Speak Up - You Deserve To Be Heard

Imagine you are sitting in a conference room with colleagues, perhaps a few who are senior to you or perchance on a Zoom call. As the meeting concludes, you realize that you have not spoken up during the meeting at all. Worse yet, during the meeting a colleague shared a thought that was on your mind and everyone thought it was an excellent point. Has this ever happened to you?

We can rationalize why we sit quietly in meetings or we can commit to be our authentic selves and speak up and out. This article is not about being your authentic self, we will address that at a later point in time. This article is intended to tap into your competitive spirit. We all have a competitive streak in us, big or small. So here is the game, ready?

I am encouraging you to compete with yourself! The next time you are in a meeting and you make a relevant comment, give yourself one Positive Check Mark. If you have a thought and elect not to share that thought, give yourself a Negative Check Mark. Here is the kicker. If you have a thought, choose not to share that thought and a someone else shares that comment and it is embraced by others, give yourself Two Negative Check Marks.

Keeping score makes a difference. A mentor once shared, “What gets measured gets done.” Keep score a few times and notice how your contributions increase over time. Keep score, speak up, be heard and make a difference.