Sam’s just walked out of a meeting, and not for the first time things didn’t go his way.
Let’s re-wind and see how Sam could have been more assertive to get his voice heard.
His first mistake was sitting at the back of the room.
Always take a central seat – you won’t have to work so hard to be heard.
Once the speaking starts Sam often finds himself over-powered by the bigger personalities. Here are some tips to help Sam assert himself during the meeting.
Do:
Try Echoing – join the debate by grabbing hold of someone else’s point and adding your own thoughts. “I agree with Sue’s point. It could be even better if we…”
Take control by directing the discussion back on course if the meeting is getting off track.
Use headlining – avoid losing people’s attention by making short, impactful points. Have a key argument or suggestion – what is the one thing you want to get through to people?
Use framing – what market trends, expert insights and personal experiences have led you to this opinion?
Use visual language and animated body language to hold people’s attention.
Be as evidence based as possible to support your key points. “Holding the Olympics is good for the host city because of the extra revenue it generates for businesses.”
Don’t:
Be passive and sit quietly waiting for your turn to speak – it’ll never arrive;
Constantly interrupt – once or twice when you really have something to say is fine. Any more than that and you risk upsetting people;
Take the meeting off in unnecessary tangents – you won’t be popular;
Let a louder person make you feel small and doubt your opinion. Being assertive is about believing in yourself;
And if you still find yourself struggling to assert yourself set up a social media forum for your company where you and anyone else can post their points and carry on the discussion.
Let’s re-wind and see how Sam could have been more assertive to get his voice heard.
His first mistake was sitting at the back of the room.
Always take a central seat – you won’t have to work so hard to be heard.
Once the speaking starts Sam often finds himself over-powered by the bigger personalities. Here are some tips to help Sam assert himself during the meeting.
Do:
Try Echoing – join the debate by grabbing hold of someone else’s point and adding your own thoughts. “I agree with Sue’s point. It could be even better if we…”
Take control by directing the discussion back on course if the meeting is getting off track.
Use headlining – avoid losing people’s attention by making short, impactful points. Have a key argument or suggestion – what is the one thing you want to get through to people?
Use framing – what market trends, expert insights and personal experiences have led you to this opinion?
Use visual language and animated body language to hold people’s attention.
Be as evidence based as possible to support your key points. “Holding the Olympics is good for the host city because of the extra revenue it generates for businesses.”
Don’t:
Be passive and sit quietly waiting for your turn to speak – it’ll never arrive;
Constantly interrupt – once or twice when you really have something to say is fine. Any more than that and you risk upsetting people;
Take the meeting off in unnecessary tangents – you won’t be popular;
Let a louder person make you feel small and doubt your opinion. Being assertive is about believing in yourself;
And if you still find yourself struggling to assert yourself set up a social media forum for your company where you and anyone else can post their points and carry on the discussion.
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