Allison Shapira recently spent a month interviewing the group heads of a large financial services company in order to understand how their direct reports need to communicate as they move into leadership positions. Again and again, she heard the same comment: “If you are in the room for a meeting, we expect you to speak up. Don’t wait for someone to ask you.”
In many organisations, our leadership readiness is measured in part by our willingness to speak up in meetings. How we speak off the cuff can have a bigger impact on our career trajectory than our presentations or speeches, because every single day we have an opportunity to make an impact.
While much of Allison's work focuses on women in leadership, everyone can use meetings as an opportunity to move up in their careers — and bring others with them.
Here are three strategies for speaking up effectively, followed by three warnings for when you should hold back.
Strategies for Speaking Up Effectively
Prepare a few bullets in advance. One senior executive Allison worked with was deathly afraid of public speaking early in her career. In order to overcome that fear, she challenged herself to speak up at every single meeting and prepared comments or questions in advance. That executive is now a role model within her organisation and is considered one of the most confident and authentic speakers in her industry. Don’t wait for inspiration to hit in the meeting; prepare in advance.
Ask, “why you?” This is a question Allison recommends people ask before they craft a presentation, walk into a meeting, or even prepare for a networking event. It means, why do you care about what you do, about your organisation, or about your role? Answering this question helps you connect with a sense of purpose and builds your confidence. It reminds you that you’re speaking up not to show off but because you truly care about the subject. It reminds you that your credibility doesn’t come solely from your title or years of experience but can also come from your commitment and passion.
Pause and breathe to build your confidence. Speaking up in a meeting takes courage. You have the ability to affect the trajectory of the conversation, potentially guiding your client towards saying yes to a deal when your colleagues have taken the meeting off track. Pausing and breathing helps centre you and strengthens your voice so that when you do speak up, you speak with the full weight of your conviction. While you pause, ask yourself, “If one other person in this room has the same question, am I willing to ask on behalf of that person?” The answer should build your confidence. A client recently shared that she had used this technique to ask a question — in public — at a large conference, and her question changed the direction of the entire panel discussion, shedding light on a critical issue that the panel had been avoiding.
With that being said, sometimes it’s the person who says the least in a meeting who has the most power. Your executive presence comes from being strategic about when you speak up in addition to what you say. Here are three warnings for when you should hold back.
Warnings for When to Hold Back
If you’re only trying to show off. We’ve all had the experience of sitting in a meeting or on a conference call that runs late, where everyone is trying to wrap up, and someone is rambling about a topic the group had already moved on from 30 minutes ago. Right before you speak up, ask yourself why you are speaking. If you are speaking up just to show how much you know, it’s better to let someone else talk or let the meeting run its natural course.
If you are trying to empower others on your team. Allison had a pivotal moment in graduate school where she received feedback that she spoke up too much in class. Why was that a problem? A classmate said, “You become a crutch for others. We can’t wrestle with the question being asked because you jump in with the answer. Sometimes leadership is about letting others find their own solution.” Ten years later, that comment has stayed with her and has deeply influenced her leadership style. In the meeting, let members of your team speak up in order to build their own relationships of trust with your clients. Giving others an opportunity to speak in a meeting is one of the most powerful ways we can build their leadership skills, raise their visibility — both internally and externally — and give the client a more comprehensive sense of support from your whole team.
If your comment would be better left for a one-on-one conversation. Senior executives consistently offer feedback on their direct reports in Allison's training programs by saying, “They need to learn when to leave something to a one-on-one conversation.” So many difficult conversations within an organisation can be mitigated by talking privately to someone — in person whenever possible — rather than addressing the issue in a group where the person will feel defensive. This applies to email as well as spoken conversation. Before speaking up or hitting “reply all,” ask yourself, “Would this be better said privately?”
Speaking up in a meeting is one of the single most effective ways to raise your visibility and build a relationship of trust with your clients and colleagues. Practice it strategically every single day and you will have a powerful impact on your career and in your business.
This article was originally written by Allison Shapira who teaches “The Arts of Communication” at the Harvard Kennedy School and is the Founder/CEO of Global Public Speaking, a training firm that helps emerging and established leaders to speak clearly, concisely, and confidently. She is the author of the new book, Speak with Impact: How to Command the Room and Influence Others (HarperCollins Leadership), and full credit goes to Harvard Business Review, who published this article earlier this year. This article has been reprinted for the purpose of education.
If you enjoyed this article then why notsign up to our mailing list to gain access to high-quality content and exclusive offers.
When leaders commit to building an inclusive organisation, they tend to start with the company mission, vision, values, and a promise to ensure everyone in the organisation has a voice. But if they don’t change the way they communicate every day with their employees, leaders are missing a crucial piece.
Telling a compelling story is how you build credibility for yourself and your ideas. It’s how you inspire an audience and lead an organisation. Whether you need to win over a colleague, a team, an executive, a recruiter, or an entire conference audience, effective storytelling is key...
What is it about virtual presenting that can feel so unnerving? The lack of audience response, the inability to “read the room,” and the lack of direct eye contact all increase our anxiety. Recreating the back and forth of a ...
