How many people recognise a scenario of a never-ending project, with endless meetings about meetings, with consultants tying users in knots with jargon-laden presentations, gant charts, and flow diagrams? That’s what a Times reader asked last week, and it struck a chord.

He went on to suggest that many people in meetings don’t have a clue what’s being said/going on but lack the balls to say so, to challenge what’s being said and demand some much needed clarification, for fear of looking stupid or appearing negative.

So how many people empathise with that situation? A lot I’d guess…

Working client-side, I’ve been through meetings about corporate rebrands, with consultants who come copiously armed with acronyms, casually dropping buzzwords, seeming to thrive on the blank looks and vacant nods reflecting back at them. I’ve even seen clients volleying suppliers’ buzzwords back at them, reinforcing the façade that everyone understands what the **** is going on.

This, obviously, is startlingly bad form.

There’s no such question as a stupid question. If it needs asking, then the person presenting is the one at fault – in communication, the person receiving and perceiving is king (or queen!). And in business, the customer is king. But when hired as an expert, maybe the supplier knows best?

Wrong. Well, sort of. Both parties know best, in different ways. You know your business, they know theirs. Work it out together. It’s that middle ground where that killer solution is found, and the masterplan is drawn up.

That’s why suppliers and clients should challenge one another. In plain English, with metaphors and analogies as required, to ensure deep understanding within all concerned. ‘Simple is a dirty word these days’, says our man in the Times. I don’t agree with that at all. Simple is genius. Over-complication is a cloak to disguise where genius (or even good old common sense) is sadly lacking. There’s a great quote from American bluesman Woody Guthrie: “Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple.”

So, if it sounds dead complicated, it’s probably not the masterpiece you were hoping for.

Nodding and smiling, when, underneath the surface you’ve got a burning question, can turn out to be a serious waste of money. And who’s got money to waste, these days? So know what you want, know how to ask for it. And speak your mind, all the time.