How to use your voice at work and not get fired

If you’re a naturally outspoken person, learning how to handle yourself at work can be a bit of a tightrope. It’s a fine line between getting your ideas and opinions out there, and coming off as pushy or a bully. Women often have it harder than men when it comes down to voicing their opinion, because a strongly worded sentence from a man might be seen as confident, the same sentence from women seen as bullying.

If you want to share your ideas, ask questions, or disagree with someone else at work, the good news is regardless of your gender there are things you can do to make your voice heard without being fired over it.

 Got a problem? Present a solution

Sharing your concerns about a project is one thing, but it can be very hard for the person heading it to swallow. Rather than simply poking a whole bunch of holes in their project, offer up some idea on how these problems could be overcome.

How you word it can also have a big impact on how well your critique is received. If you’re unhappy with how disorganized a slide presentation is, instead of saying so bluntly, pose it an a constructive manner. “I think this would flow better if we moved slide F to the front,” both shows an immediate change that could be made, and avoids being blunt.

Don’t make it personal

When you are a naturally blunt person, what you feel is a normal comment can be perceived as a personal attack  by other people. You can avoid this by wording your statements so they never involve the person, only the project itself. If you say something along the lines of, “Your idea sucks,” this can be considered a personal attack. A better way of wording it might be, “Let’s try a different approach. Have you considered X, Y, or Z?”

Tone is everything

Remember your mom biting your head off as a child with something along the lines of, “I don’t like your tone?” The same sentence said in a snide tone can come off as rude or an attack, while a neutral tone makes it constructive.

Instead of being brisk about dismissing an idea, give it a moment to think about it, and watch your tone as you explain why it won’t work or isn’t the best approach.

When you are in a leadership position, or especially an employee trying to speak to your boss about a project, how you handle yourself is everything. You don’t have to be indirect or couch your ideas in a million gentle terms to get your point across, but you do need to approach others with respect.

By choosing a more tactful way of presenting your ideas or challenging the ideas of others, you can be seen as a strong and confident leader—not a bullying or attacking one. What you say matters, and getting it heard sometimes means a gentler approach.