How to Speak Up in a Meeting (and When to Hold Back)

It’s not uncommon for employees to be asked to speak up more at work, and many managers even say that they want to hear more from their workers. Why, then, are people so intimidated by the idea of speaking in meetings? There are a few possible answers to this question, but generally, it seems that employees across the board suffer from a lack of confidence.

Speaking up is a vulnerable behavior. One study asked workers to rank the behaviors that made them feel the most vulnerable at work. The research showed that people fear being wrong, messing up, disagreeing, and/or challenging the way things are done. All of those instances usually involve speaking in some capacity or another, and we understand how scary that can be — particularly for those with less authority.

That said, using your voice is an important part of standing out and is vital if you want to be considered for leadership positions. That’s why we’ve curated some tips for how to speak up and how to project confidence — even when you don’t feel like doing so.

Gaining Confidence

The first step you need to take when figuring out how to speak confidently in meetings, is how to project confidence. And the easiest way to project confidence, is to actually feel confident. To make things easy, we’ve boiled down all the advice on gaining confidence to three simple and expertly proven tasks:

1. Set and achieve small goals — In the workplace, this could look like speaking up in more casual ways before finding your professional voice in a meeting. You could also practice asking questions or commenting on a topic someone else broached first.
2. Embrace Self-Improvement — If you’re worried about speaking up because you don’t feel confident in your own knowledge or skills, then engaging in self-improvement is a great way to assuage those fears.
3. Practice Positive Affirmations — Did you know positive self-talk has been linked to “concrete physical and mental gains in areas such as health, learning, and interpersonal relationships?”

How to Speak Up In Meetings

Now that you’ve practiced your affirmations and achieved smaller goals about projecting confidence, let’s get down to business and look at the tips for how to speak up in meetings.

Prepare in Advance

Write down what you have to say before going into the meeting, that way you aren’t likely to forget or get flustered when it’s time for you to speak. If you have a trusted friend at work, you could also practice having this conversation with them first, to see if they have any thoughts on how to speak confidently or otherwise word things.

Asking Self-Reflective Questions

If you’re doubting not only your ability to speak up, but also your right to do so, this step is imperative. You need to remind yourself of the reasons you are in that meeting room in the first place, and why you therefore deserve to have your comments and questions heard. Ask yourself questions like why am I seated at this table? What contributions have I made to this company/team? What good will come of me speaking up?

Ease Pre-Meeting Jitters

Before going into the meeting, it’s a good idea to ease any nerves you might normally bring to the table with you. Some techniques for calming nerves include deep breaths, light exercise (like doing ten jumping jacks), and having something to hold in your hand (notes, coffee cup, or even just a pen).

Decide Beforehand When You’re Going to Speak

The last tip for how to speak up in meetings is to decide ahead of time when you’re going to use your voice. Many people prefer to get this daunting task over with early on, while others like to use the first part of the meeting to practice their comments and generally take in the mood of the group.

When Should You Hold Back?

Let’s say you’ve now mastered the art of speaking up in meetings, and you’re starting to worry you might be talking too much. While it’s unlikely you’ve done a complete 180, we understand that many employees want to avoid dominating the conversation.

And this is a good instinct.

Not only is silence often associated with respect and contemplation, but research shows that it can affect our brains as well. One study “found that two hours of silence could create new cells in the hippocampus region, a part of the brain associated with memory, emotion, and learning.”

Furthermore, active listening has been shown to improve employee satisfaction as well as increase collaboration, productivity, and even sales performance.

So, when should you hold back?

In these three instances:

• When you’d be showing off your knowledge for no good reason (i.e. are you speaking up because you think people need to hear your comments, or are you just trying to brag?)

• When you’re not sure you’re even talking to the right people (i.e. can anyone gathered in the room at that moment benefit from this information or should this conversation take place in a different meeting?)

• When you think someone else from your team should be the one to speak on this topic.

Confidence, Respect, and Being Heard

Learning how to speak up can get you very far, but only if you’re operating in an encouraging and communicative workplace. If you’re reading this and realizing no amount of confidence-building or pre-meeting practice is going to make a difference because you’re actively discouraged from speaking up, then perhaps a change is needed.

You not only deserve to be heard, but workplace respect is vital when it comes to your mental health as an employee. A study from the Society for Human Resource Management “found that respect is the most important factor contributing to job satisfaction.”

The good news is we have a tip to help you with this situation as well, and that’s this: Let the expert recruiters at CyberCoders match you with a better opportunity! While we’re sifting through job boards and setting up interviews, you can master how to speak up and speak confidently in meetings. For more information, go to our website, and get started on your new career path today!