5 Effective Ways to Make your Point & Be Heard

It’s frustrating to be not heard when you speak up, & unfortunately, it’s happens more commonly than you fathom. Speaking up in a group setting is a big challenge for many. You have valuable information / opinions to share, but no one’s listening. It is hard enough to find something worthwhile to add, and when it goes unnoticed, it is disheartening. It doesn’t just happen in groups. Did you ever have a conversation with a boss and walked away thinking you missed on an opportunity to share a brilliant idea? So, here are 5 tips to help you make your point & make it more likely for you to be heard when speaking up –

Give Context - Before blurting out your thought, start off with a brief sentence explaining the intent of your message. For example, “An idea occurred to me based on a different way to approach this.” or “I’m assuming the budget is the issue? I have an idea on how we can save and be well inside our budget.” This grabs attention onto you and also gives them a context for comprehending where exactly your contribution is.

Choose the Timing Carefully - In a group setting, there are often several voices competing to be louder than the others. Rather than trying to compete on volume / quantity, always make sure you are waiting until it is the right time to speak up. Focus on adding value here. By adding to the conversation (instead of struggling for control), you’ll establish yourself as a credible voice & quickly be viewed as a leader.

Bounce Off of the rest - The best way to make sure of being heard in group conversations is to able to relate your statements with stuff the others have already stated. This will not just make
the others more willing to hear your opinion in context to their previous statements, but you will also be helping to move the conversation forward in a more constructive method.

Ask Questions - In most cases, people just love voicing their opinions in settings. If you ask a question during a group meeting, you’ll start a conversation based around what your own question asked. As other members of the group / meeting start respond to the question, steer the conversation to the point you want to make here. This is a great segue to making your point.

Get Feedback - Getting feedback on how you’ve come across can be really helpful. If you have a pattern of your messages not being understood or are being dismissed, ask someone you respect and trust for feedback on how your communications are coming across. Maybe, your tone or your non-verbal communications are giving a message you do not intend to give across.

These were just a few tips that can help you be heard and put your point across correctly in group settings. I have struggled with this in the past but keeping these points in mind helped me get past these issues. If you’ve got any tips of your own, do tell us in the comments below. If you enjoyed this article & it helped you in any way, visit the space for more such content!