| "Please get back to us on this" Making someone else do the work and report back. | "I can see why you might think that." | "You did a great job on that, X." Showing their in the position to judge and condescend. | "I used to think that, too." | Paces around the room |
| "Let's put a stake in the ground" | "How can we productize this? | Repeats what someone else said, but very slowly | Encourages people to "take a step back" | "Why don't you summarize again for everyone else?" |
| Draws a Venn diagram | "Will this scale?" | PEOPLE TRYING TO LOOK SMART IN MEETINGS BINGO (free square) | Nods while pretending to take notes | Steps out for a phone call |
| "Let's just get to the bottom line." | "I don't need the details." | Asks the presenter to go back a slide | "What are the 'next steps'?" | "At the end of the day..." |
| Translates percentages into fractions | "Well, thease are the facts." | "You might be right" | "I think what X is trying to say is..." | "We need to wrap our heads around this." |