Speak Up and Be Heard

Packed with Tips on how to develop confident communications skills

Lindsay Maclean

• Publisher: iElevate Educate
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781999336516
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Crescita personale
• Subtopic: Miglioramento personale

"From physical exercises to release stress to tips on what to say and how to say it, this book is good for people who have to give presentations, do a job interview or just want to be able to speak up in work meetings" Marianne Power, Best selling author and journalist

Speak Up and Be Heard will help you cope and present your best self in pressurised environments.Mostpeople can crumble under pressure.The impact of that is huge - not getting the job, the promotion, the recognition. Learning techniquesto manage this can change your life outcomes.

What you’ll learn from the book

• Practical techniques to help you speak with more confidence in interviews, meetings or presentations
• How you can turn nerves into a positive and compelling energy that helps you under pressure
• A heightened sense of self-awareness to help youinvite a positive response

“The practical advice and exercises encourage you to find out what works best for you. I can’t recommend this highly enough, whether to young people preparing for life after school, young adults going for their first interview, or to those established in careers wanting to take their life to the next level.”

Carrie Starbuck Director, Learning Performance

Part One

The Premise and Magic of
the ielevate Method

Chapter 1

It Begins at School

At school we learn so much, subconsciously and consciously, about communication skills through the way that we interact with friends and teachers.

Of course, we do at home too.

I run workshops for students, teachers and parents. A school will often tell me that it’s the parents who influence a child’s communication skills. The parents will tell me it’s the school. Both environments, along with other factors, impact our communication skills, but I know that school leadership teams who make speaking up a priority alongside exam results, can help the most anxious or shyest child to speak up. I’ve experienced this myself and observed it through my work.

I specifically remember in one mixed secondary school in North London, I was taken aback by the number of Year 11 students, aged 15 and 16, who confidently put up their hands in class to ask and answer questions – a rare experience for me. I mentioned this to the Head Teacher. She explained that when she had come into the school she had made speaking up a priority. It was noticeably refreshing for me. The students were not scared to ask questions and initiated an exciting and lively debate in the class.

This will most certainly help these students in the professional working environment where communication is vital.

Teachers and bosses

I have many memories at school of glancing at an expressionless face or listening to a flat voice but not actually hearing anything. Consequently, I would start to draw on my textbook or fidget. This still happens occasionally when I go into a presentation or meeting. I’m not blaming the teacher for my lack of attention. I’m simply stating that some of my teachers were engaging and had everyone’s attention and some didn’t.

This is often the case at the schools and businesses I visit. There are those that command a room, hold our attention and those who don’t. We are in a world where we are inundated with information, so knowing how to command attention and engage others is a vital skill.

The shiny people

When I was at school, I was always intrigued by the one or two “shiny” students in the classroom who had self-assurance and energy, but the shy ones would always outnumber them. The same shiny students were always willing to speak up, ask questions and confidently answer a question when asked. They were invariably picked to be the team leader, a school prefect or awarded the main part in the ...