How More Reserved Employees Can Make Their Voices Heard

Working as part of a team and wanting to move up in a company when you feel too introverted or shy to speak up can be frustrating. Some employees may be naturally more reserved and quiet; but just because they listen respectfully to the thoughts and opinions of others doesn’t mean they don’t have their own thoughtful, often invaluable, insights and ideas to share.

Employees who typically stay mum might find it challenging to overcome their reluctance to speak up at work. Below, 14 members of Forbes Coaches Council share different strategies quieter employees can employ to voice their input loudly enough to be heard.

1. Leverage Multiple Modalities

Leverage the multiple modalities you have at your disposal. If you’re virtual, share your ideas in the chat. If it’s not picked up, re-share your idea again. If you’re in person, opt to share your comments/ideas with the group after the meeting via email. And, if you feel brave, you can even suggest that meetings include multiple channels for input to ensure all ideas are surfaced. - Palena Neale, unabridged

2. Voice Input To Supervisors And Colleagues One-On-One

Voicing your input to supervisors and colleagues can be just as productive as an email and allows you time to collect your thoughts without the anxiety associated with speaking up publicly. Very few decisions are solidified in meetings, so a follow-up thought can still be a useful contribution. Once you see that your ideas spark interest, you may gain the confidence to speak up in a meeting. - Joanne Valli-Meredith, BeyondAdmissions, Inc.

3. Use Liberating Structures

Try using Liberating Structures, which are designed to embrace distributed control and include a fairer, larger number of people in shaping the next steps. This results in more innovation, inclusion, participation, clarity, purpose and, hopefully, fun. Liberating Structures provide a format that delivers some level of control while also engaging all participants equally. - Nigel Thurlow, The Flow Consortium

4. Build Awareness Of Your Value To Build Confidence

Awareness is curative. Do inner work to build confidence. Cultivate awareness of the value of your insights and the desire of others to hear your ideas. Practice speaking up in a space where you feel comfortable, and execute on goals to do the same in public spaces. - Natasha Charles, Intuitive Coaching with Natasha Charles

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5. Find An Advocate Or Ally In The Meeting

One option to explore is finding an advocate or ally in the meeting with you. They can pave the way by asking, “What do you think, Jane?” to help ease the discomfort of speaking up. - Tami Chapek, WeInspireWe

6. Set A Goal Of Speaking Up Once Or Twice During Each Meeting

While those running meetings should always strive to ensure everyone has the opportunity to feel safe and included to share their insights and input, quiet individuals should also make a conscious effort to make regular vocal contributions. You may choose to start small by setting a goal to speak up at least once or twice during a given meeting. Over time, it can become easier and more natural. - Jonathan H. Westover, Human Capital Innovations, LLC

7. Think About How To Leverage Your Preferred Medium

There are many ways to communicate. Employees will benefit from finding the communication channel or medium they feel most comfortable with. This could be verbal, written, visual communication, body language or more, and all of those have subgroups within those categories. Whatever your preferred medium, think about how you can leverage that to establish a strong voice. - Michele Cohen, Lead to Growth Coaching

8. Try Nontraditional Forms Of Communication

I’ve always found posting on the company’s intranet or Teams workspace to be an ideal opportunity to express one’s opinion. Especially if you are not working in the same geography or time zone or are just feeling like an introvert. Remember to always be factual and respectful in your posting. Demonstrate your creativity and thought leadership with your post. - Kevin Kan, Break Out Consulting Asia

9. Put Your Ideas In Writing

Many of the most positive and sweeping changes in history started with the power of the pen. Written ideas, such as in the form of an insight paper, have the advantage of being enduring. Be judicious with the timing, thoughtful in the message and selective about the audience. What if your introverted nature is actually a huge advantage and one that can also benefit others? - April Armstrong, AHA Insight

10. Prepare For Five To Ten Minutes Before A Meeting

Unlike extroverts who process out loud, introverts typically want to think before they speak. A simple strategy is to take even as little as five to ten minutes before a meeting to anticipate potential questions, challenges or resistance. Most people are predictable, so anticipating the dynamics is easier than you may think. A little preparation will increase confidence and make it easier to speak up. - Neena Newberry, Newberry Solutions

11. Plan In Advance When To Interject In A Conversation

Introverts are great at listening and often wait until the end of a conversation to contribute, once they’ve absorbed all of the information. In order to come out of their comfort zone to express insights, an introvert should make a habit of doing some advanced planning on when to interject in a conversation. - Luke Feldmeier, Online Leadership Training - Career and Leadership Accelerator for Engineers

12. Challenge Yourself With Chairing The Meetings

Design the agenda ahead of time for you and the other introverted thinkers to have pre-thinking time. As the architect of the meeting, you could also direct the conversation flow to ensure inclusiveness of all workplace styles or types, eliminate bias, stick to allocated time and have meeting members eager to implement action items and attend again. - Gayle Draper, Intentional Careers and Human Resources

13. Focus On The Most Positive Person When You Speak

Focus on “the one.” In every group, one person wants to hear from everyone. The quiet person can gain confidence and find their voice by focusing on the positive person in the group who genuinely wants to hear from them. When the quiet person speaks, they should talk as if they are only talking to that one person. This will help them be more comfortable as they share their ideas. - Ken Gosnell, CEO Experience

14. Position Ideas As Questions

Positioning ideas as questions is sometimes a safer way for introverted people to enter into the conversation. Asking questions such as, “What do you think about ….?” or, “Does this idea have any merit?” leaves room for people to invite them into the conversation. Shy people should set small goals of contributing two to three times in each meeting and work to increase that number week over week. - Kimberly Janson, Janson Associates, LLC