An introverts guide to getting your voice heard in a meeting

An introverts guide to getting your voice heard in a meetingAn introverts guide to getting your voice heard in a meetingWhen youre an introvert, work meetings can feel like a necessary evil. Sure, theyre important, but you know that you work most effectively by yourself or in a one-on-one scenario. Even when you have something amazing to contribute, you dont warm to the prospect of speaking up in front of all those people.Take a new approach to those meetings, however, and youll discover that they can become not only bearable but creative and productive. Its all about capitalizing on your skills and qualities as an introvert and adapting them to the group environment.One such quality is your special talent for research.Look through the agendatostart forming opinions in advance, and youll be ready to express your ideas while your extroverted colleagues are still finding their voice.Of course, youll want to react to new information that comes up in the meeting, and a great way to do th at is to take responsibility for summing things up.Introverts tend to put things in mora concrete terms than extroverts. This means you can take time to process whats being said during the meeting, and shape the outcome by voicing the conclusions and nailing down the call to action.You dont have to be outgoing to excel in group meetings. Weve put together a handy guide to help you use your introverted nature to your advantage.And while we cant guarantee that Monday morning meet-up will be fun, at least youll be able to contribute without feeling pressured to conform to the approach of your more sociable colleagues.Learn to make the most of meetings and youll breathe new life into your working day. You have an amazing skill set its time to start using those powers wherever they can help you.Courtesy of OnwardSourcesSteele, D. (2010).Six Simple Ways to Prepare for a Meeting Its All About Them.fastcompany.comBeukeboom, C. et al. (2012).The Language of Extraversion.journals.sagepub.com Helgoe, L. (2010).Revenge of the Introvert.psychologytoday.comRevelle, W. (1987).Personality and motivation Sources of inefficiency in cognitive performance.sciencedirect.comRoepe, L. (2017).5 Steps To Get Your Voice Heard At Meetings.forbes.comCuddy, A. (2012).Your body language may shape who you are.ted.comWard, B. (2014).Advice from an introvert Its time to speak up.poynter.orgStewart, C. (2017).5 tips to help introverted leaders speak up and voice their opinions in meetings.cnbc.comMartin, C. (1997).Extraversion or Introversion.myersbriggs.orgThis article first appeared on Onward.co.uk .