Get Your Voice Heard with These Tips & Tricks

If you are new to a company or industry, it can be challenging to know when to speak up and how to command a room. This challenge is amplified when operating remotely. Without the ‘in-person’ touch to your daily or weekly meetings, it is difficult to know when to assert yourself and when you may be overstepping your grounds by doing so. In one-on-one conversations, a lack of social interaction and clarity through feedback still occurs. For many employees, this can hinder the level of passion they have for their work, leading to a decline in productivity and results.

Here are three tips and tricks you can implement into your routine today:

Speak Up for Others

If you have introverted tendencies and do not feel comfortable speaking first, start by being a good listener. When others are talking, don’t spend your time planning what you should say next. Instead, stay actively engaged in what they have to say, or you may miss out on essential details that affect your ideas. For more on uncovering the art of listening and its role in your success, click here.

Introverts are commonly observant, courteous, and strategic. If you give others the chance to speak their mind and show an interest in what they have to say, they will do the same for you. Additionally, if one of your great ideas stemmed from a thought shared by your co-worker, share it. Brainstorming new ideas gives way to new solutions, and giving credit to others can go a long way in affirming one another.

“Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another. -Napoleon Hill

Prepare for Future Conversations

When you have an upcoming meeting, it is critical you research the topics on the agenda. Brainstorm solutions that you can bring to the table from both broad and specific lenses. Even if it’s not you, a co-worker can take one of your ideas and run with it (or vice versa). For example, if you have a meeting set to discuss budgeting plans and new goals for 2021 within your department, don’t go in blindly. Instead, research previous years’ sheets and documents to determine what adjustments can be implemented and why. Having these points ready will show that you are invested in the topic, attentive, and well prepared. If you fear you will have nothing to say, write down a few statistics and questions to have ready when you are called upon during the meeting.

Speak with Confidence and Exuberance

If you lack confidence in your capabilities, take time to reflect on your career path and how you got to where you are today. Organizations want to hear from their employees. If they didn’t want to, you likely would not be in the room. Everyone receives help along the way, but through time and hard work, you have cultivated a level of expertise that gives you the right to share your insights. Now share it! But remember, assertiveness does not have to be accompanied by aggression.

Feeling prepared? You know what needs to be said and how to say it. If you are unsure of how many opportunities you will get to speak, you must make the most of your time. Quickly arrive at the point you are trying to make and provide your reasoning. Although you must keep an open mind to other’s thoughts, don’t get caught rambling on or taking a defensive approach to your opinions.

“It does not require many words to speak the truth.” – Chief Joseph

Bonus Tip – Be Aware of your Body Language

Positive body language goes beyond having proper posture. Don’t be a statue. Show yourself to be alert and engaged in conversations and ready to speak your mind.

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The Art of Listening & Its Ties To Success

In the often-hectic work environment that COVID-19 and the ‘work from home’ order have left us in, it can be challenging to maintain consistent and productive conversations. Within your company or department, the importance of clear communication and listening cannot be overstated. But this season certainly taught us: Things are not always as easy as they seem. Learning to listen and listen well builds a healthy work culture in trust, empathy, and positive exchanges.

“Talk, and you’ll have a tough time winning. Listen, and you’ll have a tough time losing.” – Dan Whitfield

In an article for Talent Culture, writer Cyndy Trivella shared eight ways to enhance your listening skills. We break down a few of her key points and some important notes from our friends at the Forbes Coaches Council.

Allow for Silence

Have you noticed how frustrating it can be to get ‘cut off’ in conversation? No one likes the person who is continually interrupting to ramble on with his/her thoughts. This interruption gives the perception that the only opinion you value is yours. To be a good listener, you must allow the speaker time to collect their thoughts. Showing patience in conversation allows for more productive outcomes only by improving each other’s state of mind. We often think faster than we speak, but not every pause in a conversation needs to be filled with our immediate feedback. 

Learning to allow for silence will allow you to learn how others feel, think, and work. Forbes Coaches Council author Dan Whitfield recalls some of the best advice with the ’80/20′ rule: Allowing a potential or current client to do 80% of the talking leads to an 80% success rate for sale. “Talk, and you’ll have a tough time winning. Listen, and you’ll have a tough time losing.”

Repeat Back in Your Own Words

Rather than quickly providing feedback to the speaker, we can more effectively digest their words by stating it back to them. Being able to repeat back their key points and reasoning shows that you were actively listening rather than merely waiting for them to finish talking. Additionally, allowing the speaker to feel heard will, in return, make them more receptive to your feedback.

Ask Relevant Questions

Simply asking questions does not illustrate the proper art of listening, especially if the matter were to lead them to repeat something previously stated. Be sure to take mental notes throughout each point of conversation or even written notes for your workplace meetings. Asking open-ended questions will prompt further discussion, but your goal should never be to control a narrative or retort someone’s opinion. Instead, you should aim to gain a new understanding and perspective of the topic at hand.

Work Toward Empathy

Have you ever felt afraid or nervous to speak up in a workplace meeting? We’ve all been there, and part of being a good listener starts with taking away this fear from your employees/co-workers. Being empathic to the speaker begins with intentionality – to put yourself in their shoes. By providing affirmation to their thoughts and understanding of their feelings, you help calm their nerves and enhance comfortability. 

“I often like to joke that if God had wanted us to talk more than listen, he would have given us two mouths.” – Ken Blanchard

Wrap Up

Communication is key. Why? Because good listeners make the best leaders. Ken Blanchard doesn’t only recommend learning more about the ‘art of listening,’ but to consider it a skill that you must practice every day. Cyndy Trivella ends her article best: “A little understanding can go a long way in terms of collaboration, trust, and productivity.”


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