought cross my mind that something was misaligned with the essential core of a product.

Even so, I thought optimistically that "it will probably be fine" and proceeded all the way to commercialization.

As a result, sales were sluggish, and I have regretted that this might have been one of the causes.

We want to believe our choices were correct.
We don't want to easily overturn something we've already decided.
That is why people sometimes only pick up information that is convenient for them.

The more perfect the logic of a presentation, the more the recipient may feel a sense of unease, thinking, "I can't argue with this, but my heart isn't moved."

But that sense of unease is hard to put into words.

So, it passes in the moment.

However, if you proceed while leaving that sense of unease unaddressed,

"It was supposed to be decided, but no one is taking action."
"It was supposed to be agreed upon, but there is no enthusiasm."
"It passed in the meeting, but it starts to drift off-course little by little later on."

It can come back to haunt you in forms like these.

But that sense of unease hasn't disappeared.
It has simply moved to a "place where it will return later."

And in many cases, the sense of unease that returns later is larger than it was at the beginning.

As a result of pretending not to see small feelings of unease, projects may not progress smoothly, or things that were supposed to be decided in meetings may gradually fall apart.

"I wish I had gone back at that moment."
"I wish I had stopped at that moment."
"That 'something feels off' feeling back then was right after all."

It is not rare to feel this way.

Perhaps that is why you don't have to deny that sense of unease immediately.

Of course, there is no need to jump to conclusions just because something "feels off."

But just because you cannot explain it, it is better not to pretend it never happened.

A sense of unease that cannot be put into words is not necessarily immature; it may just be that your words haven't caught up yet.

The body notices first, and words catch up later.

That is why it is better not to treat small feelings of unease carelessly.

If you cannot put it into words, just write a "?" in the corner of your notes.

Even just doing that will prevent you from treating your own intuition as if it "never happened."

It might be the smallest "ally" that helps you and your team by preventing a major misalignment in the future while it is still small.

[Summary]

The reason why things pass in a meeting but are overturned later

Inception-style Presentation Series