How to find your voice at work
How to find your voice at work
In business, good communication is an essential tool in achieving productivity and maintaining strong working relationships at all levels. Strong communication can also empower you and others and increase creative and innovative thinking.
But sometimes, for whatever reason, we all find ourselves unable to speak up and say what we really want to. Making yourself heard can be hard work and cause feelings of unease, anxiety, fear, doubt, or just plain awkwardness. In addition, if you are not an assertive person by nature, or lack confidence, you may feel completely out of your comfort zone.
Speak up
Recent research indicates that over three quarters of employees and managers say they avoid speaking up because they think it might be detrimental to their role, project or the business. And perhaps more worrying, is that many of those surveyed said that when they did say something their voices were often ignored or drowned out.
Let’s face it, we’ve all been in a situation where certain people, perhaps with more forceful personalities or more experience, dominate the conversation. This may lead to you remaining quiet, because you struggle to articulate your thoughts, or you believe your input would not be welcomed. The downside is that by keeping quiet you might be losing out. Either in terms of individual or team performance, wellbeing/mental health or forgoing vital training/learning or career progression opportunities. In addition, your employer could be missing out on creative new ideas that could result in added business value.
Break the cycle
So, how do you break the cycle? How can you overcome your fears and find your voice in the workplace? Here are some tips to help you transform the quality of your conversations and make them much more two way, so you can:
Show interest
Offer ideas
Give feedback
Voice concerns
Express an opinion
Share your feelings
Ask for advice
Discuss a problem
Negotiate a pay rise
Report the behaviour of others
Request help with training or career progression
Be brave and practice
Preparation – if it helps write notes of the key statements (facts/figures etc.) that you want to make and use them. Adopt a positive posture, pitch your voice so it is grounded and assertive (not high and squeaky) and give eye contact throughout.
Belief – know that what you are contributing has genuine value. Stay calm, be purposeful and confident and believe that what you have to say is worth listening to.
Take your time – speak slowly and clearly and try not to rush and stumble over your words, or um and ah more than you need to. Aim to get your points across in the most direct way possible and avoid too much emotion.
Choose your moment – ask for time with the person or people you need to speak to. Use positive language to encourage the right response i.e. “Can we talk?”, “I can see something is bothering you, or “What can I do to help?”
Stop talking – once you have said what you want to, be quiet and wait. There may be an awkward silence until the response comes, but not rushing in will enhance your situation and demonstrate that you can listen, understand, be curious, prepare questions, as well as speak.
Click here to contact me and find out how coaching can make a difference. After several sessions, you will feel more confident and able to find your voice so you really can be heard.