Your first instinct and the group’s final vote aren’t always the same. Write yours down before you hear theirs.

Once a room has landed on something, your memory of what you thought beforehand gets quietly rewritten to match. You genuinely believe you agreed all along, because the earlier version was never recorded anywhere to contradict you. That is not weakness or dishonesty, it is what memory does under social pressure. The only defense is a note made before the discussion starts.

In the next group decision, put your first read into your phone before anybody speaks. Compare it at the end. If it differs and you still think you were right, that is the moment to say so.