On June 25, we put a group of improv actors into a wood-paneled conference room, and told them to play out a 90-minute fake meeting about a fake sock.
No script. No safety net. All live (yes, live) with the internet watching.
None of us had any idea what could happen. And what happened was... magical.
Watch the full recording here.
Why did we do this?
B2B companies spend a lot of time telling people how they should work. We took a different approach. We showed people what not to do.
Last month, we published The State of Curiosity 2026 report and uncovered a surprising disconnect: nearly all workers (95%) describe themselves as curious, yet only 30% say their workplace strongly rewards curiosity.
That's a problem. Curiosity drives innovation, learn, problem-solving, and better decision making.
So we asked ourselves, how can we truly show the impact of what happens when curiosity disappears in the workplace?
An improv show.
The set up:
A fictional company was preparing to launch a new product. The team gathered for a classic "GTM" meeting. They needed to decide what to name the product, how much to charge for it, who the target customer is, and what messaging will "move the needle."
But there was just one problem... it was The World's Most Uncurious Meeting.
The data behind this meeting
The research unveiled to us that curiosity is in the workforce, but the way we work is suppressing it. Here's how that showed up, both in the numbers and in the room:
- The Silence: Four in 10 workers have pretended to understand something rather than risk asking a question
- The Speed Trap: Three in 10 don't speak up because they want to avoid creating more work, while four in 10 workers stay silent in meetings to avoid slowing things down
- The Do-Over: Half of workers have had to redo work because questions weren't asked at the start
- The Cost: 46% have seen time and money wasted because assumptions weren't pressure-tested
At the same time, many workers are increasingly turning to AI instead of the human sitting next to them. Our research found that more than a third of workers accept AI output with little to zero pushback.
Then we came across the stat that sparked this campaign: Only 38% of workers describe most meetings as open discussion and idea exploration.
For a place explicitly scheduled to solve problems, align and innovate, that is a pretty wild baseline. It aligns with a recent Harvard Business Review podcast episode that called meetings "one of the biggest drains on time, energy, and morale at work."
Turns out it was also the perfect setting to bring our research to life.
The anatomy of an “uncurious” meeting
We put a talented group of improvisers in what can only be described as a deeply uninspiring, windowless conference room.
We told them they’re in a high-stakes “Go-to-Market Brainstorm Meeting” preparing to launch a revolutionary and completely made-up product.
And hey, we even created a bingo card full of running gags for viewers to follow along.
The cast of characters included workplace archetypes you will (unfortunately) recognize immediately:
1. Gary, Chief Innovation Officer | The Bulldozer
Arrived late, immediately took over, and somehow found time to cover a Japanese tea ceremony, a trip to Puerto Vallarta, and at least two other stories that had nothing to do with socks. Said "I don't have time for these things like questions" — then told another story.
2. Eleanor, VP of Strategy | The Naysayer
Shot down every idea with the quiet exhaustion of someone who has seen it all before and found none of it particularly promising. When the team floated moisture-wicking technology as a product feature, Eleanor was fast to chime in "it's giving candle." Burned out. Just like her.
3. Brad, Director of Acceleration | The AI Guy
Asked AI for the name, the price, the positioning, and the messaging, then read each answer back to the room like he was presenting findings from a very prestigious study. Announced at one point that "AI was cooking with gas." Brad is what happens when AI becomes a way to avoid thinking rather than a way to think better.
4. Tinsley, Head of Marketing | The Multitasker
Technically present. Mostly on his phone. Pitched a half-million-dollar marketing budget because why not, brought up Sun Tzu more times than we could count, and suggested several trendy acronym-based product names, including A Smart Sock and Better Utility Tracking Technology. He seemed very proud of both.
5. Maya, Senior Product Manager | The “afraid-to-look-stupid” employee
The only person in the room trying to ask real questions. Who is this for? Does it actually work? Has anyone talked to a customer? She was interrupted so many times it became its own running bit.
Twenty-five minutes passed before anyone asked who the product was actually for. The target customer shifted constantly — people under 18, then someone on a yacht, then Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Edward Norton — and at one point someone asked what Dua Lipa was wearing on her feet.
Pricing got settled by asking AI.
"Let's just keep moving forward" got said more times than we could count. Nobody suggested talking to a real customer until Maya did, with two minutes left on the clock: "Shouldn't we just do some market research?"
"We're not asking questions. We're building answers." - Gary
That's the culture our research kept finding, where asking questions feels like weakness, and moving fast feels like winning. It's not just a Gary thing. It's everywhere and it's costing us.
The surround sound
Marketing today no longer has to rely on a single moment or channel. The best ideas show up in everything from earned media, employee advocacy, social conversations, to a study.
That was our approach.
The livestream was the centerpiece, but the campaign really started long before we went live.
To build anticipation, we launched a “LinkedIn Swarm” inviting employees to announce they are "officially attending a meeting about another meeting.” It was intentionally absurd, but also tapped into something universal, which is our collective love-hate relationship with workplace meetings. This simple activation generated more than 100,000 impressions and counting. No paid media.
Some of our favorite comments:
- "On mute in spirit and in reality."
- "Officially attending a meeting about another meeting."
- "Living my calendar's dream."
Join the movement
At SurveyMonkey, we believe curiosity is the first step toward actual innovation, continuous improvement, and avoiding costly mistakes. We've spent the last 25+ years helping organizations gather feedback, challenge assumptions, and make better decisions.
The World's Most Uncurious Meeting was a masterclass in what happens when none of those things occur. We hope to give you a renewed appreciation for the simple act of asking before assuming.
- Watch the full recording here
- Dig into the research behind the campaign, our State of Curiosity Report
- Launching a product or campaign and don’t want to sit in multiple 90-minute meetings? Try out the new SurveyMonkey LaunchPad, a dedicated suite of ready-to-run, automated market research solutions built for marketing and product professionals who need fast, reliable answers before launching products and campaigns.
*Disclaimer: There is no accepted methodology for determining the world's most uncurious meeting. Trust us, we asked!
