Written by: Anna Pasternak / Communication / April 2020

Their boss may say: “We want you to have more of an executive presence like Bill does”. Bill may be the type of person that is a great communicator and who everyone wants to talk to in the office. He portrays power, and confidence beams off him. I am sure that Bill most likely is an assertive communicator, especially if he has others wanting to talk to him.

Being an assertive communicator is key in the workplace as you are getting your thoughts, feelings and needs communicated while maintaining respect to the people you are communicating with. Strong communicators will always use assertive communication when something needs to be done, or they need something from someone else.

Showing confidence through your verbal communication as well as non-verbal communication is important to show confidence in the work place. Assertive non-verbal communication includes open body language, and taking up more space. You do not want to have body language that makes you appear smaller, such as crossing legs or arms, but you want to appear bigger as this will beam confidence. These are some key areas to help with communication in the workplace, but these are more general commutation skills that good communicators should have. What about specific phrases that could be use during meetings, or when you have to interrupt someone? How does one go about this in a way that is respectful, and shows that you know what you are talking about?

As discussed by Dom Bernard in his article about common phrases to use in the workplace, which many of my clients have found helpful, he includes ideas such as:

Leading a meeting:
- It is important to give a brief intro and discuss what the meeting will be about. You could start with: ‘Good morning’, ‘good afternoon’, ‘I’d like to welcome everyone’.
- Once you have said hello to everyone it is important to introduce yourself and explain why you are having the meeting: “I am Bob, and have brought you all here today because…..”.
- Once you have introduced yourself you want to allow everyone else to introduce themselves, and you want them to state their name and position in the company: “Let’s all introduce ourselves, Please tell me your name and position”.
- Once everyone knows each other you want to set the agenda for the meeting: “We are here today because…” or... “today I would like to outline our plans for”.
- When the meeting is completed and you want some work to be done let everyone know: “By the next meeting, I would like this completed, so that we can discuss it next time”.
Being involved in a meeting:
- Many people may be shy or quiet and not get involved in meetings even if they have a lot of good thoughts on their mind. It is always important to communicate these thoughts, especially if you feel they will be helpful to you and benefit everyone else as well.
- Interrupting politely, when you have something important to say, you can use: “sorry, but just to clarify”, “that is an excellent point, how about we do this… as well”, “ excuse me for interrupting but I was thinking….” .
- When asking questions during a meeting you can say: “can you repeat that please”, “just to be clear do you mean …..” (explaining from your perspective), “I do not fully understand what you mean, could you explain it again please”.

These are a few useful phrases that could be used during meetings, especially when you are one to often stay quiet during them. It is important to speak up so that you are recognized and you feel like your opinion matters. We all have the ability to use our communication to gain power and respect over our lives whether it be in the workplace or other situations.

To speak with one of the speech-language pathologists at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, schedule an initial consultation by clicking the link below or calling (647) 795-5277.

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