Martin was returning to work in his London office after spending two weeks with his brother in New York.He was coming back with a heavy heart.It was not just that it was the end of a wonderful holiday; it was not just that he invariably suffered badly from jet lag ; it was that Monday mornings always began with a team meeting and,over the months,he had grown to hate them. 

Martin was aware that colleagues approached these meetings with hidden agenda ; they indulged in game playing; and he knew that people were not being honest and open.The meetings themselves were bad enough-there was all the moaning afterwards at the meeting like"I could have improved on that idea,but I wasn't going to say". 

As this morning's meeting began,Martin prepared himself for the usual dullness and boredom.But,as the meeting progressed,he became aware of a strange background noise.At first,he thought that he was still hearing the engine noise from the aircraft that had brought him back to London.But,as he concentrated on the noise,it became a little clearer. 

He realized,to his amazement,that he could actually hear what they were thinking at the same time as they were speaking.What surprised him,even more than the acquisition of this strange power,was that he discovered that what people were saying was not really what they were thinking.They were not making clear their reservations.They were not supporting views which they thought might be popular.They were not contributing their new insights.They were not volunteering their new ideas. 

Martin found it impossible not to respond to his new knowledge.So he started to make gentle interventions,based more on what he could hear his colleagues thinking than on what he could hear them saying."So,John,are you really saying...""Susan,do you really think that?""Tom,have you got an idea on how we could take this forward?"They looked at him,puzzled.In truth,he felt rather proud of his newly-acquired talent. 

As the meeting progressed,it was clear to him that each member of the meeting was learning how to hear the thoughts of the others.The game playing started to fall away; people started to speak more directly; views became better understood; the atmosphere became more open and trusting. 

The meeting ended.As people left the room,Martin found that he could still hear what they were thinking."That was the best meeting we've ever had.""All meetings should be like that.""In future,I'm going to say what I think". QUESTIONS:

Q1:
1. What was the source of Martin's dislike for Mondays?
2. What made Mondays distasteful for Martin?
3. Why did Martin abhor Mondays?
Q2:
1. Did Martin have a boring day this Monday?
2. Was it dull this Monday for Martin?
3. Was everything just same old same old this Monday?
Q3:
1. What became clear to Martin Monday morning?
2. What did Martin notice on Monday morning?
3. What realization did Martin come to on Monday morning?
Q4:
1. Did Martin realize right away that he was able to hear others' thoughts?
2. Was Martin immediately able to recognize that he was hearing others thoughts?
3. Was it clear to Martin right away that he was hearing what other people were thinking?
Q5:
1. What was Martin's initial thought?
2. What did Martin think at first?
3. How did Martin first react to his newfound ability?
Q6:
1. Were people being true to how they felt at first?
2. Were people forthcoming about how they really felt at first?
3. At first, did people say what they really felt?
Q7:
1. Were the meetings generally an enjoyable experience for everyone?
2. Did Martin's office mates tend to take pleasure in their meetings?
3. Was everyone a big fan of the meetings?
Q8:
1. What happened once Martin began asking questions?
2. What was the consequence of Martin beginning to ask questions?
3. Once Martin began with his inquiries, what was the result?
Q9:
1. Did people enjoy the meeting in the end?
2. Was everyone happy with the meeting once it was done?
3. Was the meeting considered a success once it was done?
Q10:
1. What did everyone resolve to do for future meetings?
2. What was the plan for meetings in the future?
3. How did everyone decide to conduct meetings going forward?
