Publié le 20 December 2023
Feel confident knowing that you have a voice that deserves to be heard by knowing how to claim your seat with 8 reasons to speak up in the workplace.
Are you the type of person who shy away from publicly speaking in the workplace? If yes, you’re definitely not alone because according to Let’s Grow Leaders, about half of the workforce (49%) feels the same way.
You could say that you’re not a fan of grabbing the spotlight, and we can agree, but then we’d both be lying!
Sharing your insightful thoughts in the workplace is a win-win for everyone at work, because with better communication comes better ideas. And with better ideas, top-notch results for the company.
Did you think we forgot about you? Never! We’re here to share with you a couple of solid reasons to speak up at work and always trigger “Aha moments” for your manager, colleagues, clients — basically anyone!
Does it sound tough? It can be. But it’s surely not impossible.
8 reasons (and tips) to speak up in the workplace
We can keep telling you how important it is to speak up in the workplace all day long, but the truth is that our arguments aren’t going to do much for you if you’re not feeling ready to break through this barrier yourself.
So if you’re all set to take action, then let’s jump right in and claim your seat with 8 reasons to speak up in workplace!
You have something to offer
Let’s start with a shot of self-confidence! If the company brought you on board, it’s likely that their HR team doesn’t shoot in the dark and it’s totally safe to say that your ideas can bring something new to the table or even better than anyone else’s in the workplace.
If you’re the silent leader used to hitting the pain points and offering a real solution (or maybe two), you’re just a step away from leveling up. After all, your role in the company is to make a positive impact on everyone’s work.
And seriously, what better way to do that than by sharing your valuable opinion with the whole team?
Climb the corporate ladder
If you’d like to get a promotion (who wouldn’t?) Sharing your insightful thoughts is still your best bet. The person who constantly thinks outside the box and saves the day with their ideas naturally earns trust, and it’s really not hard to see why.
Let’s for instance, suppose that one of your company’s clients, with a multi-million-dollar website, runs into some tech glitches (bugs, slow page loading, sensitive data loss). As the head of the IT support team, you took it upon yourself (alongside your staff) and even worked overtime to fix these issues, the end result was that the website was back on track overnight.
Don’t you think this milestone deserves a case study? It’s something worth sharing with the entire company. Maybe it’s a solid selling (and turning) point for the enterprise or even your career!
So when you’re certain that your contribution can help with all of those things the company is struggling with, especially during team meetings when these issues are discussed, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel with misplaced modesty. Just go for it, score points, and climb that ladder!
Build solid connections with inspirational colleagues (who bring the good vibes)
Be around inspiring colleagues who are always here for you—don’t buy into the idea that you need to be a jack-of-all-trades. Remember Steve Jobs’s words: “Great things in business are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people.”
The point of building a solid network is to find moral backup when work throws a curveball your way. Their feedback will help you grow, help you move forward in your career, and, most importantly, help you find your voice at work.
On the other hand, when you surround yourself with toxic people, any work hiccup you go through will make you the talk of the town the next day (and not necessarily in a good way).
Overcome Imposter Syndrome:
Basics first. What is imposter syndrome? The imposter syndrome is when someone doubts his intellect or accomplishments despite their proven competence.
Now, what does imposter syndrome have to do with holding back your opinion at work?
Well, let’s assume that you work in a Software as a Service company, and your genius marketing strategies have driven exponential sales growth in the last few months. At the quarterly team meeting, everyone in the marketing team shared their success stories, but you, the mastermind of the operation, were left in the background just because you decided not to speak up. If you catch our drift!
We hate to break it to you, but that’s exactly how you’d feel if you refuse to affirm your expertise and worth in the workplace.
See why we’re pushing for you to claim your seat with 8 reasons to speak up in the workplace?
Begin with small contributions
You’ve heard it before, but we’ll say it again—every skill needs practice, and public speaking is no different because when you think about it, we can agree that not many of us are born natural public speakers, right?
Starting with small contributions is completely okay. For instance, you can begin by raising your hand when a colleague faces an issue with a specific task. As you gradually get more involved and become a regular contributor, you can jump into discussions with greater ease, sharing your thoughts on ongoing projects or giving feedback on others’ ideas.
When you comment on a colleague’s ideas, try to get them excited to answer your questions, and avoid getting into too much back-and-forth just to push the “gotcha” moment; you don’t want to come off like that frustrating coworker who kills the vibe of the conversation.
Who knows, one day you could become a top-notch public speaker. Just like the pyramids, great things take time to build.
When you’re all set, confidence just naturally tags along!
A well-done research is half the presentation! That should easily be your motto when you have a bunch of ideas to pitch to the board.
Always go the extra mile: gather strong data and case studies to confidently back up the ideas you’d like to present, whether it’s about marketing, sales, customer service, or the work environment. This principle applies to any topic.
But sometimes preparing for a company meeting takes a little more work than that. You might need to catch up with your superior or project colleagues separately to polish the ideas to make sure no part of the research gets missed out along the way.
Empower others
Your willingness to speak up in the workplace can be powerful enough to inspire other colleagues to do the same, and that’s why you shouldn’t underestimate how much your attitude could influence others.
Your impact doesn’t end with the meeting. You can even help other colleagues get over the fear of sharing their opinions by smartly getting them involved in the discussion or praising their contributions to a specific project.
By speaking up in the workplace, these practices help build a culture in your company where everyone feels valued and empowered to share their unique ideas.
See the bigger picture
Now that you’re on the right track and your contributions become a routine, avoid taking over meetings with constant interventions. You have to draw the lines at some point, because you don’t want to be perceived as the colleague who shows off and believes they’re the center of the world.
Don’t get upset if your ideas don’t get picked up right away! It’s not about who’s right or wrong here. Think of everyone’s input as an intent to get all the team members moving towards a common goal, regardless of whose idea it was in the first place.
Time to chime in.
And thus, we reach the end of it – the blog post, we mean, not the reasons to speak up at work!
The first step might be the hardest one, and we totally get it, but we believe we have shared with you all the tips and reasons you need before you gather your courage and start sharing your wisdom in the meetings. By knowing the 8 reasons to speak up in the workplace, you’re even closer to understanding the benefits that will come from being a supportive and encouraging voice in the workplace.
If this article isn’t a cue for giving yourself a voice in the workplace today, we don’t know what is!
We’re sure you’ve still got plenty of doubts and questions. That’s what we’re here for! Drop us a message and let it all out—we’ll be all ears!