--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first thing the attendees saw when…" description: "\"“The first thing the attendees saw when they walked in was a poster with the question “What are our mokitas?”—a Papua New Guinea word for that which ev..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/susan-scott-15883_elephant-in-the-room_the-first-thing-the-attendees-saw-when-t_1920871.jpg" --- # The first thing the attendees saw when they walked in was… ![“The first thing the attendees saw when they walked in was a poster with the question “What are our mokitas?”—a Papua New Guinea word for that which everyone knows and no one will speak of: the elephant in the room.” quote by Susan Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/susan-scott-15883_elephant-in-the-room_the-first-thing-the-attendees-saw-when-t_1920871.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/susan-scott-15883_elephant-in-the-room_the-first-thing-the-attendees-saw-when-t_1920871.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/susan-scott-15883_elephant-in-the-room_the-first-thing-the-attendees-saw-when-t_1920871.jpg) > ““The first thing the attendees saw when they walked in was a poster with the question “What are our mokitas?”—a Papua New Guinea word for that which everyone knows and no one will speak of: the elephant in the room.”” [Susan Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-scott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The anecdote uses a poster asking about "mokitas" to highlight an unspoken issue in a meeting. **In simple terms:** A question reveals the obvious problem people avoid discussing. Key Takeaway Address the elephant in the room directly. Themes communication leadership conflict Mood insightful practical Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - team meetings - workshops - facilitation sessions - conflict mediation Key Concepts organizational behavior psychology group dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What unspoken issues affect your group? - How can you encourage open dialogue? A Different Perspective May not apply to all cultural contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Elephant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elephant/) [Elephant in the room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elephant-in-the-room/) ## Related quotes > [“Money, you could say, was the elephant in The Room .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-sestero/money-you-could-say-was-the-elephant-in-the-room/) [Greg Sestero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-sestero/) > [I've always been the girl who can't sit on her hands. If there's a pink elephant in the room, I'll identify it and say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-rayner/i-ve-always-been-the-girl-who-can-t-sit-on-her-hands-if-there-s-a/) [Angela Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-rayner/) > [I don't like taboo subjects and I don't like elephants in the room. 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Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The first thing the attendees saw when they walked in was a poster with the question “What are our mokitas?”—a Papua New Guinea word for that which everyone knows and no one will speak of: the elephant in the room.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Scott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-scott/the-first-thing-the-attendees-saw-when-they-walked-in-was-a-poster/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-scott/the-first-thing-the-attendees-saw-when-they-walked-in-was-a-poster/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/susan-scott-15883_elephant-in-the-room_the-first-thing-the-attendees-saw-when-t_1920871.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/susan-scott-15883_elephant-in-the-room_the-first-thing-the-attendees-saw-when-t_1920871.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/susan-scott-15883_elephant-in-the-room_the-first-thing-the-attendees-saw-when-t_1920871.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The first thing the attendees saw when they walked in was a poster with the question “What are our…” — Susan Scott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Susan Scott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-scott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The first thing the attendees saw...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-scott/the-first-thing-the-attendees-saw-when-they-walked-in-was-a-poster/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-scott/the-first-thing-the-attendees-saw-when-they-walked-in-was-a-poster/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```