Notice when confidence becomes inflated
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
In a small design collective, one member sounded conceited when he declared that nobody else could understand a logo as well as he could. His egotistical presentation spent most of its time celebrating his achievements instead of answering the client's questions. A self-important introduction then described him as the indispensable authority on every creative decision. Other members valued confident recommendations, but they wanted those recommendations supported by reasons rather than by an exaggerated account of the speaker's own significance.
At the next review, the member defended the same conceited claim even after a colleague identified a flaw he had missed. His egotistical focus made it difficult to acknowledge the team's contribution to the strongest version of the design. The self-important announcement of his own arrival also interrupted a useful conversation already underway. The chair asked everyone to explain one design choice and name one unresolved question, creating a format that directed attention back to the work itself.
Before you move on
Look away from the passage. Can you explain each focus word in your own words?
Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.