Besieux, Tijs

de Vries, Femke

Edmondson, Amy C.

English

University of Groningen

   University of GroningenHow to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up in MeetingsBesieux, Tijs ; Edmondson, Amy C. ; de Vries, FemkePublished in:Harvard Business ReviewIMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite fromit. Please check the document version below.Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordPublication date:2021Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research databaseCitation for published version (APA):Besieux, T., Edmondson, A. C., & de Vries, F. (2021). How to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up inMeetings. Harvard Business Review.CopyrightOther than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of theauthor(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).The publication may also be distributed here under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license.More information can be found on the University of Groningen website: https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/self-archiving-pure/taverne-amendment.Take-down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediatelyand investigate your claim.Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons thenumber of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum.Download date: 20-11-2022Managing YourselfHow to Overcome Your Fear ofSpeaking Up in Meetingsby Tijs Besieux, Amy C. Edmondson, and Femke de VriesJune 11, 2021Summary.   Getty Images/eleonora galliIf you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings, you’re notalone. You might feel your ideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable.Or, perhaps, you joined the company remotely and feel reserved around your newteammates or senior colleagues....Job and life advice for young professionals. See more from Ascend here.moreDo you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings? If so,you’re not alone. Many factors contribute.1) It’s harder to read physical and social cues. In-person, it was easierto figure out when voicing your opinion was welcome andappropriate — someone might lean towards you or gesture at you toinvite a response. But noticing these expressions onscreen is difficult,and even impossible on a very big team.2) If you’re a junior employee or someone who joined the companyremotely and are still settling in, you may feel especially reservedaround your new teammates or senior colleagues. Hierarchy can beintimidating. You don’t want to come across as uninformed or foolishto bosses or clients, or you may feel that someone more seasonedthan you will take your suggestions as personal critiques.3) Lastly — and this happens in person, too — you might feel yourideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable. This oftenoccurs when you’re asked to brainstorm on the spot and there is lesstime to make a well-formed contribution.Whatever the reason, know that we all struggle to speak up at times,no matter what point we are at in our careers. That said, finding thecourage to do so is critical to your success, as well as to the success ofyour team and your organization. The quality of your collectivedecisions are driven by the diversity of your experiences and expertise— and if you stay silent, your unique perspective will never beconsidered when making them.To be more productive in your next virtual meetings, shift yourmindset around what it means to speak up — for you and foreveryone else. We propose three ways to do this:Shift 1: From “My idea may be incomplete” to “It could bethe source of someone else’s breakthrough.”Research on self-censorship finds that people refrain from speakingup for various reasons. Employees remain silent because they:Fear being ostracizedDon’t want to be embarrassedWant to avoid negative remarksFeel like speaking up is inappropriateFor these reasons, people often decide to hold back an idea that is not“bulletproof” yet, something that may be happening even more invirtual meetings where people are highly aware of time limits.Microsoft Teams, for instance, informs participants that a meeting“will end in five minutes.” These reminders are meant to help leadersallocate time to different items on the agenda, but they can alsoincrease the threshold for speaking up and inhibit people fromsharing incomplete ideas or rough drafts of their thinking.Shift your mindset: Recognize that your half-baked idea could bethe first step in a team breakthrough. Think of it as a suggestion thatthe rest of the team can build on. For example, if you propose togather more user feedback on a prototype, it could lead to a pivot interms of what the final product looks like.Sometimes taking an unknown path on a hike leads to a mesmerizingpanorama that could have been easily missed. Remind yourself thatgreat ideas are generated the same way. Incomplete ideas related tothe meeting’s purpose are not a waste of time. In fact, they may endup helping your team advance from idea to execution.Shift 2: From “It’s probably not my place to speak up” to“Silence is not in the best interest of the team.” Young people are often reluctant to share ideas because they feel likethey are not in a position to do so. You might think: “I don’t haveenough experience to make this point,” or, “I’m so new to this,” butyou should never underestimate the value that your perspectivebrings to the table.Consider this example from one of our clients, Lilli. During abrainstorming session on how to improve the quality of meetings,everyone got a chance to share their ideas. Lilli, a junior colleague atthe organization, was initially hesitant because she wasn’t sure if shecould influence the decision. But thinking about how her idea couldimpact everyone on the team, she decided to speak up. She sharedthat she recently read an article about how Amazon starts executivemeetings by reading a six-page memo in silence for 30 minutes to getall meeting participants on the same page.This meeting style was completely new to her team members, andthey responded with amazement, hesitation, and worries. The “memomeeting style” became a focal point of the brainstorm. In the end, thegroup decided that this new method wouldn’t work for everymeeting, but surely could be a promising approach for some. Now,“memo-based meetings” are a common practice at Lilli’s firm, andhave been evaluated as highly effective.Lilli’s decision compass was very straightforward: Maybe everyone inthe room knew about the meeting style she was presenting. Maybenot. And if the latter was true, then at least she was providing analternative approach that enriched the group’s decision making,because people would be better informed. If Lilli remained silent, herteammates would have missed out on a vital piece of information thatultimately strengthened their choice. Shift your mindset: Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflixputs it like this: “We now say that it is disloyal to Netflix when youdisagree with an idea and do not express disagreement. Bywithholding your opinion, you are implicitly choosing not to help thecompany.”For your next meeting, go in with this mindset. If you believe youmay have an opinion or piece of information that could be material tothe success of the project or the organization, say it. If you aresomeone lower in the hierarchy, follow these three rules of thumb: . Make sure your idea is relevant to the group, not just oneindividual. In the case of the latter, book a one-on-one with thatperson and talk about your idea then. . If you plan to disagree, offer an alternative solution or constructivecriticism. Don’t disagree with an intent to insult, but with anintent to support. . Aim to strengthen the discussion. What you say should be relevantto the goal of the meeting in a broad sense. Meandering about thelatest disruption in Silicon Valley might be an interesting topic butis probably not on-topic during an in-depth dialogue on how toimprove the logistics department of a retailer you work for.Shift 3: From “I want to sound intelligent” to “This isreally about the collective intelligence of my team so wecan all succeed.”“Teams with 60% stars outperform those with 80% or more stars.That’s the evidence from Wall Street analysts, World Cup soccerqualifying matches, and NBA basketball,” says Wharton ProfessorAdam Grant. Contrary to popular belief, most Nobel prize winnersare not isolated loners who came up with brilliant ideas all bythemselves.Research on collective intelligence demonstrates that decision-qualityis driven by the joint intelligence of the group — not by the mostintelligent group member. When you speak up, whether it’s based onexpertise or experience or just a wild idea, your participationincreases collective intelligence and hence the decision-makingquality of your team.Shift your mindset: Think of your next virtual meeting as a puzzlethat everyone is there to solve. Each team member holds uniquepieces to that puzzle, based on their different expertise andexperiences. With this framing in mind, will you still hold back yourideas? When you speak up in a meeting you are not trying to standout but rather to share and help process as much on-topicinformation as you can. Your piece of the puzzle might be really small,but it might just help complete the team’s puzzle.Now, here’s how to actually speak up.A mindset shift is only one part of the problem. It must be followed byspeaking up and being heard. Maybe you want to speak up but, in themoment, you forget what you want to say. Or you’re an introvertwho’d rather write an email with your ideas. Or maybe there are justtoo many senior folks in the meeting, and you don’t know when it’sappropriate to jump in.Let’s take a look at a few ways you can make yourself heard.Prepare your nudge: Think of one on-topic question that you wantto see answered during the meeting and write it on a post-it. Then,stick it on your computer screen. The post-it is a kind nudge, invitingyou to speak up. Also, in case you get “cold-called” you have at leastone thoughtful question to advance the discussion.Rehearse your introduction: How you introduce yourself at thebeginning of a meeting lets people know how you can contribute andhow involved you’d like to be.Don’t say: “Hi, I’m Haruto, and I’m happy to be here.”Do say: “Hi, I’m Haruto. Thank you for inviting me to this meeting. Ilook forward to sharing my initial thoughts and ideas for this projectbased on a design-thinking course I recently took.”Use the chat functions: If you’re not comfortable speaking, use thechat window to your advantage. Plenty of people use the chatfunction on WebEx or Zoom to first make themselves “seen” and then“heard.” When someone notices your helpful question, they’ll be sureto ask you to elaborate and build on your idea.Find your window: Don’t hesitate to react fast when someonedeliberately pauses. Research on turn-taking behavior shows that theperson who is currently speaking is likely to resume speaking after a0.5 second pause because the speaker feels that others had plenty oftime to respond. When you see that window, unmute yourself andshare your idea. You could say, “I’m going to quickly jump in to talkabout….”Raise your hand: If you can’t find a window to make your point, tryusing emojis (applaud or give praise) along with the raised hand emojito draw attention. That will show the speaker that you’re engaged,you heard them, and you would like to contribute.Sign up forAscendA weekly newsletter to help young professionals find theirplace in the working world and realize their personal andcareer goals.Sign UpShow that you’re engaged: This is easier in virtual meetings withfewer people, when you don’t need to scroll to see all of theparticipants. Avoid turning into a statue during the call. Use non-verbal communication to respond to what people are saying andsignal that you’re present. Give a thumbs up when someone shares aninteresting thought or use your facial expression to demonstratesurprise when someone says something that makes you curious. Non-verbal behaviors make speaking up feel more natural.Show appreciation when someone invites you to contribute.Appreciation builds stronger relationships. Say: “Thanks Julia forinviting me to share my two cents. I think we can really advance thischallenge if everyone gives input based on our own experience andexpertise.” In this case, Julia receives praise for inviting others tospeak up, and you help to establish a norm where sharing ideas andperspectives is welcomed and expected.Simply put, speaking up is good for you and your team. So in yournext meeting, use these tips and give it a shot. Who knows, your twocents could change the face of a new product!Tijs Besieux, PhD, is the founder of LeadershipFootprint. He is a senior expert in behavioralchange at &samhoud. Tijs is a visiting professor ofleadership at IÉSEG School of Management and aresearch fellow at Leuven University.Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor ofLeadership and Management at Harvard BusinessSchool. She is the author of The FearlessOrganization: Creating Psychological Safety in theTBWorkplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth(Wiley, 2019).Femke de Vries is professor by specialappointment in Supervision at GroningenUniversity and managing partner at &samhoud.After the financial crisis she was one of thearchitects of the newly developed supervision onorganizational behavior and board effectiveness inthe financial industry. She advises organizationsworldwide on risk management and behavior andculture.FV

How to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up in Meetings

Dissertations of the University of Groningen

   University of GroningenHow to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up in MeetingsBesieux, Tijs ; Edmondson, Amy C. ; de Vries, FemkePublished in:Harvard Business ReviewIMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite fromit. Please check the document version below.Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordPublication date:2021Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research databaseCitation for published version (APA):Besieux, T., Edmondson, A. C., & de Vries, F. (2021). How to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up inMeetings. Harvard Business Review.CopyrightOther than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of theauthor(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).The publication may also be distributed here under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license.More information can be found on the University of Groningen website: https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/self-archiving-pure/taverne-amendment.Take-down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediatelyand investigate your claim.Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons thenumber of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum.Download date: 10-09-2023Managing YourselfHow to Overcome Your Fear ofSpeaking Up in Meetingsby Tijs Besieux, Amy C. Edmondson, and Femke de VriesJune 11, 2021Summary.   Getty Images/eleonora galliIf you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings, you’re notalone. You might feel your ideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable.Or, perhaps, you joined the company remotely and feel reserved around your newteammates or senior colleagues....Job and life advice for young professionals. See more from Ascend here.moreDo you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings? If so,you’re not alone. Many factors contribute.1) It’s harder to read physical and social cues. In-person, it was easierto figure out when voicing your opinion was welcome andappropriate — someone might lean towards you or gesture at you toinvite a response. But noticing these expressions onscreen is difficult,and even impossible on a very big team.2) If you’re a junior employee or someone who joined the companyremotely and are still settling in, you may feel especially reservedaround your new teammates or senior colleagues. Hierarchy can beintimidating. You don’t want to come across as uninformed or foolishto bosses or clients, or you may feel that someone more seasonedthan you will take your suggestions as personal critiques.3) Lastly — and this happens in person, too — you might feel yourideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable. This oftenoccurs when you’re asked to brainstorm on the spot and there is lesstime to make a well-formed contribution.Whatever the reason, know that we all struggle to speak up at times,no matter what point we are at in our careers. That said, finding thecourage to do so is critical to your success, as well as to the success ofyour team and your organization. The quality of your collectivedecisions are driven by the diversity of your experiences and expertise— and if you stay silent, your unique perspective will never beconsidered when making them.To be more productive in your next virtual meetings, shift yourmindset around what it means to speak up — for you and foreveryone else. We propose three ways to do this:Shift 1: From “My idea may be incomplete” to “It could bethe source of someone else’s breakthrough.”Research on self-censorship finds that people refrain from speakingup for various reasons. Employees remain silent because they:Fear being ostracizedDon’t want to be embarrassedWant to avoid negative remarksFeel like speaking up is inappropriateFor these reasons, people often decide to hold back an idea that is not“bulletproof” yet, something that may be happening even more invirtual meetings where people are highly aware of time limits.Microsoft Teams, for instance, informs participants that a meeting“will end in five minutes.” These reminders are meant to help leadersallocate time to different items on the agenda, but they can alsoincrease the threshold for speaking up and inhibit people fromsharing incomplete ideas or rough drafts of their thinking.Shift your mindset: Recognize that your half-baked idea could bethe first step in a team breakthrough. Think of it as a suggestion thatthe rest of the team can build on. For example, if you propose togather more user feedback on a prototype, it could lead to a pivot interms of what the final product looks like.Sometimes taking an unknown path on a hike leads to a mesmerizingpanorama that could have been easily missed. Remind yourself thatgreat ideas are generated the same way. Incomplete ideas related tothe meeting’s purpose are not a waste of time. In fact, they may endup helping your team advance from idea to execution.Shift 2: From “It’s probably not my place to speak up” to“Silence is not in the best interest of the team.” Young people are often reluctant to share ideas because they feel likethey are not in a position to do so. You might think: “I don’t haveenough experience to make this point,” or, “I’m so new to this,” butyou should never underestimate the value that your perspectivebrings to the table.Consider this example from one of our clients, Lilli. During abrainstorming session on how to improve the quality of meetings,everyone got a chance to share their ideas. Lilli, a junior colleague atthe organization, was initially hesitant because she wasn’t sure if shecould influence the decision. But thinking about how her idea couldimpact everyone on the team, she decided to speak up. She sharedthat she recently read an article about how Amazon starts executivemeetings by reading a six-page memo in silence for 30 minutes to getall meeting participants on the same page.This meeting style was completely new to her team members, andthey responded with amazement, hesitation, and worries. The “memomeeting style” became a focal point of the brainstorm. In the end, thegroup decided that this new method wouldn’t work for everymeeting, but surely could be a promising approach for some. Now,“memo-based meetings” are a common practice at Lilli’s firm, andhave been evaluated as highly effective.Lilli’s decision compass was very straightforward: Maybe everyone inthe room knew about the meeting style she was presenting. Maybenot. And if the latter was true, then at least she was providing analternative approach that enriched the group’s decision making,because people would be better informed. If Lilli remained silent, herteammates would have missed out on a vital piece of information thatultimately strengthened their choice. Shift your mindset: Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflixputs it like this: “We now say that it is disloyal to Netflix when youdisagree with an idea and do not express disagreement. Bywithholding your opinion, you are implicitly choosing not to help thecompany.”For your next meeting, go in with this mindset. If you believe youmay have an opinion or piece of information that could be material tothe success of the project or the organization, say it. If you aresomeone lower in the hierarchy, follow these three rules of thumb: . Make sure your idea is relevant to the group, not just oneindividual. In the case of the latter, book a one-on-one with thatperson and talk about your idea then. . If you plan to disagree, offer an alternative solution or constructivecriticism. Don’t disagree with an intent to insult, but with anintent to support. . Aim to strengthen the discussion. What you say should be relevantto the goal of the meeting in a broad sense. Meandering about thelatest disruption in Silicon Valley might be an interesting topic butis probably not on-topic during an in-depth dialogue on how toimprove the logistics department of a retailer you work for.Shift 3: From “I want to sound intelligent” to “This isreally about the collective intelligence of my team so wecan all succeed.”“Teams with 60% stars outperform those with 80% or more stars.That’s the evidence from Wall Street analysts, World Cup soccerqualifying matches, and NBA basketball,” says Wharton ProfessorAdam Grant. Contrary to popular belief, most Nobel prize winnersare not isolated loners who came up with brilliant ideas all bythemselves.Research on collective intelligence demonstrates that decision-qualityis driven by the joint intelligence of the group — not by the mostintelligent group member. When you speak up, whether it’s based onexpertise or experience or just a wild idea, your participationincreases collective intelligence and hence the decision-makingquality of your team.Shift your mindset: Think of your next virtual meeting as a puzzlethat everyone is there to solve. Each team member holds uniquepieces to that puzzle, based on their different expertise andexperiences. With this framing in mind, will you still hold back yourideas? When you speak up in a meeting you are not trying to standout but rather to share and help process as much on-topicinformation as you can. Your piece of the puzzle might be really small,but it might just help complete the team’s puzzle.Now, here’s how to actually speak up.A mindset shift is only one part of the problem. It must be followed byspeaking up and being heard. Maybe you want to speak up but, in themoment, you forget what you want to say. Or you’re an introvertwho’d rather write an email with your ideas. Or maybe there are justtoo many senior folks in the meeting, and you don’t know when it’sappropriate to jump in.Let’s take a look at a few ways you can make yourself heard.Prepare your nudge: Think of one on-topic question that you wantto see answered during the meeting and write it on a post-it. Then,stick it on your computer screen. The post-it is a kind nudge, invitingyou to speak up. Also, in case you get “cold-called” you have at leastone thoughtful question to advance the discussion.Rehearse your introduction: How you introduce yourself at thebeginning of a meeting lets people know how you can contribute andhow involved you’d like to be.Don’t say: “Hi, I’m Haruto, and I’m happy to be here.”Do say: “Hi, I’m Haruto. Thank you for inviting me to this meeting. Ilook forward to sharing my initial thoughts and ideas for this projectbased on a design-thinking course I recently took.”Use the chat functions: If you’re not comfortable speaking, use thechat window to your advantage. Plenty of people use the chatfunction on WebEx or Zoom to first make themselves “seen” and then“heard.” When someone notices your helpful question, they’ll be sureto ask you to elaborate and build on your idea.Find your window: Don’t hesitate to react fast when someonedeliberately pauses. Research on turn-taking behavior shows that theperson who is currently speaking is likely to resume speaking after a0.5 second pause because the speaker feels that others had plenty oftime to respond. When you see that window, unmute yourself andshare your idea. You could say, “I’m going to quickly jump in to talkabout….”Raise your hand: If you can’t find a window to make your point, tryusing emojis (applaud or give praise) along with the raised hand emojito draw attention. That will show the speaker that you’re engaged,you heard them, and you would like to contribute.Sign up forAscendA weekly newsletter to help young professionals find theirplace in the working world and realize their personal andcareer goals.Sign UpShow that you’re engaged: This is easier in virtual meetings withfewer people, when you don’t need to scroll to see all of theparticipants. Avoid turning into a statue during the call. Use non-verbal communication to respond to what people are saying andsignal that you’re present. Give a thumbs up when someone shares aninteresting thought or use your facial expression to demonstratesurprise when someone says something that makes you curious. Non-verbal behaviors make speaking up feel more natural.Show appreciation when someone invites you to contribute.Appreciation builds stronger relationships. Say: “Thanks Julia forinviting me to share my two cents. I think we can really advance thischallenge if everyone gives input based on our own experience andexpertise.” In this case, Julia receives praise for inviting others tospeak up, and you help to establish a norm where sharing ideas andperspectives is welcomed and expected.Simply put, speaking up is good for you and your team. So in yournext meeting, use these tips and give it a shot. Who knows, your twocents could change the face of a new product!Tijs Besieux, PhD, is the founder of LeadershipFootprint. He is a senior expert in behavioralchange at &samhoud. Tijs is a visiting professor ofleadership at IÉSEG School of Management and aresearch fellow at Leuven University.Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor ofLeadership and Management at Harvard BusinessSchool. She is the author of The FearlessOrganization: Creating Psychological Safety in theTBWorkplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth(Wiley, 2019).Femke de Vries is professor by specialappointment in Supervision at GroningenUniversity and managing partner at &samhoud.After the financial crisis she was one of thearchitects of the newly developed supervision onorganizational behavior and board effectiveness inthe financial industry. She advises organizationsworldwide on risk management and behavior andculture.FV

ARTS repository - University of Groningen

   University of GroningenHow to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up in MeetingsBesieux, Tijs ; Edmondson, Amy C. ; de Vries, FemkePublished in:Harvard Business ReviewIMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite fromit. Please check the document version below.Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordPublication date:2021Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research databaseCitation for published version (APA):Besieux, T., Edmondson, A. C., & de Vries, F. (2021). How to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up inMeetings. Harvard Business Review.CopyrightOther than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of theauthor(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).The publication may also be distributed here under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license.More information can be found on the University of Groningen website: https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/self-archiving-pure/taverne-amendment.Take-down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediatelyand investigate your claim.Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons thenumber of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum.Download date: 21-06-2022Managing YourselfHow to Overcome Your Fear ofSpeaking Up in Meetingsby Tijs Besieux, Amy C. Edmondson, and Femke de VriesJune 11, 2021Summary.   Getty Images/eleonora galliIf you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings, you’re notalone. You might feel your ideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable.Or, perhaps, you joined the company remotely and feel reserved around your newteammates or senior colleagues....Job and life advice for young professionals. See more from Ascend here.moreDo you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings? If so,you’re not alone. Many factors contribute.1) It’s harder to read physical and social cues. In-person, it was easierto figure out when voicing your opinion was welcome andappropriate — someone might lean towards you or gesture at you toinvite a response. But noticing these expressions onscreen is difficult,and even impossible on a very big team.2) If you’re a junior employee or someone who joined the companyremotely and are still settling in, you may feel especially reservedaround your new teammates or senior colleagues. Hierarchy can beintimidating. You don’t want to come across as uninformed or foolishto bosses or clients, or you may feel that someone more seasonedthan you will take your suggestions as personal critiques.3) Lastly — and this happens in person, too — you might feel yourideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable. This oftenoccurs when you’re asked to brainstorm on the spot and there is lesstime to make a well-formed contribution.Whatever the reason, know that we all struggle to speak up at times,no matter what point we are at in our careers. That said, finding thecourage to do so is critical to your success, as well as to the success ofyour team and your organization. The quality of your collectivedecisions are driven by the diversity of your experiences and expertise— and if you stay silent, your unique perspective will never beconsidered when making them.To be more productive in your next virtual meetings, shift yourmindset around what it means to speak up — for you and foreveryone else. We propose three ways to do this:Shift 1: From “My idea may be incomplete” to “It could bethe source of someone else’s breakthrough.”Research on self-censorship finds that people refrain from speakingup for various reasons. Employees remain silent because they:Fear being ostracizedDon’t want to be embarrassedWant to avoid negative remarksFeel like speaking up is inappropriateFor these reasons, people often decide to hold back an idea that is not“bulletproof” yet, something that may be happening even more invirtual meetings where people are highly aware of time limits.Microsoft Teams, for instance, informs participants that a meeting“will end in five minutes.” These reminders are meant to help leadersallocate time to different items on the agenda, but they can alsoincrease the threshold for speaking up and inhibit people fromsharing incomplete ideas or rough drafts of their thinking.Shift your mindset: Recognize that your half-baked idea could bethe first step in a team breakthrough. Think of it as a suggestion thatthe rest of the team can build on. For example, if you propose togather more user feedback on a prototype, it could lead to a pivot interms of what the final product looks like.Sometimes taking an unknown path on a hike leads to a mesmerizingpanorama that could have been easily missed. Remind yourself thatgreat ideas are generated the same way. Incomplete ideas related tothe meeting’s purpose are not a waste of time. In fact, they may endup helping your team advance from idea to execution.Shift 2: From “It’s probably not my place to speak up” to“Silence is not in the best interest of the team.” Young people are often reluctant to share ideas because they feel likethey are not in a position to do so. You might think: “I don’t haveenough experience to make this point,” or, “I’m so new to this,” butyou should never underestimate the value that your perspectivebrings to the table.Consider this example from one of our clients, Lilli. During abrainstorming session on how to improve the quality of meetings,everyone got a chance to share their ideas. Lilli, a junior colleague atthe organization, was initially hesitant because she wasn’t sure if shecould influence the decision. But thinking about how her idea couldimpact everyone on the team, she decided to speak up. She sharedthat she recently read an article about how Amazon starts executivemeetings by reading a six-page memo in silence for 30 minutes to getall meeting participants on the same page.This meeting style was completely new to her team members, andthey responded with amazement, hesitation, and worries. The “memomeeting style” became a focal point of the brainstorm. In the end, thegroup decided that this new method wouldn’t work for everymeeting, but surely could be a promising approach for some. Now,“memo-based meetings” are a common practice at Lilli’s firm, andhave been evaluated as highly effective.Lilli’s decision compass was very straightforward: Maybe everyone inthe room knew about the meeting style she was presenting. Maybenot. And if the latter was true, then at least she was providing analternative approach that enriched the group’s decision making,because people would be better informed. If Lilli remained silent, herteammates would have missed out on a vital piece of information thatultimately strengthened their choice. Shift your mindset: Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflixputs it like this: “We now say that it is disloyal to Netflix when youdisagree with an idea and do not express disagreement. Bywithholding your opinion, you are implicitly choosing not to help thecompany.”For your next meeting, go in with this mindset. If you believe youmay have an opinion or piece of information that could be material tothe success of the project or the organization, say it. If you aresomeone lower in the hierarchy, follow these three rules of thumb: . Make sure your idea is relevant to the group, not just oneindividual. In the case of the latter, book a one-on-one with thatperson and talk about your idea then. . If you plan to disagree, offer an alternative solution or constructivecriticism. Don’t disagree with an intent to insult, but with anintent to support. . Aim to strengthen the discussion. What you say should be relevantto the goal of the meeting in a broad sense. Meandering about thelatest disruption in Silicon Valley might be an interesting topic butis probably not on-topic during an in-depth dialogue on how toimprove the logistics department of a retailer you work for.Shift 3: From “I want to sound intelligent” to “This isreally about the collective intelligence of my team so wecan all succeed.”“Teams with 60% stars outperform those with 80% or more stars.That’s the evidence from Wall Street analysts, World Cup soccerqualifying matches, and NBA basketball,” says Wharton ProfessorAdam Grant. Contrary to popular belief, most Nobel prize winnersare not isolated loners who came up with brilliant ideas all bythemselves.Research on collective intelligence demonstrates that decision-qualityis driven by the joint intelligence of the group — not by the mostintelligent group member. When you speak up, whether it’s based onexpertise or experience or just a wild idea, your participationincreases collective intelligence and hence the decision-makingquality of your team.Shift your mindset: Think of your next virtual meeting as a puzzlethat everyone is there to solve. Each team member holds uniquepieces to that puzzle, based on their different expertise andexperiences. With this framing in mind, will you still hold back yourideas? When you speak up in a meeting you are not trying to standout but rather to share and help process as much on-topicinformation as you can. Your piece of the puzzle might be really small,but it might just help complete the team’s puzzle.Now, here’s how to actually speak up.A mindset shift is only one part of the problem. It must be followed byspeaking up and being heard. Maybe you want to speak up but, in themoment, you forget what you want to say. Or you’re an introvertwho’d rather write an email with your ideas. Or maybe there are justtoo many senior folks in the meeting, and you don’t know when it’sappropriate to jump in.Let’s take a look at a few ways you can make yourself heard.Prepare your nudge: Think of one on-topic question that you wantto see answered during the meeting and write it on a post-it. Then,stick it on your computer screen. The post-it is a kind nudge, invitingyou to speak up. Also, in case you get “cold-called” you have at leastone thoughtful question to advance the discussion.Rehearse your introduction: How you introduce yourself at thebeginning of a meeting lets people know how you can contribute andhow involved you’d like to be.Don’t say: “Hi, I’m Haruto, and I’m happy to be here.”Do say: “Hi, I’m Haruto. Thank you for inviting me to this meeting. Ilook forward to sharing my initial thoughts and ideas for this projectbased on a design-thinking course I recently took.”Use the chat functions: If you’re not comfortable speaking, use thechat window to your advantage. Plenty of people use the chatfunction on WebEx or Zoom to first make themselves “seen” and then“heard.” When someone notices your helpful question, they’ll be sureto ask you to elaborate and build on your idea.Find your window: Don’t hesitate to react fast when someonedeliberately pauses. Research on turn-taking behavior shows that theperson who is currently speaking is likely to resume speaking after a0.5 second pause because the speaker feels that others had plenty oftime to respond. When you see that window, unmute yourself andshare your idea. You could say, “I’m going to quickly jump in to talkabout….”Raise your hand: If you can’t find a window to make your point, tryusing emojis (applaud or give praise) along with the raised hand emojito draw attention. That will show the speaker that you’re engaged,you heard them, and you would like to contribute.Sign up forAscendA weekly newsletter to help young professionals find theirplace in the working world and realize their personal andcareer goals.Sign UpShow that you’re engaged: This is easier in virtual meetings withfewer people, when you don’t need to scroll to see all of theparticipants. Avoid turning into a statue during the call. Use non-verbal communication to respond to what people are saying andsignal that you’re present. Give a thumbs up when someone shares aninteresting thought or use your facial expression to demonstratesurprise when someone says something that makes you curious. Non-verbal behaviors make speaking up feel more natural.Show appreciation when someone invites you to contribute.Appreciation builds stronger relationships. Say: “Thanks Julia forinviting me to share my two cents. I think we can really advance thischallenge if everyone gives input based on our own experience andexpertise.” In this case, Julia receives praise for inviting others tospeak up, and you help to establish a norm where sharing ideas andperspectives is welcomed and expected.Simply put, speaking up is good for you and your team. So in yournext meeting, use these tips and give it a shot. Who knows, your twocents could change the face of a new product!Tijs Besieux, PhD, is the founder of LeadershipFootprint. He is a senior expert in behavioralchange at &samhoud. Tijs is a visiting professor ofleadership at IÉSEG School of Management and aresearch fellow at Leuven University.Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor ofLeadership and Management at Harvard BusinessSchool. She is the author of The FearlessOrganization: Creating Psychological Safety in theTBWorkplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth(Wiley, 2019).Femke de Vries is professor by specialappointment in Supervision at GroningenUniversity and managing partner at &samhoud.After the financial crisis she was one of thearchitects of the newly developed supervision onorganizational behavior and board effectiveness inthe financial industry. She advises organizationsworldwide on risk management and behavior andculture.FV

Proceedings - University of Groningen

   University of GroningenHow to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up in MeetingsBesieux, Tijs ; Edmondson, Amy C. ; de Vries, FemkePublished in:Harvard Business ReviewIMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite fromit. Please check the document version below.Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordPublication date:2021Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research databaseCitation for published version (APA):Besieux, T., Edmondson, A. C., & de Vries, F. (2021). How to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up inMeetings. Harvard Business Review.CopyrightOther than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of theauthor(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).The publication may also be distributed here under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license.More information can be found on the University of Groningen website: https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/self-archiving-pure/taverne-amendment.Take-down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediatelyand investigate your claim.Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons thenumber of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum.Download date: 04-06-2022Managing YourselfHow to Overcome Your Fear ofSpeaking Up in Meetingsby Tijs Besieux, Amy C. Edmondson, and Femke de VriesJune 11, 2021Summary.   Getty Images/eleonora galliIf you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings, you’re notalone. You might feel your ideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable.Or, perhaps, you joined the company remotely and feel reserved around your newteammates or senior colleagues....Job and life advice for young professionals. See more from Ascend here.moreDo you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings? If so,you’re not alone. Many factors contribute.1) It’s harder to read physical and social cues. In-person, it was easierto figure out when voicing your opinion was welcome andappropriate — someone might lean towards you or gesture at you toinvite a response. But noticing these expressions onscreen is difficult,and even impossible on a very big team.2) If you’re a junior employee or someone who joined the companyremotely and are still settling in, you may feel especially reservedaround your new teammates or senior colleagues. Hierarchy can beintimidating. You don’t want to come across as uninformed or foolishto bosses or clients, or you may feel that someone more seasonedthan you will take your suggestions as personal critiques.3) Lastly — and this happens in person, too — you might feel yourideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable. This oftenoccurs when you’re asked to brainstorm on the spot and there is lesstime to make a well-formed contribution.Whatever the reason, know that we all struggle to speak up at times,no matter what point we are at in our careers. That said, finding thecourage to do so is critical to your success, as well as to the success ofyour team and your organization. The quality of your collectivedecisions are driven by the diversity of your experiences and expertise— and if you stay silent, your unique perspective will never beconsidered when making them.To be more productive in your next virtual meetings, shift yourmindset around what it means to speak up — for you and foreveryone else. We propose three ways to do this:Shift 1: From “My idea may be incomplete” to “It could bethe source of someone else’s breakthrough.”Research on self-censorship finds that people refrain from speakingup for various reasons. Employees remain silent because they:Fear being ostracizedDon’t want to be embarrassedWant to avoid negative remarksFeel like speaking up is inappropriateFor these reasons, people often decide to hold back an idea that is not“bulletproof” yet, something that may be happening even more invirtual meetings where people are highly aware of time limits.Microsoft Teams, for instance, informs participants that a meeting“will end in five minutes.” These reminders are meant to help leadersallocate time to different items on the agenda, but they can alsoincrease the threshold for speaking up and inhibit people fromsharing incomplete ideas or rough drafts of their thinking.Shift your mindset: Recognize that your half-baked idea could bethe first step in a team breakthrough. Think of it as a suggestion thatthe rest of the team can build on. For example, if you propose togather more user feedback on a prototype, it could lead to a pivot interms of what the final product looks like.Sometimes taking an unknown path on a hike leads to a mesmerizingpanorama that could have been easily missed. Remind yourself thatgreat ideas are generated the same way. Incomplete ideas related tothe meeting’s purpose are not a waste of time. In fact, they may endup helping your team advance from idea to execution.Shift 2: From “It’s probably not my place to speak up” to“Silence is not in the best interest of the team.” Young people are often reluctant to share ideas because they feel likethey are not in a position to do so. You might think: “I don’t haveenough experience to make this point,” or, “I’m so new to this,” butyou should never underestimate the value that your perspectivebrings to the table.Consider this example from one of our clients, Lilli. During abrainstorming session on how to improve the quality of meetings,everyone got a chance to share their ideas. Lilli, a junior colleague atthe organization, was initially hesitant because she wasn’t sure if shecould influence the decision. But thinking about how her idea couldimpact everyone on the team, she decided to speak up. She sharedthat she recently read an article about how Amazon starts executivemeetings by reading a six-page memo in silence for 30 minutes to getall meeting participants on the same page.This meeting style was completely new to her team members, andthey responded with amazement, hesitation, and worries. The “memomeeting style” became a focal point of the brainstorm. In the end, thegroup decided that this new method wouldn’t work for everymeeting, but surely could be a promising approach for some. Now,“memo-based meetings” are a common practice at Lilli’s firm, andhave been evaluated as highly effective.Lilli’s decision compass was very straightforward: Maybe everyone inthe room knew about the meeting style she was presenting. Maybenot. And if the latter was true, then at least she was providing analternative approach that enriched the group’s decision making,because people would be better informed. If Lilli remained silent, herteammates would have missed out on a vital piece of information thatultimately strengthened their choice. Shift your mindset: Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflixputs it like this: “We now say that it is disloyal to Netflix when youdisagree with an idea and do not express disagreement. Bywithholding your opinion, you are implicitly choosing not to help thecompany.”For your next meeting, go in with this mindset. If you believe youmay have an opinion or piece of information that could be material tothe success of the project or the organization, say it. If you aresomeone lower in the hierarchy, follow these three rules of thumb: . Make sure your idea is relevant to the group, not just oneindividual. In the case of the latter, book a one-on-one with thatperson and talk about your idea then. . If you plan to disagree, offer an alternative solution or constructivecriticism. Don’t disagree with an intent to insult, but with anintent to support. . Aim to strengthen the discussion. What you say should be relevantto the goal of the meeting in a broad sense. Meandering about thelatest disruption in Silicon Valley might be an interesting topic butis probably not on-topic during an in-depth dialogue on how toimprove the logistics department of a retailer you work for.Shift 3: From “I want to sound intelligent” to “This isreally about the collective intelligence of my team so wecan all succeed.”“Teams with 60% stars outperform those with 80% or more stars.That’s the evidence from Wall Street analysts, World Cup soccerqualifying matches, and NBA basketball,” says Wharton ProfessorAdam Grant. Contrary to popular belief, most Nobel prize winnersare not isolated loners who came up with brilliant ideas all bythemselves.Research on collective intelligence demonstrates that decision-qualityis driven by the joint intelligence of the group — not by the mostintelligent group member. When you speak up, whether it’s based onexpertise or experience or just a wild idea, your participationincreases collective intelligence and hence the decision-makingquality of your team.Shift your mindset: Think of your next virtual meeting as a puzzlethat everyone is there to solve. Each team member holds uniquepieces to that puzzle, based on their different expertise andexperiences. With this framing in mind, will you still hold back yourideas? When you speak up in a meeting you are not trying to standout but rather to share and help process as much on-topicinformation as you can. Your piece of the puzzle might be really small,but it might just help complete the team’s puzzle.Now, here’s how to actually speak up.A mindset shift is only one part of the problem. It must be followed byspeaking up and being heard. Maybe you want to speak up but, in themoment, you forget what you want to say. Or you’re an introvertwho’d rather write an email with your ideas. Or maybe there are justtoo many senior folks in the meeting, and you don’t know when it’sappropriate to jump in.Let’s take a look at a few ways you can make yourself heard.Prepare your nudge: Think of one on-topic question that you wantto see answered during the meeting and write it on a post-it. Then,stick it on your computer screen. The post-it is a kind nudge, invitingyou to speak up. Also, in case you get “cold-called” you have at leastone thoughtful question to advance the discussion.Rehearse your introduction: How you introduce yourself at thebeginning of a meeting lets people know how you can contribute andhow involved you’d like to be.Don’t say: “Hi, I’m Haruto, and I’m happy to be here.”Do say: “Hi, I’m Haruto. Thank you for inviting me to this meeting. Ilook forward to sharing my initial thoughts and ideas for this projectbased on a design-thinking course I recently took.”Use the chat functions: If you’re not comfortable speaking, use thechat window to your advantage. Plenty of people use the chatfunction on WebEx or Zoom to first make themselves “seen” and then“heard.” When someone notices your helpful question, they’ll be sureto ask you to elaborate and build on your idea.Find your window: Don’t hesitate to react fast when someonedeliberately pauses. Research on turn-taking behavior shows that theperson who is currently speaking is likely to resume speaking after a0.5 second pause because the speaker feels that others had plenty oftime to respond. When you see that window, unmute yourself andshare your idea. You could say, “I’m going to quickly jump in to talkabout….”Raise your hand: If you can’t find a window to make your point, tryusing emojis (applaud or give praise) along with the raised hand emojito draw attention. That will show the speaker that you’re engaged,you heard them, and you would like to contribute.Sign up forAscendA weekly newsletter to help young professionals find theirplace in the working world and realize their personal andcareer goals.Sign UpShow that you’re engaged: This is easier in virtual meetings withfewer people, when you don’t need to scroll to see all of theparticipants. Avoid turning into a statue during the call. Use non-verbal communication to respond to what people are saying andsignal that you’re present. Give a thumbs up when someone shares aninteresting thought or use your facial expression to demonstratesurprise when someone says something that makes you curious. Non-verbal behaviors make speaking up feel more natural.Show appreciation when someone invites you to contribute.Appreciation builds stronger relationships. Say: “Thanks Julia forinviting me to share my two cents. I think we can really advance thischallenge if everyone gives input based on our own experience andexpertise.” In this case, Julia receives praise for inviting others tospeak up, and you help to establish a norm where sharing ideas andperspectives is welcomed and expected.Simply put, speaking up is good for you and your team. So in yournext meeting, use these tips and give it a shot. Who knows, your twocents could change the face of a new product!Tijs Besieux, PhD, is the founder of LeadershipFootprint. He is a senior expert in behavioralchange at &samhoud. Tijs is a visiting professor ofleadership at IÉSEG School of Management and aresearch fellow at Leuven University.Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor ofLeadership and Management at Harvard BusinessSchool. She is the author of The FearlessOrganization: Creating Psychological Safety in theTBWorkplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth(Wiley, 2019).Femke de Vries is professor by specialappointment in Supervision at GroningenUniversity and managing partner at &samhoud.After the financial crisis she was one of thearchitects of the newly developed supervision onorganizational behavior and board effectiveness inthe financial industry. She advises organizationsworldwide on risk management and behavior andculture.FV

   University of GroningenHow to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up in MeetingsBesieux, Tijs ; Edmondson, Amy C. ; de Vries, FemkePublished in:Harvard Business ReviewIMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite fromit. Please check the document version below.Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordPublication date:2021Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research databaseCitation for published version (APA):Besieux, T., Edmondson, A. C., & de Vries, F. (2021). How to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up inMeetings. Harvard Business Review.CopyrightOther than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of theauthor(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).The publication may also be distributed here under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license.More information can be found on the University of Groningen website: https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/self-archiving-pure/taverne-amendment.Take-down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediatelyand investigate your claim.Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons thenumber of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum.Download date: 01-11-2023Managing YourselfHow to Overcome Your Fear ofSpeaking Up in Meetingsby Tijs Besieux, Amy C. Edmondson, and Femke de VriesJune 11, 2021Summary.   Getty Images/eleonora galliIf you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings, you’re notalone. You might feel your ideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable.Or, perhaps, you joined the company remotely and feel reserved around your newteammates or senior colleagues....Job and life advice for young professionals. See more from Ascend here.moreDo you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings? If so,you’re not alone. Many factors contribute.1) It’s harder to read physical and social cues. In-person, it was easierto figure out when voicing your opinion was welcome andappropriate — someone might lean towards you or gesture at you toinvite a response. But noticing these expressions onscreen is difficult,and even impossible on a very big team.2) If you’re a junior employee or someone who joined the companyremotely and are still settling in, you may feel especially reservedaround your new teammates or senior colleagues. Hierarchy can beintimidating. You don’t want to come across as uninformed or foolishto bosses or clients, or you may feel that someone more seasonedthan you will take your suggestions as personal critiques.3) Lastly — and this happens in person, too — you might feel yourideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable. This oftenoccurs when you’re asked to brainstorm on the spot and there is lesstime to make a well-formed contribution.Whatever the reason, know that we all struggle to speak up at times,no matter what point we are at in our careers. That said, finding thecourage to do so is critical to your success, as well as to the success ofyour team and your organization. The quality of your collectivedecisions are driven by the diversity of your experiences and expertise— and if you stay silent, your unique perspective will never beconsidered when making them.To be more productive in your next virtual meetings, shift yourmindset around what it means to speak up — for you and foreveryone else. We propose three ways to do this:Shift 1: From “My idea may be incomplete” to “It could bethe source of someone else’s breakthrough.”Research on self-censorship finds that people refrain from speakingup for various reasons. Employees remain silent because they:Fear being ostracizedDon’t want to be embarrassedWant to avoid negative remarksFeel like speaking up is inappropriateFor these reasons, people often decide to hold back an idea that is not“bulletproof” yet, something that may be happening even more invirtual meetings where people are highly aware of time limits.Microsoft Teams, for instance, informs participants that a meeting“will end in five minutes.” These reminders are meant to help leadersallocate time to different items on the agenda, but they can alsoincrease the threshold for speaking up and inhibit people fromsharing incomplete ideas or rough drafts of their thinking.Shift your mindset: Recognize that your half-baked idea could bethe first step in a team breakthrough. Think of it as a suggestion thatthe rest of the team can build on. For example, if you propose togather more user feedback on a prototype, it could lead to a pivot interms of what the final product looks like.Sometimes taking an unknown path on a hike leads to a mesmerizingpanorama that could have been easily missed. Remind yourself thatgreat ideas are generated the same way. Incomplete ideas related tothe meeting’s purpose are not a waste of time. In fact, they may endup helping your team advance from idea to execution.Shift 2: From “It’s probably not my place to speak up” to“Silence is not in the best interest of the team.” Young people are often reluctant to share ideas because they feel likethey are not in a position to do so. You might think: “I don’t haveenough experience to make this point,” or, “I’m so new to this,” butyou should never underestimate the value that your perspectivebrings to the table.Consider this example from one of our clients, Lilli. During abrainstorming session on how to improve the quality of meetings,everyone got a chance to share their ideas. Lilli, a junior colleague atthe organization, was initially hesitant because she wasn’t sure if shecould influence the decision. But thinking about how her idea couldimpact everyone on the team, she decided to speak up. She sharedthat she recently read an article about how Amazon starts executivemeetings by reading a six-page memo in silence for 30 minutes to getall meeting participants on the same page.This meeting style was completely new to her team members, andthey responded with amazement, hesitation, and worries. The “memomeeting style” became a focal point of the brainstorm. In the end, thegroup decided that this new method wouldn’t work for everymeeting, but surely could be a promising approach for some. Now,“memo-based meetings” are a common practice at Lilli’s firm, andhave been evaluated as highly effective.Lilli’s decision compass was very straightforward: Maybe everyone inthe room knew about the meeting style she was presenting. Maybenot. And if the latter was true, then at least she was providing analternative approach that enriched the group’s decision making,because people would be better informed. If Lilli remained silent, herteammates would have missed out on a vital piece of information thatultimately strengthened their choice. Shift your mindset: Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflixputs it like this: “We now say that it is disloyal to Netflix when youdisagree with an idea and do not express disagreement. Bywithholding your opinion, you are implicitly choosing not to help thecompany.”For your next meeting, go in with this mindset. If you believe youmay have an opinion or piece of information that could be material tothe success of the project or the organization, say it. If you aresomeone lower in the hierarchy, follow these three rules of thumb: . Make sure your idea is relevant to the group, not just oneindividual. In the case of the latter, book a one-on-one with thatperson and talk about your idea then. . If you plan to disagree, offer an alternative solution or constructivecriticism. Don’t disagree with an intent to insult, but with anintent to support. . Aim to strengthen the discussion. What you say should be relevantto the goal of the meeting in a broad sense. Meandering about thelatest disruption in Silicon Valley might be an interesting topic butis probably not on-topic during an in-depth dialogue on how toimprove the logistics department of a retailer you work for.Shift 3: From “I want to sound intelligent” to “This isreally about the collective intelligence of my team so wecan all succeed.”“Teams with 60% stars outperform those with 80% or more stars.That’s the evidence from Wall Street analysts, World Cup soccerqualifying matches, and NBA basketball,” says Wharton ProfessorAdam Grant. Contrary to popular belief, most Nobel prize winnersare not isolated loners who came up with brilliant ideas all bythemselves.Research on collective intelligence demonstrates that decision-qualityis driven by the joint intelligence of the group — not by the mostintelligent group member. When you speak up, whether it’s based onexpertise or experience or just a wild idea, your participationincreases collective intelligence and hence the decision-makingquality of your team.Shift your mindset: Think of your next virtual meeting as a puzzlethat everyone is there to solve. Each team member holds uniquepieces to that puzzle, based on their different expertise andexperiences. With this framing in mind, will you still hold back yourideas? When you speak up in a meeting you are not trying to standout but rather to share and help process as much on-topicinformation as you can. Your piece of the puzzle might be really small,but it might just help complete the team’s puzzle.Now, here’s how to actually speak up.A mindset shift is only one part of the problem. It must be followed byspeaking up and being heard. Maybe you want to speak up but, in themoment, you forget what you want to say. Or you’re an introvertwho’d rather write an email with your ideas. Or maybe there are justtoo many senior folks in the meeting, and you don’t know when it’sappropriate to jump in.Let’s take a look at a few ways you can make yourself heard.Prepare your nudge: Think of one on-topic question that you wantto see answered during the meeting and write it on a post-it. Then,stick it on your computer screen. The post-it is a kind nudge, invitingyou to speak up. Also, in case you get “cold-called” you have at leastone thoughtful question to advance the discussion.Rehearse your introduction: How you introduce yourself at thebeginning of a meeting lets people know how you can contribute andhow involved you’d like to be.Don’t say: “Hi, I’m Haruto, and I’m happy to be here.”Do say: “Hi, I’m Haruto. Thank you for inviting me to this meeting. Ilook forward to sharing my initial thoughts and ideas for this projectbased on a design-thinking course I recently took.”Use the chat functions: If you’re not comfortable speaking, use thechat window to your advantage. Plenty of people use the chatfunction on WebEx or Zoom to first make themselves “seen” and then“heard.” When someone notices your helpful question, they’ll be sureto ask you to elaborate and build on your idea.Find your window: Don’t hesitate to react fast when someonedeliberately pauses. Research on turn-taking behavior shows that theperson who is currently speaking is likely to resume speaking after a0.5 second pause because the speaker feels that others had plenty oftime to respond. When you see that window, unmute yourself andshare your idea. You could say, “I’m going to quickly jump in to talkabout….”Raise your hand: If you can’t find a window to make your point, tryusing emojis (applaud or give praise) along with the raised hand emojito draw attention. That will show the speaker that you’re engaged,you heard them, and you would like to contribute.Sign up forAscendA weekly newsletter to help young professionals find theirplace in the working world and realize their personal andcareer goals.Sign UpShow that you’re engaged: This is easier in virtual meetings withfewer people, when you don’t need to scroll to see all of theparticipants. Avoid turning into a statue during the call. Use non-verbal communication to respond to what people are saying andsignal that you’re present. Give a thumbs up when someone shares aninteresting thought or use your facial expression to demonstratesurprise when someone says something that makes you curious. Non-verbal behaviors make speaking up feel more natural.Show appreciation when someone invites you to contribute.Appreciation builds stronger relationships. Say: “Thanks Julia forinviting me to share my two cents. I think we can really advance thischallenge if everyone gives input based on our own experience andexpertise.” In this case, Julia receives praise for inviting others tospeak up, and you help to establish a norm where sharing ideas andperspectives is welcomed and expected.Simply put, speaking up is good for you and your team. So in yournext meeting, use these tips and give it a shot. Who knows, your twocents could change the face of a new product!Tijs Besieux, PhD, is the founder of LeadershipFootprint. He is a senior expert in behavioralchange at &samhoud. Tijs is a visiting professor ofleadership at IÉSEG School of Management and aresearch fellow at Leuven University.Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor ofLeadership and Management at Harvard BusinessSchool. She is the author of The FearlessOrganization: Creating Psychological Safety in theTBWorkplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth(Wiley, 2019).Femke de Vries is professor by specialappointment in Supervision at GroningenUniversity and managing partner at &samhoud.After the financial crisis she was one of thearchitects of the newly developed supervision onorganizational behavior and board effectiveness inthe financial industry. She advises organizationsworldwide on risk management and behavior andculture.FV

   University of GroningenHow to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up in MeetingsBesieux, Tijs ; Edmondson, Amy C. ; de Vries, FemkePublished in:Harvard Business ReviewIMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite fromit. Please check the document version below.Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordPublication date:2021Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research databaseCitation for published version (APA):Besieux, T., Edmondson, A. C., & de Vries, F. (2021). How to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up inMeetings. Harvard Business Review.CopyrightOther than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of theauthor(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).The publication may also be distributed here under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license.More information can be found on the University of Groningen website: https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/self-archiving-pure/taverne-amendment.Take-down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediatelyand investigate your claim.Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons thenumber of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum.Download date: 29-04-2023Managing YourselfHow to Overcome Your Fear ofSpeaking Up in Meetingsby Tijs Besieux, Amy C. Edmondson, and Femke de VriesJune 11, 2021Summary.   Getty Images/eleonora galliIf you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings, you’re notalone. You might feel your ideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable.Or, perhaps, you joined the company remotely and feel reserved around your newteammates or senior colleagues....Job and life advice for young professionals. See more from Ascend here.moreDo you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings? If so,you’re not alone. Many factors contribute.1) It’s harder to read physical and social cues. In-person, it was easierto figure out when voicing your opinion was welcome andappropriate — someone might lean towards you or gesture at you toinvite a response. But noticing these expressions onscreen is difficult,and even impossible on a very big team.2) If you’re a junior employee or someone who joined the companyremotely and are still settling in, you may feel especially reservedaround your new teammates or senior colleagues. Hierarchy can beintimidating. You don’t want to come across as uninformed or foolishto bosses or clients, or you may feel that someone more seasonedthan you will take your suggestions as personal critiques.3) Lastly — and this happens in person, too — you might feel yourideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable. This oftenoccurs when you’re asked to brainstorm on the spot and there is lesstime to make a well-formed contribution.Whatever the reason, know that we all struggle to speak up at times,no matter what point we are at in our careers. That said, finding thecourage to do so is critical to your success, as well as to the success ofyour team and your organization. The quality of your collectivedecisions are driven by the diversity of your experiences and expertise— and if you stay silent, your unique perspective will never beconsidered when making them.To be more productive in your next virtual meetings, shift yourmindset around what it means to speak up — for you and foreveryone else. We propose three ways to do this:Shift 1: From “My idea may be incomplete” to “It could bethe source of someone else’s breakthrough.”Research on self-censorship finds that people refrain from speakingup for various reasons. Employees remain silent because they:Fear being ostracizedDon’t want to be embarrassedWant to avoid negative remarksFeel like speaking up is inappropriateFor these reasons, people often decide to hold back an idea that is not“bulletproof” yet, something that may be happening even more invirtual meetings where people are highly aware of time limits.Microsoft Teams, for instance, informs participants that a meeting“will end in five minutes.” These reminders are meant to help leadersallocate time to different items on the agenda, but they can alsoincrease the threshold for speaking up and inhibit people fromsharing incomplete ideas or rough drafts of their thinking.Shift your mindset: Recognize that your half-baked idea could bethe first step in a team breakthrough. Think of it as a suggestion thatthe rest of the team can build on. For example, if you propose togather more user feedback on a prototype, it could lead to a pivot interms of what the final product looks like.Sometimes taking an unknown path on a hike leads to a mesmerizingpanorama that could have been easily missed. Remind yourself thatgreat ideas are generated the same way. Incomplete ideas related tothe meeting’s purpose are not a waste of time. In fact, they may endup helping your team advance from idea to execution.Shift 2: From “It’s probably not my place to speak up” to“Silence is not in the best interest of the team.” Young people are often reluctant to share ideas because they feel likethey are not in a position to do so. You might think: “I don’t haveenough experience to make this point,” or, “I’m so new to this,” butyou should never underestimate the value that your perspectivebrings to the table.Consider this example from one of our clients, Lilli. During abrainstorming session on how to improve the quality of meetings,everyone got a chance to share their ideas. Lilli, a junior colleague atthe organization, was initially hesitant because she wasn’t sure if shecould influence the decision. But thinking about how her idea couldimpact everyone on the team, she decided to speak up. She sharedthat she recently read an article about how Amazon starts executivemeetings by reading a six-page memo in silence for 30 minutes to getall meeting participants on the same page.This meeting style was completely new to her team members, andthey responded with amazement, hesitation, and worries. The “memomeeting style” became a focal point of the brainstorm. In the end, thegroup decided that this new method wouldn’t work for everymeeting, but surely could be a promising approach for some. Now,“memo-based meetings” are a common practice at Lilli’s firm, andhave been evaluated as highly effective.Lilli’s decision compass was very straightforward: Maybe everyone inthe room knew about the meeting style she was presenting. Maybenot. And if the latter was true, then at least she was providing analternative approach that enriched the group’s decision making,because people would be better informed. If Lilli remained silent, herteammates would have missed out on a vital piece of information thatultimately strengthened their choice. Shift your mindset: Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflixputs it like this: “We now say that it is disloyal to Netflix when youdisagree with an idea and do not express disagreement. Bywithholding your opinion, you are implicitly choosing not to help thecompany.”For your next meeting, go in with this mindset. If you believe youmay have an opinion or piece of information that could be material tothe success of the project or the organization, say it. If you aresomeone lower in the hierarchy, follow these three rules of thumb: . Make sure your idea is relevant to the group, not just oneindividual. In the case of the latter, book a one-on-one with thatperson and talk about your idea then. . If you plan to disagree, offer an alternative solution or constructivecriticism. Don’t disagree with an intent to insult, but with anintent to support. . Aim to strengthen the discussion. What you say should be relevantto the goal of the meeting in a broad sense. Meandering about thelatest disruption in Silicon Valley might be an interesting topic butis probably not on-topic during an in-depth dialogue on how toimprove the logistics department of a retailer you work for.Shift 3: From “I want to sound intelligent” to “This isreally about the collective intelligence of my team so wecan all succeed.”“Teams with 60% stars outperform those with 80% or more stars.That’s the evidence from Wall Street analysts, World Cup soccerqualifying matches, and NBA basketball,” says Wharton ProfessorAdam Grant. Contrary to popular belief, most Nobel prize winnersare not isolated loners who came up with brilliant ideas all bythemselves.Research on collective intelligence demonstrates that decision-qualityis driven by the joint intelligence of the group — not by the mostintelligent group member. When you speak up, whether it’s based onexpertise or experience or just a wild idea, your participationincreases collective intelligence and hence the decision-makingquality of your team.Shift your mindset: Think of your next virtual meeting as a puzzlethat everyone is there to solve. Each team member holds uniquepieces to that puzzle, based on their different expertise andexperiences. With this framing in mind, will you still hold back yourideas? When you speak up in a meeting you are not trying to standout but rather to share and help process as much on-topicinformation as you can. Your piece of the puzzle might be really small,but it might just help complete the team’s puzzle.Now, here’s how to actually speak up.A mindset shift is only one part of the problem. It must be followed byspeaking up and being heard. Maybe you want to speak up but, in themoment, you forget what you want to say. Or you’re an introvertwho’d rather write an email with your ideas. Or maybe there are justtoo many senior folks in the meeting, and you don’t know when it’sappropriate to jump in.Let’s take a look at a few ways you can make yourself heard.Prepare your nudge: Think of one on-topic question that you wantto see answered during the meeting and write it on a post-it. Then,stick it on your computer screen. The post-it is a kind nudge, invitingyou to speak up. Also, in case you get “cold-called” you have at leastone thoughtful question to advance the discussion.Rehearse your introduction: How you introduce yourself at thebeginning of a meeting lets people know how you can contribute andhow involved you’d like to be.Don’t say: “Hi, I’m Haruto, and I’m happy to be here.”Do say: “Hi, I’m Haruto. Thank you for inviting me to this meeting. Ilook forward to sharing my initial thoughts and ideas for this projectbased on a design-thinking course I recently took.”Use the chat functions: If you’re not comfortable speaking, use thechat window to your advantage. Plenty of people use the chatfunction on WebEx or Zoom to first make themselves “seen” and then“heard.” When someone notices your helpful question, they’ll be sureto ask you to elaborate and build on your idea.Find your window: Don’t hesitate to react fast when someonedeliberately pauses. Research on turn-taking behavior shows that theperson who is currently speaking is likely to resume speaking after a0.5 second pause because the speaker feels that others had plenty oftime to respond. When you see that window, unmute yourself andshare your idea. You could say, “I’m going to quickly jump in to talkabout….”Raise your hand: If you can’t find a window to make your point, tryusing emojis (applaud or give praise) along with the raised hand emojito draw attention. That will show the speaker that you’re engaged,you heard them, and you would like to contribute.Sign up forAscendA weekly newsletter to help young professionals find theirplace in the working world and realize their personal andcareer goals.Sign UpShow that you’re engaged: This is easier in virtual meetings withfewer people, when you don’t need to scroll to see all of theparticipants. Avoid turning into a statue during the call. Use non-verbal communication to respond to what people are saying andsignal that you’re present. Give a thumbs up when someone shares aninteresting thought or use your facial expression to demonstratesurprise when someone says something that makes you curious. Non-verbal behaviors make speaking up feel more natural.Show appreciation when someone invites you to contribute.Appreciation builds stronger relationships. Say: “Thanks Julia forinviting me to share my two cents. I think we can really advance thischallenge if everyone gives input based on our own experience andexpertise.” In this case, Julia receives praise for inviting others tospeak up, and you help to establish a norm where sharing ideas andperspectives is welcomed and expected.Simply put, speaking up is good for you and your team. So in yournext meeting, use these tips and give it a shot. Who knows, your twocents could change the face of a new product!Tijs Besieux, PhD, is the founder of LeadershipFootprint. He is a senior expert in behavioralchange at &samhoud. Tijs is a visiting professor ofleadership at IÉSEG School of Management and aresearch fellow at Leuven University.Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor ofLeadership and Management at Harvard BusinessSchool. She is the author of The FearlessOrganization: Creating Psychological Safety in theTBWorkplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth(Wiley, 2019).Femke de Vries is professor by specialappointment in Supervision at GroningenUniversity and managing partner at &samhoud.After the financial crisis she was one of thearchitects of the newly developed supervision onorganizational behavior and board effectiveness inthe financial industry. She advises organizationsworldwide on risk management and behavior andculture.FV

   University of GroningenHow to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up in MeetingsBesieux, Tijs ; Edmondson, Amy C. ; de Vries, FemkePublished in:Harvard Business ReviewIMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite fromit. Please check the document version below.Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordPublication date:2021Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research databaseCitation for published version (APA):Besieux, T., Edmondson, A. C., & de Vries, F. (2021). How to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up inMeetings. Harvard Business Review.CopyrightOther than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of theauthor(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).The publication may also be distributed here under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license.More information can be found on the University of Groningen website: https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/self-archiving-pure/taverne-amendment.Take-down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediatelyand investigate your claim.Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons thenumber of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum.Download date: 05-06-2022Managing YourselfHow to Overcome Your Fear ofSpeaking Up in Meetingsby Tijs Besieux, Amy C. Edmondson, and Femke de VriesJune 11, 2021Summary.   Getty Images/eleonora galliIf you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings, you’re notalone. You might feel your ideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable.Or, perhaps, you joined the company remotely and feel reserved around your newteammates or senior colleagues....Job and life advice for young professionals. See more from Ascend here.moreDo you find it difficult to speak up during virtual meetings? If so,you’re not alone. Many factors contribute.1) It’s harder to read physical and social cues. In-person, it was easierto figure out when voicing your opinion was welcome andappropriate — someone might lean towards you or gesture at you toinvite a response. But noticing these expressions onscreen is difficult,and even impossible on a very big team.2) If you’re a junior employee or someone who joined the companyremotely and are still settling in, you may feel especially reservedaround your new teammates or senior colleagues. Hierarchy can beintimidating. You don’t want to come across as uninformed or foolishto bosses or clients, or you may feel that someone more seasonedthan you will take your suggestions as personal critiques.3) Lastly — and this happens in person, too — you might feel yourideas are still half-baked and won’t be seen as valuable. This oftenoccurs when you’re asked to brainstorm on the spot and there is lesstime to make a well-formed contribution.Whatever the reason, know that we all struggle to speak up at times,no matter what point we are at in our careers. That said, finding thecourage to do so is critical to your success, as well as to the success ofyour team and your organization. The quality of your collectivedecisions are driven by the diversity of your experiences and expertise— and if you stay silent, your unique perspective will never beconsidered when making them.To be more productive in your next virtual meetings, shift yourmindset around what it means to speak up — for you and foreveryone else. We propose three ways to do this:Shift 1: From “My idea may be incomplete” to “It could bethe source of someone else’s breakthrough.”Research on self-censorship finds that people refrain from speakingup for various reasons. Employees remain silent because they:Fear being ostracizedDon’t want to be embarrassedWant to avoid negative remarksFeel like speaking up is inappropriateFor these reasons, people often decide to hold back an idea that is not“bulletproof” yet, something that may be happening even more invirtual meetings where people are highly aware of time limits.Microsoft Teams, for instance, informs participants that a meeting“will end in five minutes.” These reminders are meant to help leadersallocate time to different items on the agenda, but they can alsoincrease the threshold for speaking up and inhibit people fromsharing incomplete ideas or rough drafts of their thinking.Shift your mindset: Recognize that your half-baked idea could bethe first step in a team breakthrough. Think of it as a suggestion thatthe rest of the team can build on. For example, if you propose togather more user feedback on a prototype, it could lead to a pivot interms of what the final product looks like.Sometimes taking an unknown path on a hike leads to a mesmerizingpanorama that could have been easily missed. Remind yourself thatgreat ideas are generated the same way. Incomplete ideas related tothe meeting’s purpose are not a waste of time. In fact, they may endup helping your team advance from idea to execution.Shift 2: From “It’s probably not my place to speak up” to“Silence is not in the best interest of the team.” Young people are often reluctant to share ideas because they feel likethey are not in a position to do so. You might think: “I don’t haveenough experience to make this point,” or, “I’m so new to this,” butyou should never underestimate the value that your perspectivebrings to the table.Consider this example from one of our clients, Lilli. During abrainstorming session on how to improve the quality of meetings,everyone got a chance to share their ideas. Lilli, a junior colleague atthe organization, was initially hesitant because she wasn’t sure if shecould influence the decision. But thinking about how her idea couldimpact everyone on the team, she decided to speak up. She sharedthat she recently read an article about how Amazon starts executivemeetings by reading a six-page memo in silence for 30 minutes to getall meeting participants on the same page.This meeting style was completely new to her team members, andthey responded with amazement, hesitation, and worries. The “memomeeting style” became a focal point of the brainstorm. In the end, thegroup decided that this new method wouldn’t work for everymeeting, but surely could be a promising approach for some. Now,“memo-based meetings” are a common practice at Lilli’s firm, andhave been evaluated as highly effective.Lilli’s decision compass was very straightforward: Maybe everyone inthe room knew about the meeting style she was presenting. Maybenot. And if the latter was true, then at least she was providing analternative approach that enriched the group’s decision making,because people would be better informed. If Lilli remained silent, herteammates would have missed out on a vital piece of information thatultimately strengthened their choice. Shift your mindset: Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflixputs it like this: “We now say that it is disloyal to Netflix when youdisagree with an idea and do not express disagreement. Bywithholding your opinion, you are implicitly choosing not to help thecompany.”For your next meeting, go in with this mindset. If you believe youmay have an opinion or piece of information that could be material tothe success of the project or the organization, say it. If you aresomeone lower in the hierarchy, follow these three rules of thumb: . Make sure your idea is relevant to the group, not just oneindividual. In the case of the latter, book a one-on-one with thatperson and talk about your idea then. . If you plan to disagree, offer an alternative solution or constructivecriticism. Don’t disagree with an intent to insult, but with anintent to support. . Aim to strengthen the discussion. What you say should be relevantto the goal of the meeting in a broad sense. Meandering about thelatest disruption in Silicon Valley might be an interesting topic butis probably not on-topic during an in-depth dialogue on how toimprove the logistics department of a retailer you work for.Shift 3: From “I want to sound intelligent” to “This isreally about the collective intelligence of my team so wecan all succeed.”“Teams with 60% stars outperform those with 80% or more stars.That’s the evidence from Wall Street analysts, World Cup soccerqualifying matches, and NBA basketball,” says Wharton ProfessorAdam Grant. Contrary to popular belief, most Nobel prize winnersare not isolated loners who came up with brilliant ideas all bythemselves.Research on collective intelligence demonstrates that decision-qualityis driven by the joint intelligence of the group — not by the mostintelligent group member. When you speak up, whether it’s based onexpertise or experience or just a wild idea, your participationincreases collective intelligence and hence the decision-makingquality of your team.Shift your mindset: Think of your next virtual meeting as a puzzlethat everyone is there to solve. Each team member holds uniquepieces to that puzzle, based on their different expertise andexperiences. With this framing in mind, will you still hold back yourideas? When you speak up in a meeting you are not trying to standout but rather to share and help process as much on-topicinformation as you can. Your piece of the puzzle might be really small,but it might just help complete the team’s puzzle.Now, here’s how to actually speak up.A mindset shift is only one part of the problem. It must be followed byspeaking up and being heard. Maybe you want to speak up but, in themoment, you forget what you want to say. Or you’re an introvertwho’d rather write an email with your ideas. Or maybe there are justtoo many senior folks in the meeting, and you don’t know when it’sappropriate to jump in.Let’s take a look at a few ways you can make yourself heard.Prepare your nudge: Think of one on-topic question that you wantto see answered during the meeting and write it on a post-it. Then,stick it on your computer screen. The post-it is a kind nudge, invitingyou to speak up. Also, in case you get “cold-called” you have at leastone thoughtful question to advance the discussion.Rehearse your introduction: How you introduce yourself at thebeginning of a meeting lets people know how you can contribute andhow involved you’d like to be.Don’t say: “Hi, I’m Haruto, and I’m happy to be here.”Do say: “Hi, I’m Haruto. Thank you for inviting me to this meeting. Ilook forward to sharing my initial thoughts and ideas for this projectbased on a design-thinking course I recently took.”Use the chat functions: If you’re not comfortable speaking, use thechat window to your advantage. Plenty of people use the chatfunction on WebEx or Zoom to first make themselves “seen” and then“heard.” When someone notices your helpful question, they’ll be sureto ask you to elaborate and build on your idea.Find your window: Don’t hesitate to react fast when someonedeliberately pauses. Research on turn-taking behavior shows that theperson who is currently speaking is likely to resume speaking after a0.5 second pause because the speaker feels that others had plenty oftime to respond. When you see that window, unmute yourself andshare your idea. You could say, “I’m going to quickly jump in to talkabout….”Raise your hand: If you can’t find a window to make your point, tryusing emojis (applaud or give praise) along with the raised hand emojito draw attention. That will show the speaker that you’re engaged,you heard them, and you would like to contribute.Sign up forAscendA weekly newsletter to help young professionals find theirplace in the working world and realize their personal andcareer goals.Sign UpShow that you’re engaged: This is easier in virtual meetings withfewer people, when you don’t need to scroll to see all of theparticipants. Avoid turning into a statue during the call. Use non-verbal communication to respond to what people are saying andsignal that you’re present. Give a thumbs up when someone shares aninteresting thought or use your facial expression to demonstratesurprise when someone says something that makes you curious. Non-verbal behaviors make speaking up feel more natural.Show appreciation when someone invites you to contribute.Appreciation builds stronger relationships. Say: “Thanks Julia forinviting me to share my two cents. I think we can really advance thischallenge if everyone gives input based on our own experience andexpertise.” In this case, Julia receives praise for inviting others tospeak up, and you help to establish a norm where sharing ideas andperspectives is welcomed and expected.Simply put, speaking up is good for you and your team. So in yournext meeting, use these tips and give it a shot. Who knows, your twocents could change the face of a new product!Tijs Besieux, PhD, is the founder of LeadershipFootprint. He is a senior expert in behavioralchange at &samhoud. Tijs is a visiting professor ofleadership at IÉSEG School of Management and aresearch fellow at Leuven University.Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor ofLeadership and Management at Harvard BusinessSchool. She is the author of The FearlessOrganization: Creating Psychological Safety in theTBWorkplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth(Wiley, 2019).Femke de Vries is professor by specialappointment in Supervision at GroningenUniversity and managing partner at &samhoud.After the financial crisis she was one of thearchitects of the newly developed supervision onorganizational behavior and board effectiveness inthe financial industry. She advises organizationsworldwide on risk management and behavior andculture.FV

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How to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking Up in Meetings

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