Here's something no one wants to admit: you're making assumptions constantly. About what your coworker meant in that email. About what the client actually wants. About whether everyone in the room is on the same page. Spoiler: they're not, and neither are you.

But assumptions aren't always bad! In fact, sometimes they're necessary — you can't stop and verify every piece of information in every conversation. But most of us are terrible at knowing when we're making them, which ones are safe to make, and which ones are quietly setting us up for expensive, embarrassing, or completely avoidable mistakes.

This session is about developing that instinct. We'll look at how to recognize the moments when you think you understand but probably don't, how to ask for clarification without looking incompetent or annoying, and how to tell the difference between an assumption that's reasonable and one that's a disaster waiting to happen.

The space between what was said and what was meant is where a lot of miscommunication lives, but the good news is, with the right questions (and the self-awareness to know when to ask them) that gap is a lot easier to close than you think.