> “Can I confirm that March should be the launch date?”,
> don’t say “I assume we’re all aligned that March should be the launch date”.
...only if you really aren't sure. I would actually say something like "We're planning to launch in March unless there are reasons not to."
If someone has a really great reason, they'll speak up. Getting "confirmation" from a group that may be indifferent can sometimes be even worse. How many people in the group aught to "confirm" before we move forward? What if one extremely uninformed person loudly confirms? Then a person with a real issue may feel like they don't want to stir things up by disagreeing.
Tangentially related: This is why you should say "If you can't see my screen, please let me know." when you start sharing your screen on zoom rather than "Can you see my screen?" Who on Earth aught to answer that in a large meeting?
Assuming a "yes" and allowing for the "nos" to speak up is much more successful in general I think.
...only if you really aren't sure. I would actually say something like "We're planning to launch in March unless there are reasons not to."
If someone has a really great reason, they'll speak up. Getting "confirmation" from a group that may be indifferent can sometimes be even worse. How many people in the group aught to "confirm" before we move forward? What if one extremely uninformed person loudly confirms? Then a person with a real issue may feel like they don't want to stir things up by disagreeing.
Tangentially related: This is why you should say "If you can't see my screen, please let me know." when you start sharing your screen on zoom rather than "Can you see my screen?" Who on Earth aught to answer that in a large meeting?
Assuming a "yes" and allowing for the "nos" to speak up is much more successful in general I think.