Courage sometimes looks like asking a question everyone else is pretending not to have.

Rooms full of people frequently share the same confusion and nobody names it, because asking seems to reveal a deficiency that is actually general. The person who asks takes a small social risk and, more often than not, is thanked for it afterwards by several people who felt the same.

Next time you notice you have lost the thread, assume you are not alone and say so. Keep it simple: ask what a term means, or for the point to be repeated. You get the information, you find out that the cost was minimal, and you make it easier for the next person to speak.