Great Day Team!
Crickets… It’s painful. That uncomfortable silence we have all experienced. Whether as a participant in a meeting, or as a facilitator leading a meeting, or engaging in a perhaps difficult or even contentious conversation between two people, or several people. It’s awful. Many of us would rather sit in silence (and possibly eat glass) rather than speak up when being asked for ideas, giving, or receiving feedback, and dealing with conflict. What causes our silence? Well, perhaps we might already be assuming the outcome. Maybe we assume the idea we have won’t be valuable or needed, or perhaps we imagine that having the tough conversation will further escalate it, rather than resolve it. Maybe we just simply don’t want to deal with the potential discomfort of it all. What do we stand to gain or lose when we choose silence? How much is really at stake?
The first paragraph of this article, “How to Learn to Speak Up at Work More Effectively” from Fast Company, written by Stephanie Vozza grabbed my attention for sure, answering this question. It begins with a quote from Elane Lin Hering, author of Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent and Live More Fully.
“Silence may be golden, but sometimes it comes at a cost. When you stay quiet, you can’t affect change. Holding your tongue means internalizing your feelings. Silence also keeps you from building meaningful relationships. From physical, emotional, and productivity standpoints, silence can undercut your ability to do things and do them well…”
And there’s so much more to the impact of “suffering in silence”, such as our own personal health, and our ability to thrive as an organization. Vozza shares how we can unlearn this behavior that we have been taught since we were children, and how to begin to speak up, and what questions to ask ourselves to determine if it’s worth it to do so. Check out the article here, and let us know what you think!
Wishing you all a Better We, Better Week! 😊
Lori Beth
