Maybe it’s the oversized tables and the closed doors. Maybe, it’s a colleague who shuns everyone’s opinion. Or maybe it’s just your fear that your ideas won’t be valued.
Whatever the reasons are, there are times when you just can’t find yourself the right words at the right time – or maybe you find the wrong words at the wrong time? This is a very common situation that can happen to anyone while attending a meeting. But sitting quiet without any participation to avoid putting yourself in this type of situation can also send the wrong impression. Overcoming these blockers is likely to add to your own self confidence and contribute to better outcomes at work.
Besides, you aren’t the only one who finds it difficult to speak your thoughts out; there are many people who feel the same. And often some really good ideas aren’t shared due to concerns about ‘not getting it right’ in front of others
Make Notes
No matter how prepared you are before entered into a meeting, once the meeting begins and other employees start talking and presenting and sharing their thoughts to the people around, you might at times draw a blank or get confused about the things you want to say – because of the anxiety levels that rise at times like this. Either way, the result is that you fail to put your thoughts and ideas forward.
To help avoid facing such a situation, it might be a good idea to try to sort out your thoughts before the meeting and make a prepared list of points that you want to say. This way, you’ll be ready when it’s your turn to speak.
Have Confidence in your Own Idea
While putting across your points to a group of people in a meeting, you need to be confident that the idea will not only add positivity and be helpful in the whole decision process but also drive it to conclusion.
Often, when you are putting forward ideas there are likely to be others that have a similar idea. And in any case, putting forward a well reasoned idea – even if it isn’t always accepted and acted upon – doesn’t mean that your idea wasn’t a good one. Sometimes good ideas are simply put forward at the wrong time. The discussion about why it wont work is often useful broader context for future ideas and discussions.
Be Calm and then Express your Views
Always remember, voicing your opinion at the time when you are anxious or angry can be detrimental to the goal of the meeting. So, instead of aggressively putting your idea, think and act – don’t react. Listening calmly to others helps you in delivering your thoughts properly.
Relate to the Opinion of Others
Stephen Covey in his book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ identified how important it was to ‘seek to understand and then be understood’. Often, people can switch off part way through something was saying, because they assume that they know where it is leading, and they are preparing their reply on that basis. Sometimes this means that they miss a key element and their reply doesn’t properly take that into account. So, it’s advised to listen (not just hear) before you speak.
Avoid Getting into an Argument
While putting your points in a meeting be ready to face difference of opinions amongst employees present in a meeting room. But don’t take it personally, as a difference of opinion is a common yet important thing in any workplace.
After all, that’s how new ideas are created.
Final Words
When putting across your thoughts about ideas to address workplace issues, it’s better to ‘think and act – not react’. With the tips mentioned in this blog, you’ll able to think about how to contribute positively in meetings. And feel better and more confident about your ability to add value.
If your organisation is looking for professional advice and assistance in relation to how to encourage continuous improvement, enable good ideas to be expressed and considered, engaging with a human resource consulting company like HBA Consulting can help. Our expert team will offer practical and professional advice and assistance in relation to how to structure its human resource strategy to effectively build a culture that encourages innovation, creativity and a safe environment where people can contribute their ideas.
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