Aaron Hartman, MDFunctional Medicine Specialist | Clinical Researcher

Between a Rock and a Hard Case | The Power of 'I Don't Know'_ Embrace Humility and Continuous

15 Aug 2024 · 0 min

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0:27

A short spoken excerpt advising people to admit when they don't know an answer, to look it up, and to report back. The speaker frames saying “I don't know” as an act of humility that fosters learning for both the speaker and the listener and builds trust through timely follow-up.

I don't know, but I'll look it up. If you didn't know an answer to a question, instead of pretending that you knew the answer to the question and clearly getting called out and then you're really in trouble, you would say, honestly, I don't know. I really don't know. Maybe I should. But I don't. And I'll look it up. And then you report back with that answer in a timely fashion. But you've now learned something, and you've taught that person something about you through the process of humility and desire to grow and learn.