Unlearning Silence: Speaking Up At Work
For many of us, being assertive and speaking up at work can be hard. We’re introverted, intimated by our manager, or we’re afraid of what people will think of us. Problem is, these thoughts can silence us when our ideas need to be heard at work.
So, how can we “unlearn silence”? Recently, our Founder & CEO, Jessica Chen interviewed the author of Unlearning Silence, Elaine Lin Hering as she shared how we can speak more confidently at work.
Below is a small snippet of the entire conversation held on our Soulcast Media | LIVE show. If you’d like to watch or listen to the entire interview, click below. The transcript has been slightly edited for reading ease.
📺 Watch the full live event here
🎙️ Listen to the Podcast episode here
Elaine: We tend to assume that the more people talk, the more they are leaders or are demonstrating leadership skills.
So, the question is, how do we unlearn the ways we’re silencing ourselves? What asks could we make of the people around us to increase the likelihood that it is easier for us to be heard?
I would argue a really easy way is to design your communication flow, meaning for many of us, particularly if you’re an introvert, it’s easier to type than it is to talk in real-time.
So rather than defaulting to having a live one-on-one conversation, can we negotiate and agree to say, “Hey, I actually think best asynchronously. I’d love to offer my best thoughts on this project or this proposal. Let me sleep on that and put my thoughts to you in Slack.”
Basically, coach and train the people around you to receive you and hear you in a way that is just lower energy and higher value to you.
For example, when having the conversation with your manager, you’re approaching it as a value proposition. If your manager wants your best thoughts, you will say this is how I process best.
Saying, “look, you’re going to get the best out of me and the team in this way.”
I am framing it not as I need this accommodation to communicate, but it’s how we’re going to get to the best outcomes together.
📺 Watch the full live event here
🎙️ Listen to the Podcast episode here
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