Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to say something and you didn’t?

Your voice defines who you are!  Your voice brings value to business and personal relationships! ~ Ellie Parvin

Often people refrain from communicating their ideas or beliefs to avoid “rocking the boat”, avoid personal/political confrontation, or even unfavorable judgement.

The truth…

non-expression creates a perpetual miss-representation of who we really are.  ~ Ellie Parvin

If you want communicate with authenticity don’t hesitate to speak your mind and share your opinions. Go for it and speak up during key moments when the opportunity presents itself.

Here are some tips that you can use when you want to have your voice heard.

Prepare ahead of time

It is easier to speak up if you practiced what you want to say. Think about when will be said in the meeting and come up with some things that you would like to say. Practice it so you will sound more confident when saying it out loud.

Establish your presence

Make sure that when you walk in the room everybody will see you. Greet people. If you feel comfortable about being there you will feel more confident when you want to say something.

Understand the consequences of not speaking up

When you decide to speak up other people will look at you as competent and credible. If you do not speak up you will seem irrelevant and unimportant. People cannot know what you are thinking or what you want to achieve in your career. That is why it is important that you speak up.

Speak early

Do not wait long to speak up because it will only make it harder for you. Say something from the beginning of the meeting and you will feel more comfortable when speaking later on.

Make your point without asking permission

You don’t have to ask whether the others want to hear your point. That will look as if you do not feel confident enough to speak up, and they will not want to hear what you have to say. Either state that you have a point, or simply go directly to your point.

Speak loudly

If you speak softly, then you speaking up will have no point because nobody will be able to hear what you have to say. Practice increasing your volume, and even if that sounds like shouting to you, it will mean that you finally decided to speak loudly enough to be heard.

Know how to interrupt

Interrupting somebody may look like a rude thing to do, but sometimes if you do not interrupt you will not get the chance to speak. The best time to interrupt someone who is speaking is to do it when they are taking a breath. When you interrupt someone make sure you speak quickly, acknowledge what the other person said and add your thoughts.

Avoid too much detail

If you use too much words people will not be focused enough to listed to you. So say what you need in enough words as you find it necessary.

Control your body language

Do not wring your hands or play with something while speaking because it creates distraction for you and the people you are speaking to. Make sure you make eye contact because that way you appear more confident.

Eliminate self-discounting comments

Do not say anything that will make you look like you don’t believe in yourself. It will only make it easier for the other to discount you as well.

Remember, your voice defines who you are!  Let the uniqueness of you come out and connect with others by communicating.