How to Speak Confidently In Meetings: 9 Tips

With remote and hybrid work on the rise, it can be difficult to know how to ease into a casual conversation before diving into serious issues in meetings. If you’re shy, you just started with a new company, or you still aren’t quite comfortable navigating the remote work world, it can be stressful to know when and how to speak up in meetings. 

We’re sharing insights on why it’s important to speak up in meetings and 9 effective strategies you can leverage.

• Why is speaking up in meetings important?
• 9 effective strategies to help you speak up in meetings
• Importance of meeting templates in building confidence to speak up
• Factors that could be holding you back
• How to build your confidence to speak up in meetings with Fellow

Why is speaking up in meetings important?

The purpose of a meeting is for team members to collaborate, share perspectives, make decisions, and give updates. By contributing in the meeting, you demonstrate your capability and that your unique viewpoint matters. You can help:

1. Generate a new product feature
2. Optimize a process
3. Help inform other members of the team.

Placing your ideas on the table proves to yourself and your team that you’re capable of the job and in the right place. Participating effectively confirms your value and helps drive outcomes.

9 effective strategies to help you speak up in meetings

• Prepare in advance
• Stop censoring yourself
• Ask questions
• Use a meeting agenda
• Believe in your answers
• Listen to what is being said
• Practice, practice, practice
• Commit quickly to speaking
• Ease into it 

1 Prepare in advance

Context is key to mental preparation. Are you walking into a casual meeting with your team to brainstorm a new idea, or is a key stakeholder presenting that really important issue? If you’re an anxious person, preparing for your meetings in advance and having your meeting notes open during the meeting will help ease your nervous energy and help you stay focused on the discussion. 

2 Stop censoring yourself

It’s important to remember that you’ve been invited to the meeting for a reason. Someone knows the value that you bring to the project and wants to hear your thoughts. If you’re ever unsure of the meeting’s purpose, ask the host or a close co-worker who is also attending. Knowing how you’re expected to contribute in the meeting is a great way to see the value that you bring to a project. 

3 Ask questions

Asking questions is an easy way to start speaking up in meetings. Prepare questions in advance or ask them based on the discussion in the meeting. Not only does asking questions show your team that you’re involved in and thoughtful about the project, but it also encourages engagement throughout the meeting. As an engaged attendee, you’ll find it easier to become active in the conversations among your team members.

4 Use a meeting agenda 

When preparing for a meeting, using a meeting agenda can help you set goals, identify the purpose of the meeting, and establish a “path” of discussion. Meeting agendas can be built with one of Fellow’s different templates to suit the context and goals of your meeting. Agendas can also be a great reference tool for reflecting on questions during the meeting and can be used as a source of truth when reflecting on the discussion.

5 Believe in your answers

Imposter syndrome is feeling inadequate or unqualified for a job you currently hold. According to Forbes, it disproportionately affects 75% of female executives. To overcome imposter syndrome, remind yourself of the value that you bring to the table. Being included in the discussion means that your manager or the event organizer trusts in your capabilities to contribute to the topic. Delivering your contributions confidently can help build your executive presence and inspire confidence in your ideas.

6 Listen to what is being said

The best meeting contributors are also the best listeners. Nodding along, listening actively, and speaking up at relevant times are key ways to show that you are participating. Listening intently may open opportunities for you to share relevant insights that others may not have and adapt your leadership and contributions with confidence.

7 Practice, practice, practice

It’s normal for even CEOs of Forbes 500 companies to feel nervous when public speaking or presenting new ideas. Practicing over time can help mitigate your anxiety, ensure you enunciate clearly, and reduce the use of filler words.

Hold yourself accountable for your improvement, too. Let a manager know your goals for active meeting engagement and see what they can do to help or keep you on track. Practice self-leadership by setting goals for your next meeting and practice speaking with larger audiences.

8 Commit quickly to speaking

Meetings can move fast. To ensure you speak up at a relevant time, commit to speaking in the moment. Have confidence that you have a solid idea and deliver it clearly to the group, and don’t give yourself time to overthink or question your contribution. If too much time passes and your contribution is no longer relevant to the current discussion, note it for later. Decisiveness and confidence are key to contributing to discussions.

9 Ease into it

A good way to start speaking up in meetings is by backing up the idea of another employee. For example, in a brainstorming session, you can show support or elaborate upon the idea provided by another team member. This contribution shows your manager that you are interested in being involved with the project. Later, you can contribute your own ideas earlier in the meeting as you feel comfortable.

Importance of meeting templates in building confidence to speak up

Planning with a meeting template in advance or actively contributing to it can work wonders in boosting your confidence to speak up during meetings. When you’re involved in creating the agenda, you have a sense of ownership and control over the topics discussed. This knowledge empowers you to better prepare, gather your thoughts, and contribute with clarity and conviction.

A well-planned template ensures that the meeting stays focused and organized, providing a clear roadmap for the discussion. This structure alleviates any anxiety about going off-topic or feeling unprepared.

Check out Fellow’s library of 500+ Meeting Agenda Templates for inspiration, or get started with the effective staff meeting agenda template below:

Factors that could be holding you back

• Lack of physical or social cues
• You’re a new employee settling in
• Limited time to brainstorm your contribution

Lack of physical or social cues

Especially when working remotely, you may struggle with finding the perfect time to speak, especially when cameras are off during meetings. Without eye contact or body language cues in meetings, you’re left unsure if the other members are engaged and ready to speak.

One option is to use the ‘hand raising’ tool that many video conferencing tools, such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, offer. It’s a quick, nonverbal way to show your interest in the conversation without risking interrupting another person.

You’re a new employee settling in

Building professional relationships and getting up to speed as a new hire can present challenges. Remote work or not, building your professional relationships at a new job can be tough. 

Connecting with your manager or another meeting attendee ahead of time can help you understand the goals and context of the meeting. Is this a regular weekly meeting with certain expectations? Is the topic of the meeting new to the rest of the team as well? Asking questions to your team ahead of time during your one-on-ones is a great way to prepare for the meeting itself and build your relationship with your team.

Limited time to brainstorm your contribution

Effective preparation helps overcome time constraints in brainstorming. With the right preparation and engagement, you can avoid the panic of speaking up during your contributions. 

Using a meeting agenda allows you to familiarize yourself with the meeting flow and prepare for topics beforehand. You can also use the agenda to jot down clarifying questions or do some preparatory research before the meeting begins. Taking notes may give you short bursts of brainstorming time mid-meeting and may help inspire new questions or ideas that you can contribute to the group.

How to build your confidence to speak up in meetings with Fellow

If you lack the confidence to speak up in meetings even when you have great ideas to contribute, it’s time to unlock your full leadership potential with Fellow. With Fellow, you can prepare in advance by completing the collaborative meeting agenda, ensuring that you have a clear roadmap for sharing your thoughts.

The best part? You can use Fellow’s AI meeting agendas to generate suggested topics and meeting templates to find meeting inspiration. As you use Fellow for meeting management and preparation, you’ll notice your confidence soar, and your ideas resonate with your team. Don’t let the fear of speaking up hold you back—try Fellow today and unlock a world of confident collaboration in your meetings.