FINDING YOUR VOICE

In the boardroom or virtual room, women can practice speaking up

DENE MOORE

Humaira Ahmed is a successful entrepreneur and CEO. She is the founder of a promising startup focused on promoting and retaining female leaders.

She also has an aversion to public speaking. Humaira Ahmed is a successful entrepreneur and CEO. She is the founder of a promising start-up focused on promoting and retaining female leaders. She also has an aversion to public speaking.

It’s a fear she shares with many, maybe even most, other women in the workplace. One recent study by the University of Cambridge found women are two-and-a-half times less likely to speak up in seminars than men.

It’s also a fear Ahmed has mastered to become a frequent public speaker, and one women can – and should – conquer, she says. “COVID was and still is disproportionately affecting women,” says Ahmed, founder and CEO of Locelle, a networking app for women that provides professional development and mentorship with the aim of developing female leaders, particularly in the tech sector.

While perhaps not quite the same as a keynote address, surveys suggest women are less likely to speak up and feel heard in business meetings, and it may be exacerbated by the move to online work. “Some people get energy from other people,” she says. “When you’re online, it’s different in that you can’t look at body language. If you are an introvert and you take time to speak up, somebody else who is really outgoing and an extrovert, they may take up all the space.”

A survey conducted last year for Catalyst, a non-profit that advocates for women in leadership, found four in 10 women reported feeling ignored or overlooked in videoconference meetings over the course of the pandemic.

The responsibility is on a meeting facilitator to ensure everyone feels included and able to speak up, she says. But there are also steps women can take on their own, as she does, to feel more at ease. “Practice potential conversations on topics that matter to you,” she says. “Really think about, ‘I want to be a thought leader in this space or on this topic.’ “The more we do that, the better we get at it.”

The Catalyst survey also found that 45% of female business leaders find it is difficult for women to speak up in virtual meetings. Forty-two per cent of male business leaders agreed. “What we hear from women in our leadership programs, who are working in that midto-senior level, is that they are not heard when they say something, or an idea is not acknowledged but then might get picked up a few minutes later by someone else, and gets amplified,” says Tina Strehlke, CEO of MinervaBC, a charitable organization that provides leadership training for women.

Body language, eye contact and the other physical cues we use in communication are changed by the technology of the online workspace, she says. “So it can be just a lot harder for people to navigate ‘How do I enter? When is it my turn? How can I assert my point?’” she says.

Having open conversations among team members and structuring meetings differently can compensate, she says.

The onus is on the leader to set the tone and ensure collaborative meeting spaces, she says.

But women can also help put themselves at ease by familiarizing themselves with the platform and clarifying ahead of time how TALENT IS SOMETHING YOU’RE BORN WITH. SKILL IS SOMETHING YOU GROW AND DEVELOP Narges Nirumvala Founder and CEO ExecutiveSpeak Coaching International

Public speaking, team leadership and collaboration are power skills women ought to learn, says

executive coach Narges Nirumvala • KRISTINE COFSKY

Humaira Ahmed, founder and CEO of Locelle, has conquered her aversion to public speaking • SUBMITTED

meeting participants will use those features, whether chat or using the raised hand icon. “Understand the tools that you’re using and where there is possibility for contribution by alerting the meeting host that you have something to say,” says Strehlke.

And don’t be afraid to follow-up after a meeting to provide feedback and suggestions on how to improve collaboration, she says. “Then you’re really asserting and working in a problem-solving way with your colleagues, and not letting the frustration brew.”

Companies with higher levels of diversity are 15% to 35% more likely to have financial returns above their industry’s national average, according to the Canadian Women’s Foundation.

True diversity includes diversity of thought and experience, says Narges Nirumvala, founder and CEO of Vancouver-based ExecutiveSpeak Coaching International and author of the book Capture the Spotlight. “Leaders need to encourage a diversity of thought and ideas in meetings,” she says.

In the absence of that, women can learn the “power skills” of public speaking, team leadership and collaboration, she says. “Work on your power skills. If you’re not getting trained at work, work on it privately,” she says.

First, write down your thoughts and ideas on the topics at hand.

“Please don’t wing it. Think about the idea, articulate the idea and write it down,” she says.

Second, practice saying it out loud.

“It’s a little embarrassing, but I create a Zoom meeting and I actually practice on Zoom just with myself,” she says. “I get completely comfortable.”

And third, prepare in advance for questions that may arise, she advises.

For some people, it is more than reluctance; it is an anxiety. For those people, she says talk to your doctor.

“I have had a panic attack or two in my life. And the first time I didn’t even know what it was: heart pounding, the mind goes blank, all of a sudden you’re sweating,” she says.

But there are techniques and tools to deal even with that, she says.

“I did go to therapy. I learned about belly breathing, how to quiet the mind, recompose, focus, come back,” she says. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We all go through some level of nerves and anxiety but if it is bothering you, get help.”

Speaking up is a not a talent, but a skill, she says.

“Talent is something you’re born with. Skill is something you grow and develop,” she says.