Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings 2021 Day-to-Day Calendar

News flash! It appears that Year 2020 will never end. Solution! Order this 2021 Day-to-Day Calendar immediately—and start living in the future. (You’re welcome!) My 2021 joke-a-day calendar just arrived—and I can’t stop laughing! To be clear— I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS 2021 CALENDAR—but I did buy it, and I can’t stop laughing. I’ve already read every punchline from January 1 to December 31—and even with my mask and my muffled laughter, I already feel better saying goodbye to 2020. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS 2021 CALENDAR. “Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings (2021 Day-to-Day Calendar)” makes a mockery of the Meetings Bucket. This daily calendar is irreverent. It abuses agendas, disparages decision-making, and its cheeky arrogance is contemptuous. I couldn’t stop laughing. Here’s why: MEANINGLESS METAPHORS: • January 4: Use sports metaphors. “If something is great, say it’s a home run. Tell the team to skate to where the puck is going to be and keep the ball rolling until you throw in the towel.” • January 12: Ask, “Will this scale?” no matter what it is. “No one even really knows what this means, but it’s a good catchall question that drives everyone nuts and definitely makes you look smart.” • January 18: Ask if this is a crawl, a walk, or a run. “No matter what idea is being discussed, it’s always good to ask if this is a crawl, a walk, or a run. For bonus points, ask when the team will be able to fly.” WHITEBOARD WIZARDRY: • January 28: Focus on the vision. “Go to the whiteboard and write the word ‘vision’ with a circle around it. Remind everyone that everything we do must revolve around vision.” (Ouch! See my recent book review on vision!) • April 23: Ask everyone to think outside the box. “Go up to the whiteboard and draw a box. Say, ‘We don’t want to think inside the box.’ Now draw an arrow pointing outside the box. Ask, ‘How can we think outside the box?’” • May 14: Talk about the back end and the front end. “Write ‘back end’ and ‘front end’ with an arrow connecting them on the whiteboard. Say ‘We just need to hook up the back end to the front end.’ You’ll seem very technical.” • December 10: Say we need to focus on customers. “Go to the whiteboard and draw a few stick figures. Circle one of them and say, ‘This is Lucy. Lucy’s a Mom. What does Lucy want? Who cares. What do we want? That’s a trick. What does Lucy want?’” POWERPOINTS & PRESENTATIONS: • January 26: Ask the presenter to go back a slide. “This will immediately make you look like you’re paying closer attention than anyone else. Then, after staring at the slide silently for several seconds, say ‘Ok, we can move on.’” • October 2/3: How to become a keynote speaker. “Step 1: Put ‘Keynote Speaker’ in your bio. Step 2: You’re done.” (Note: The two-day weekend pages are hilarious!) • September 25/26: Meeting Achievement Sticker. “Did you go to a meeting this month where you successfully projected your screen on the third try? Congrats! You get a sticker!” (The sticker reads, “Successfully projected my screen on 3rd try.”) TRITE TIPS: • January 5: Suggest a walking meeting. “Say you enjoy walking meetings because they clear your mind, just like they did for Steve Jobs. Now people will think you’re as smart as Steve Jobs.” • January 11: Give your meeting a fun name. “When scheduling your meeting, call it something like a touchbase, powwow, huddle, sync session, roundup, tagup, or thought shower. This will throw people off the scent that this is going to be an excruciating meeting.” • July 1: When taking meetings in Canada, apologize a lot. “Normally, apologizing is a sign of weakness, but saying you’re sorry in Canada is just how they do things. Start every sentence with ‘Sorry,’ and you’ll gain their trust in no time.” REMINDER: I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS 2021 CALENDAR. And one caveat—before you buy it for co-workers and friends, there may be a few days, with a few inappropriate words, you’ll want to delete from the calendar. (Hey! Why is March 4 missing?)

Great little calendar. However box was torn, no part of it was protected in plastic as is typical for these types of calendars, and a shipping label was placed ONTO the actual calendar box so it ruins the quality of gifting it to someone. It came in a package with its own label so I’m not sure why someone needed to put the label on the actual product.

Brought this calendar to my desk as soon as it arrived, we are now back to working from home. Worse case scenario, when I do return to the office I will be able to read more than one day of the calendar, an impulse I usually have to subdue. Sarah Cooper is hilarious, and if the rest of the Calendar is like January 1 2021 I am happy with my purchase!

Invest in anything Sarah Cooper decides to sell you. Brilliant and on point. This gift works well in an office and works just as well for those of us anchored to Zoom calls from home. This is also a perfect gift for MBA students suffering through "seemingly" insightful questions from the front rows in lecture halls. Wonderful gift to own and to give. We all need to laugh more.

I bought this thinking it was sarcastic but on most of them, I can’t even tell - not funny at all, just weird. Sorry.

By day 5 I was a lot smarter. Knew I shouldn't have spent the money for this calendar. Loaded with useless and off the wall suggestions that don't advance anything

Loved this! I gave it to my boss for Christmas. She loves it and shoots me photos of the daily meeting tip. Hilarious!!!

Only maybe three of them so far have made me giggle but then again we are only in mid February and we all want know what happened around this time last year so I'm just going to enjoy those three laughs and count my blessings.

Daily advice is great fun. Some are things I would never do but are funny to think about. Many have either been used in meetings I have been in, or I have used them ... and now I recognize them in this calendar and laugh.

While the samples looked funny, this calendar has grown old and tiresome very, very quickly. It was a mistake and now I'm stuck with it for a year. Wish I hadn't purchased this.

News flash! It appears that Year 2020 will never end. Solution! Order this 2021 Day-to-Day Calendar immediately—and start living in the future. (You’re welcome!) My 2021 joke-a-day calendar just arrived—and I can’t stop laughing! To be clear— I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS 2021 CALENDAR—but I did buy it, and I can’t stop laughing. I’ve already read every punchline from January 1 to December 31—and even with my mask and my muffled laughter, I already feel better saying goodbye to 2020. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS 2021 CALENDAR. “Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings (2021 Day-to-Day Calendar)” makes a mockery of the Meetings Bucket. This daily calendar is irreverent. It abuses agendas, disparages decision-making, and its cheeky arrogance is contemptuous. I couldn’t stop laughing. Here’s why: MEANINGLESS METAPHORS: • January 4: Use sports metaphors. “If something is great, say it’s a home run. Tell the team to skate to where the puck is going to be and keep the ball rolling until you throw in the towel.” • January 12: Ask, “Will this scale?” no matter what it is. “No one even really knows what this means, but it’s a good catchall question that drives everyone nuts and definitely makes you look smart.” • January 18: Ask if this is a crawl, a walk, or a run. “No matter what idea is being discussed, it’s always good to ask if this is a crawl, a walk, or a run. For bonus points, ask when the team will be able to fly.” WHITEBOARD WIZARDRY: • January 28: Focus on the vision. “Go to the whiteboard and write the word ‘vision’ with a circle around it. Remind everyone that everything we do must revolve around vision.” (Ouch! See my recent book review on vision!) • April 23: Ask everyone to think outside the box. “Go up to the whiteboard and draw a box. Say, ‘We don’t want to think inside the box.’ Now draw an arrow pointing outside the box. Ask, ‘How can we think outside the box?’” • May 14: Talk about the back end and the front end. “Write ‘back end’ and ‘front end’ with an arrow connecting them on the whiteboard. Say ‘We just need to hook up the back end to the front end.’ You’ll seem very technical.” • December 10: Say we need to focus on customers. “Go to the whiteboard and draw a few stick figures. Circle one of them and say, ‘This is Lucy. Lucy’s a Mom. What does Lucy want? Who cares. What do we want? That’s a trick. What does Lucy want?’” POWERPOINTS & PRESENTATIONS: • January 26: Ask the presenter to go back a slide. “This will immediately make you look like you’re paying closer attention than anyone else. Then, after staring at the slide silently for several seconds, say ‘Ok, we can move on.’” • October 2/3: How to become a keynote speaker. “Step 1: Put ‘Keynote Speaker’ in your bio. Step 2: You’re done.” (Note: The two-day weekend pages are hilarious!) • September 25/26: Meeting Achievement Sticker. “Did you go to a meeting this month where you successfully projected your screen on the third try? Congrats! You get a sticker!” (The sticker reads, “Successfully projected my screen on 3rd try.”) TRITE TIPS: • January 5: Suggest a walking meeting. “Say you enjoy walking meetings because they clear your mind, just like they did for Steve Jobs. Now people will think you’re as smart as Steve Jobs.” • January 11: Give your meeting a fun name. “When scheduling your meeting, call it something like a touchbase, powwow, huddle, sync session, roundup, tagup, or thought shower. This will throw people off the scent that this is going to be an excruciating meeting.” • July 1: When taking meetings in Canada, apologize a lot. “Normally, apologizing is a sign of weakness, but saying you’re sorry in Canada is just how they do things. Start every sentence with ‘Sorry,’ and you’ll gain their trust in no time.” REMINDER: I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS 2021 CALENDAR. And one caveat—before you buy it for co-workers and friends, there may be a few days, with a few inappropriate words, you’ll want to delete from the calendar. (Hey! Why is March 4 missing?)

Great little calendar. However box was torn, no part of it was protected in plastic as is typical for these types of calendars, and a shipping label was placed ONTO the actual calendar box so it ruins the quality of gifting it to someone. It came in a package with its own label so I’m not sure why someone needed to put the label on the actual product.

Brought this calendar to my desk as soon as it arrived, we are now back to working from home. Worse case scenario, when I do return to the office I will be able to read more than one day of the calendar, an impulse I usually have to subdue. Sarah Cooper is hilarious, and if the rest of the Calendar is like January 1 2021 I am happy with my purchase!

Invest in anything Sarah Cooper decides to sell you. Brilliant and on point. This gift works well in an office and works just as well for those of us anchored to Zoom calls from home. This is also a perfect gift for MBA students suffering through "seemingly" insightful questions from the front rows in lecture halls. Wonderful gift to own and to give. We all need to laugh more.

I bought this thinking it was sarcastic but on most of them, I can’t even tell - not funny at all, just weird. Sorry.

By day 5 I was a lot smarter. Knew I shouldn't have spent the money for this calendar. Loaded with useless and off the wall suggestions that don't advance anything

Loved this! I gave it to my boss for Christmas. She loves it and shoots me photos of the daily meeting tip. Hilarious!!!

Only maybe three of them so far have made me giggle but then again we are only in mid February and we all want know what happened around this time last year so I'm just going to enjoy those three laughs and count my blessings.

Daily advice is great fun. Some are things I would never do but are funny to think about. Many have either been used in meetings I have been in, or I have used them ... and now I recognize them in this calendar and laugh.

While the samples looked funny, this calendar has grown old and tiresome very, very quickly. It was a mistake and now I'm stuck with it for a year. Wish I hadn't purchased this.

My wife works from home and wanted a daily calendar to lift the moods up. This does the trick. Very funny and clever. It comes with its own kickstand to sit on your desk

Smart. Useful. Fast. Fresh. Funny.

Well, I actually haven’t gotten a raise and I’ve not been asked to run the company. But I do get chuckles from the team when I share the daily wisdom.

Needed some humor for the coming year, 2021.

I bought this for my girlfriend and she has gotten a chuckle every single day. I would definitely purchase this item again for another friend.

Package was delivered damaged but Amazon quickly shipped out another package at no cost. New package arrived quickly and undamaged which was great 👍

Love this! We are on zoom calls allllllll day, and before they start I read that day to them. We all get a kick out of it! Really funny!

After reading many reviews of how the box comes damaged I went ahead and ignored and found out for myself so it came broken and had damaged box just like everyone had said Super funny if you can find this else were lots of laughs

These make me laugh every day. But they also make me want to cry because I am guilty of saying this same stupid things during meetings.

These are funny, good ice breakers during team meetings, and ring a bit too true if you're an office worker.

Got this for my husbands Christmas stocking and he loved it. I realized after the fact that it was written by Sarah Cooper (whose Trump parody videos are absolutely hilarious) so that was an added bonus.

These are super funny!! My boss now has me send him the best ones from each month to include in our department news letter in an attempt to boost WFH morale!

Bought this as a gift. Looks like it will be a hit

I was really excited to add this to my WFH set up. When I received it this afternoon I was pretty disappointed to see it was already torn. Like someone returned it already.

This is a fun calendar that makes me laugh by shining the light on the absurdity of office life.

I believed this would be a whitty calendar. It is beyond DUMB.

Great gift idea for my male friend :)) :)) :))

Super funny for a daily giggle at the office.

This is one of the funniest desk calendars I’ve come across. Each day gives you at least a few chuckles and who doesn’t need that as we mark the one year anniversary of COVID? Good fun and worthy of sharing with others.

Crowd pleasing daily calendar.

All the days are like this. They are a couple days off. Today is MONDAY, FEBBRUARY 22... not Friday.

Love Sarah Cooper humor

LOVE IT!

Saw some selections from this calendar on social media somewhere and immediately ordered it for my husband. Was a fun stocking stuffer and I hear him laughing each morning before work.

Hilarious!!! The humor is so dry and relatable. I recommend this to anyone who is subjected to countless mandatory meetings that should’ve/could’ve been an email. :)

Great ice breaker for calls. These make me smile every morning.

Hilarious!!!! This is the best gift for your coworker!

Bought this for my mentor at work and we've both really enjoyed it. Our boss thought it was odd that he says some of the things from this calendar... I thought it was hysterical.

I’m a month into 2021 and I know this is the best calendar already. My coworkers can’t wait for the next tip. Plenty of people have asked me where I got it. Highly recommend.

Absolutely hilarious and so witty! I bought it as a gift, and so I read through it first before wrapping. I was laughing from the Jan 1st on.

Hysterical calendar for those who have a sense of humor

This is super funny!! Great gift for anyone working from home these days.

It's great. My wife and I love it!

I gave this calendar as a Christmas gifts. When we have meetings, we attempt to see just “how smart” we can look in those meetings. Great fun!

I got this for an office secret Santa and it was a huge hit!

Bought it for my office. My co workers and I get a real kick out of it each day. I have even used some of the tricks in meetings...to be funny

It makes me literally LOL every day.

Love it

Funny, smart and practical to use in meetings!! A must-have

Excellent humorous gift

funny and great

I love this - it makes work a little more light-hearted. I would also highly recommend this book if you have not already read it. It's totally at my reading level, and super funny as well.

Super funny calendar, you need this in your desk to lighten up your day. Just buy it, Sarah is great.

Brought to the office- This is spot-on and hilarious! Since a lot of meetings are now remote, you can page through it while on the meeting and find some relevant statements. Better yet, read through and listen to how often others in the meeting use the terminology. Make sure you are on “mute.”