We can all agree that men and women communicate differently - men will give you the basic facts and stick to key points, while women will provide you with the entire experience of being there.
I am reading "Breaking Into The Boys' Club - 8 ways for women to get ahead in business" and the authors,Molly Shepard, Jane Stimmler and Peter Dean have identified how professional women may be hurting their career progress and their colleagues' perception of them as leaders simply by the language that is used.
In delivering a presentation or making your point at a business meeting, do you find yourself using these words and phrases:
- Do you think?
- I'm not sure
- Maybe
- Perhaps
- Possibly
- If you don't mind
- If I might
- Would it be okay?
- Could I?
- What if I?
- Probably
- You might not agree, but
- Almost certainly
- More than likely
What if you tried a more confident and assertive approach by simply substituting these words and phrases:
- My point is
- My idea is
- I recently observed
- Let's go forward
- I recommend
- My suggestion is
- After reviewing the report
- I feel strongly that
- My experience suggest
The book also recommends that if you want to improve on your communication style that you consider
-- taping yourself in a meeting and reviewing the audio later to observe the changes in your voices, "uhms" and "ahs", pauses and points of hestitation on your part.
-- preparing short videos of yourself and paying close attention to eye contact, gestures and body language
-- enrolling the support of a trusted colleague or mentor to observe you in a business meeting or during a presentation and provide you with honest feedback on your speaking skills, your ability to capture the audience attention and your capability of winning them over.
I would also encourage you to enroll in a Toastmaster's group as it gives you a safe, non-hostile environment to improve your communication skills without any pressure.
Do you feel you are not being heard at work? What have you done to address the issue?
