. The most popular reason for the lack of colleagues’ opinions is the desire to provide answers that are preferable to others. At the same time, the reasons for such responses are different. So, someone can answer "preferable" to please the management, someone to avoid conflicts (), and someone to close the question he has no interest to discuss. First, we need to understand the reason for not speaking up (for each team member it can be different). Then work out actions to involve a colleague in the discussion. Obviously, for each participant, we may need custom approach.

. Often, the reason for colleagues' silence is the overconfidence other team members express their opinion with. In such cases, we should ask a confident colleague to engage the team members in the dialogue. At the same time, he must do this with respect and without the irony that is inherent in incompetent people ().

. Sometimes the atmosphere itself and the unspoken rules that the team follows create a sense of complexity, not allowing openly sharing an opinion or asking a question. To avoid this, we should monitor the discussions with an agenda and appoint a moderator who will involve everyone.

. Sometimes our colleagues do not understand how their opinion can influence management decisions or the project as a whole. It seems to them that tomorrow "everything will be the same," and, consequently, they behave neutral, avoiding involvement in the discussion. To engage such colleagues in a dialogue, we need to show them why we consider their opinion important.

, . Another common problem that causes people to speak less than they should is the belief that "everyone thinks the same." Personally, at the very first meeting with new project participants, I emphasize several times that "what is obvious to you is obvious only to you." I strive from the beginning to create an atmosphere where people will not be afraid that their questions will seem "stupid," "superficial," or "too obvious."

. Another common reason why our colleagues may blindly agree with us is the tendency to accept an authority figure's opinion. At the beginning of the discussion, a competent manager should emphasize that his opinion is no different from others' opinions.

In conclusion, I will add that the pluralism of opinions and the habit of asking "obvious" questions and questioning already made decisions is what we must constantly strive for in our team. Suppose we encourage an atmosphere in the team where people do socially desirable actions. This will damage our colleagues' talent and reduce the value of the opinion of each of them ().