{"id":31805,"date":"2026-02-02T08:34:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T07:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=31805"},"modified":"2026-02-03T11:57:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T10:57:01","slug":"why-the-majority-is-always-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/02\/why-the-majority-is-always-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Majority Is Always Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>B2 &#8211; Upper Intermediate<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many people assume that success comes from following proven methods and sticking to what already works. At work, this often means copying industry standards, routines, and ways of thinking that everyone else accepts without question. The problem is that doing what most people do usually leads to average results, not real progress or innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watch the video to explore why challenging accepted norms can lead to very different outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Why the majority is always wrong | Paul Rulkens | TEDxMaastricht\" width=\"580\" height=\"326\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VNGFep6rncY?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Vocabulary Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What does <strong>\u201cautomatic pilot\u201d<\/strong> mean in the sentence, \u201cOver 95% of our life, we run on <strong><em>automatic pilot<\/em><\/strong>\u201d? Use it in a sentence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What does <strong>\u201cindustry standard\u201d<\/strong> mean in the sentence, \u201cThe boundaries of this box, they are called <strong><em>industry standards<\/em><\/strong>, or industry norms\u201d? Use it in a sentence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What does <strong>\u201chit a wall\u201d<\/strong> mean in the sentence, \u201cWhen people, teams, and organizations, whenever they <strong><em>hit a wall<\/em><\/strong>, they tend to do one of two things\u201d? Use it in a sentence.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Do you think people are generally comfortable following norms, even if those norms limit creativity? Why or why not?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Can you think of an example where following the usual way of doing things led to poor results?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why might people be afraid to try \u201cdifferent things\u201d instead of doing more or less of the same?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have you ever questioned a rule or standard at work or school? What happened?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do you believe extraordinary results require taking risks? Why or why not?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>B2 &#8211; Upper Intermediate Many people assume that success comes from following proven methods and sticking to what already works. At work, this often means copying industry standards, routines, and ways of thinking that everyone else accepts without question. The problem is that doing what most people do usually leads to average results, not real [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[291,292,290,496,14],"class_list":["post-31805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homework","tag-b2-upper-intermediate","tag-first-certificate-fce","tag-listening","tag-people-and-human-interest","tag-video"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v16.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why the Majority Is Always Wrong | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/02\/why-the-majority-is-always-wrong\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why the Majority Is Always Wrong | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"B2 &#8211; Upper Intermediate Many people assume that success comes from following proven methods and sticking to what already works. At work, this often means copying industry standards, routines, and ways of thinking that everyone else accepts without question. 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