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Jefferson Fisher

how to speak up for yourself

Published 4 days ago • 1 min read
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Hey Reader,

You’re in a meeting and someone is dominating the conversation.

You want to shrink back.

Because that feels easier than addressing directly.

Sound familiar?

If so, this is for you.

Here’s exactly how to speak up for yourself when someone is dominating the conversation.

#1. Speak up the first chance you get.

Don’t wait for the perfect sentence.

Don’t ask yourself if your idea is smart enough or eloquent enough.

That's checkers. This is chess.

Dominant people are pushing you just to see if you'll back down.

So what you say isn’t nearly as important as the act of speaking up.

2. Expect to be labeled—and use it.

When you speak up, dominant people may call you “difficult.”

Let them.

And then lean into it and relate it back to your purpose.

Say:

“Maybe so. If that's what I have to do to help the clients/help my family/help this company, I’m going to be difficult all day long.”

You don’t have to play nice with labels that were meant to keep you small.

3. Strengthen your sentences.

Drop the backstory.

Lead with your point.

Instead of:

“So I was driving in this morning, and I was thinking about…”

Just say:

“Here’s the direction I’d recommend.”

If they have questions, they'll ask.

When you shorten up your sentences, it makes you sound more confident.

You don’t need permission to speak up.

And you don’t need to be loud to be heard.

You just need to stop waiting—and start leading.

J

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Jefferson Fisher

Trial Attorney & Communication Expert

Simple, practical communication advice for your next conversation.

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