Finding your own voice when you are the quiet one in the room

by Becca Bradd
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Some of us are not the loudest voice in the room. We are the ones listening, noticing, thinking before we speak. And in meetings full of big voices and strong opinions, it can feel as though quieter people simply do not get heard.

Early in my career, that was me. A shy introvert sitting in senior meetings, watching more confident colleagues jump straight in, and struggling to find my voice. I assumed the answer was to become louder. To be more like them.

I was wrong. What I learned, slowly, is that you do not have to become the loudest person in the room to be heard. You have to learn to be heard as yourself.

Quiet does not mean you have nothing to say. Often it is the opposite. The people who listen, read the room and think before they speak tend to say the thing that actually matters. That is a strength, not a gap to fix.

What helped me find my voice

Not becoming someone else. What helped was more than that. I listened, then built on what I heard. I prepared one thing I wanted to say. I spoke a little earlier, before the conversation filled up. And I built relationships outside the room, so I had people in my corner inside it. Credibility grew from being useful and being myself, not from being the loudest.

A few things to try

You do not have to fix this all at once. Start where you are.

Prepare one point before the meeting. You do not need to speak ten times. Once, well, is enough.
Speak in the first ten minutes. It only gets harder the longer you wait.

Use your listening as your way in. “Building on what Sam said…” Your noticing is a strength, so lead with it.

Find one ally. A quiet word before or after a meeting builds the ground you stand on inside it.

Let silence be. You do not have to fill it. Sometimes the considered pause is the most powerful thing in the room.

You do not need to perform someone else’s version of confident. Quiet, observant, thoughtful leadership is a real kind of strength, and rooms need it more than they realise. Your voice matters, and it can be heard exactly as it is.

If finding your voice as yourself is something you are working on, you do not have to work it out alone.
I would be glad to support you.

Book a free, no-pressure call with me and we can talk through what is getting in the way, what you want to change, and whether coaching would help. You would be very welcome. Book a call with me here: https://calendly.com/beccabradd-rbpeopleleadership/discovery-call-coachmefree

Lead from who you are.

Becca