Madeleine Morgan of Growu writes:
As a confidence coach, I often hear clients say things like:
- “I’m nervous about speaking up in meetings at work, especially when my boss is there.”
- “I didn’t present my business at the networking meeting because I don’t like it when the spotlight is on me.”
- “I didn’t start a conversation with that women because I thought she was out of my league.”
- “I didn’t ask for the salary I wanted because I thought they’d say, ‘No!’
- “I don’t like to speak up when my step-children do something wrong because I might upset their father.”
- “I don’t ask people to pay what my services are worth because they might not buy at all.”
- “I daren’t complain to my partner about the way they treat me because they might fly off the handle.”
Many of these clients are also very capable managers, professionals and business owners.
When I ask them, “What has this reluctance to confront issues, put yourself in the spotlight, speak your mind, or ask for what you’re worth, cost you?”
They often say things like:
- “a promotion”
- “happy relationships”
- “thousands of pounds”
- “my self-esteem”
- “a frustrating life”
- “stress”
- “wasted time”
- …and much more.
If it costs so much, why do we still fail to speak up or speak our minds?
Often it’s because we fear we’ll make things worse, look stupid or we’ll be rejected.
Yet have you noticed that the most successful people in their personal, career and business lives are the people who are good at speaking their mind or speaking up? They don’t hide their light under a bushel. Nor do they ‘put up and shut up’.
So…how can we gain the courage to speak our mind or speak up when we get the opportunity?
If you’ve ever wished you hadn’t kept quiet, this week’s success tips will increase your courage to speak your mind or speak up.
5 Top Tips for Speaking Up Confidently
- Get leverage on yourself. We often stop ourselves speaking up because we’re counting the cost of doing it and it going wrong and the benefits of avoiding speaking up.
People who have confidence to speak up think about the benefits of speaking their mind and it going right and the costs of not speaking up. So switch your focus e.g. Work out how much playing it safe is costing you in terms of your self-esteem, profits or salary, happiness in your relationship, promotion and other opportunities.
Think about the opportunities and rewards that can come with speaking up. After all, you may be giving someone a chance to say, ‘yes’ to your ideas, prices etc. One of my clients won a 13% pay rise the first year she started speaking up more in meetings, presenting at work events and putting forward ideas to senior staff members. - You can minimise the dangers of speaking your mind or speaking up by learning how to do it skilfully. Take opportunities to be coached in communication skills such as networking, presentation skills, conflict management, selling, relationship skills and negotiating. That client I mentioned who got the 13% pay rise also got a merit rise and a promotion to a management role the more skilful she became at communicating.
- People who have more confidence to speak up or speak their mind often prepare what they’re going to say. It’s more difficult to trust ourselves to speak up or speak our minds if we’re angry, stressed, nervous or just haven’t thought it through.By taking time to prepare what you’re going to say, you can take a step back, see things from many perspectives and think of the most compelling arguments and ideas as well as persuasive communication styles.
If you don’t have time to prepare, see if you can negotiate time to go away and think about something or buy time by asking more questions about a topic first rather than pressurizing yourself to give an answer. - People who have more confidence to speak up or speak their mind are often flexible in their communication style. They adjust the way they communicate to suit the audience. For instance, if you have a boss or client who likes facts, give them lots of facts to support your ideas or the price you’re asking. If your boss or client is excited by innovative ideas, focus on how innovative your ideas are.
- People who have more confidence to speak up and are more successful at speaking their minds often listen carefully to the other person first. They stop focussing inward on what they should say or want to say. Why does this work? For two reasons. The first is because when we forget about ourselves our confidence grows. The second is that when we listen to others we learn what’s important to them. When we know that, we become better at negotiating win-wins and presenting persuasive arguments and ideas. We’re more likely to say things they’ll be open to hearing and interested in.
What’s your next step to becoming more successful at speaking up and speaking your mind in your personal, business and career?
Discover some choices below.
Special Offers and Dates for Your Diary
- Free Confidential Coaching Discovery Session
Is creating a more rewarding personal, career or business a must for you in 2015? If your answer is yes check out these this 121 coaching opportunity.
I have 1 Free Coaching Discovery sessions left to give away in March.
During that 60 minute session, we’ll:- discuss where you are with your life, career or business and any challenges you face
- uncover hidden barriers to your success.
- get clear about the life, career or business you’d like to enjoy
Then I’ll show you how you can bridge that gap. You’ll go away feeling positive, excited and confident about making 2015 your best year yet.
If you would like to apply for a session, just email me and tell me what days/times would suit you: madeleine@growu.co.uk
- Accountability Club Business Growth Programme Launching Thursday May 7
Are you frustrated by the slow growth of your business? Is your business experiencing growing pains? Would you like to make more money and have more fun growing your business? Then the Accountability Club Business Growth Programme could be just what your business needs…there are only 5 places left so hurry and grab the opportunity. Click here for more details
Quotes of the Week about Speaking Your Mind
- “When you give yourself permission to communicate what matters to you in every situation you will have peace despite rejection or disapproval. Putting a voice to your soul helps you to let go of the negative energy of fear and regret.” Shannon L Alder
- “Take the time to make some sense for what you wanna say,
And cast your words away upon the waves… So say it loud and sing it proud today.” Noel Gallagher - “It could be disastrous to speak your mind while you are deep in thought.” C.J. Langenhoven
- “Wise men speak because they have something to say. Fools speak because they have to say something.” Plato
- “Speak when you’re angry and you’ll make the best speech you’ll ever regret.” Lawrence J. Peter
- “Do not break your silence to create war between people, but speak the truth that heals.” Wayne Chirisa