From a shy subscriber ~
Question: During brainstorming sessions, I
often have good ideas but don't know how to speak
up. What should I do?
Answer: The biggest reason people don't
speak up is they fear they will say the wrong thing
or someone will laugh at their suggestion. First you
must find a way to get over your fear of judgment,
not being liked or not feeling good enough.
The key thing is to create an environment (even
if it's only in your mind) where everyone is your
friend/equal or where everyone likes you, wants you
to do well and is on your team/side. Most people
will say nearly anything with a close group of
friends so sometimes you can make a simple mental
adjustment. For example, actors and sales people
need to do this all the time otherwise the amount of
daily rejection they receive could virtually
paralyze them.
Learning to create good physical (body language)
and vocal rapport can make a tremendous difference
in how quickly we can become related to and feel
comfortable with one another. An e-book I'm
currently writing for release this fall will
elaborate on how to create instant physical and
vocal rapport. In the meantime, you can read "The
Definitive Book of Body Language" by Allan & Barbara
Pease.
Another way to approach a brainstorming session
is to logically understand that you are paid to be
part of a team and hired to do a particular job,
therefore, it is your duty to speak up. Everyone has
a different perspective and this is very important
to a brainstorming session. You wouldn't be invited
to participate unless someone in your organization
thought your input would be valuable. Therefore, it
can be a matter of personal and/or professional
responsibility for you to speak up.
What goes around definitely comes around,
especially in an office environment. If you are
willing to share openly (even if it isn't your
particular area of expertise) then others will be
more apt to contribute to you when you need to be
the beneficiary of some powerful brainstorming.
