Powerful Communication Strategies for Professional Women
Most women have managed to build careers successfully. However, only a few have reached a high level in non-profit organizations, education, government, and corporations.
In different ways that men don’t, women should navigate different obstacles, including getting the right fashion formals for women, cultural expectations, and stereotypical views.
Women also fear commanding the ‘talk stage’ and speaking up more than men. In order to succeed, women need to identify as well as address their communication challenges, and apply the following strategies:
Table of Contents
1. Build Rapport
Naturally, women gravitate towards building a great rapport when it comes to communication. In businesses, rapport usually builds a powerful team, which is developing and visioning together.
The trust foundation in a company generates by rapport basically underlies the business development outside the organization. You may build rapport through physiology, tonality, and words.
2. Consider Avoiding Submissive Body Language
Body language is one of the important parts of communicating. And it will be imperative to avoid certain poses, gestures, or stances which may convey weaknesses.
But this doesn’t mean that you are doing things wrong. Rather it is the opposite of that. Good examples are those things you usually do daily and don’t realize that they are negatively interpreted, including:
- Clasping your hands
- Crossing the legs when standing
3. Speak with Authority and Conviction
Women should balance authority, likeability, and credibility, which are three important traits for effective corporate communication.
As a woman in the corporate world, you should just dress in formal wear for women. You need to also project your confidence by directing it back on topic and leading conversations.
Don’t use disclaimers, like ‘I can be wrong about this and that’ or ‘sorry for saying this.’ Listeners out there can construe this as one of the signs of uncertainty or weakness.
Plus, don’t allow yourself to get interrupted, and when someone does, say politely yet forcefully, ‘excuse me, I am not done talking.’
4. Make an Entrance in a Powerful Way
Have you ever walked into a business meeting with a total mess of laptops, cellphones, files, and bags, then went straight to your chair and plopped down? This chaotic appearance and not introducing yourself at the meeting usually give a wrong impression.
Don’t do this. Introducing yourself in the meeting instills confidence and, at the same time, makes yourself invisible. Apart from introducing yourself, consider also preparing a statement as to what value you bring to the organization. Your CEO and vice president can be engaged and impressed in a deeper conversation.
Closing Remarks!
When women speak up in a workplace, it is like they walk a thin tightrope, struggling to assert their views without being aggressive or too loud.
Effective communication strategies for women in the workplace are not simple for you to master. But they can be achieved if you’re up for it.
