How to Confidently Share Your Ideas at Work
A lot of modern workplaces are far more collaborative and open to their employee’s ideas than the offices of yesteryear. That being said, just because you have some ideas it doesn’t mean you’re able to deliver them confidently. If you’re looking to share your ideas at work here’s a step-by-step guide to sharing them with confidence and clarity.
1. Regular Brainstorming: When it comes to your ideas you won’t be able to separate the weak from the strong if you don’t brainstorm regularly. Set aside time at least once a week to brainstorm ideas to improve the project you’re currently working on, past projects that need updates, future projects in the pipeline, systems in place in your office, and more. Spending just 30 minutes a week brainstorming will help you understand which ideas are useful, which need a bit of tweaking before you share them, and which can be ignored completely. Not every idea is a great idea but you can be confident you’re sharing only your best ideas if you brainstorm regularly!
1. Run it By a Coworker: If you’re nervous about sharing your big ideas with your boss try doing a trial run with a coworker first. This will help you understand how to clearly communicate the idea to a fresh audience and it will help you have a little bit more confidence in your delivery or the idea itself once you get feedback from a trusted coworker.
2. If Applicable, Use Visuals: One thing that makes presentations effective and helps them stand out is the use of visuals at the beginning to pull the audience in and intrigue more than just their auditory senses. If it’s applicable to the idea you’re sharing and the way you’re sharing it, always use visuals! Whether you’re making a formal presentation or simply pulling something up on your phone to show everyone, visuals are an intriguing way to give your idea an extra bit of interest.
3. Match Your Body Language to Your Message: If you want the message to be, “I’m confident in this idea that I’m pitching” you need to make sure you’re maintaining eye contact and not fidgeting. Stand up tall and straight, speak confidently at a reasonable volume, and smile a little while you’re pitching these ideas. Even if you’re a nervous wreck on the inside you’ll appear confident if you adjust your body language.
4. Get Used to It: If you’re not used to pitching ideas to your coworkers or your bosses yet it can understandably be an intimidating process. Luckily, you’ll become more confident over time if you continue to follow this process regularly. Part of confidence is familiarity so take comfort in the fact that the more you practice this process the more you’ll get used to it and become naturally confident when sharing your ideas at work.
A lot of companies are ditching typical bureaucratic models in favor of more open, collaborative work environments and, one of the great-yet-intimidating aspects of this kind of workplace is the chance to share your ideas. If you want to share your ideas confidently follow the aforementioned steps. Eventually you’ll become a natural and you’ll show your employers what a great asset you can be!