Speak up with confidence in a meeting

Why speak up in a meeting:

• You agree with someone or something
• You disagree with someone or something
• You have an idea
• You want to improve your visibility
• You want to reflect confidence

How to speak up with confidence in a business meeting:

• Analyze your situation: Usually, you know about a meeting beforehand and, therefore, can prepare. But, even if you’re attending an unplanned or last-minute meeting, you still need to assess your colleagues’ perspective(s) on whatever issue you want to speak about. You also need to know your purpose or why you’d speak up.
• State your main point: Let say you’ve assessed your colleagues’ perspective(s) and determined your purpose. You’ve concluded that because most of your coworkers are technical types, they rely on the marketing department to write their presentations. As a result, they think that the current client presentation will work. But, because you communicate well, you disagree. You think that this presentation doesn’t consider the client’s needs but merely promotes or “pushes” your company’s services. Therefore, your purpose is to acknowledge that the existing document has some value but needs enhancement. Accordingly, you might speak up and say: “Although this presentation required a lot of effort by Marketing and does have some positive features, I think that we need to improve it so that it connects with the client’s perspective.”
• Elaborate logically and concisely: If your colleagues are interested in your thinking and ask you to elaborate on your ideas, you’d use a mental roadmap to guide you. You should also think about the key points you’d want to make in each section of your logic flow.

3 Major no-nos when speaking up in a meeting:

• Don’t insult or demean: No one likes to be embarrassed in front of others. If you’re nasty to your colleagues, you’ll develop a bad reputation.
• Don’t be arrogant and dominate the conversation: Even if your suggestions are brilliant, you want to allow others to respond. People don’t like coworkers who “hog the stage” (dominate the conversation).
• Don’t use foul language: No one enjoys hearing bad language—four-letter words, racial or ethnic slurs, or other unprofessional verbiage. If you speak this way, you’ll be seen as unprofessional.