Author: admin

Should You Hire Your Family? Let’s Settle the Debate

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Hiring family. Some people swear by it, and build entire businesses upon it. For others, it’s an absolute no-no and a fast-track to drama and problems.

Whether your business is a startup or a large organization, there’s no doubt that the possibility of hiring family members will come up at some point. So, should you hire your family? The answer isn’t quite so simple.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Hiring Family

There can be many advantages to hiring family members. They’re less risky than strangers since you know them, and if you have a good relationship, it can make the day-to-day more fun and interesting. Family members are also more likely to be invested in your business’s success.

Hiring family comes with significant disadvantages as well, however. Family members can expect special allowances or privileges that a regular employee wouldn’t, and they may treat you the same in the workplace as they do at home. If you’re the boss, that could be a problem.

In addition, some people won’t work with family because issues at work could spill over at home, and vice versa, and may permanently impact the relationship. For example, think of how your next holiday gathering may go if you had to fire your nephew or aunt.

 

Is Family a Good Fit for Your Business?

As mentioned, there are a lot of advantages to hiring family. If you have family members who are a good fit for your company culture and genuinely good workers, hiring them may be the best thing you could do for your business.

Be sure to consider all the factors you’d consider with a regular candidate, however, such as qualifications, values, experience, stability, and skills. This isn’t a favor or an impulse – it’s a fit for both parties.

If you believe your family member is a good fit, that can be a huge asset for your business. Don’t just hire family to do someone a favor, or just for the sake of making it a “family business.” Someone not invested in the position or well suited for it won’t serve your business in the long run.

Another thing to consider is the potential impact hiring family can have on other employees. It’s vital that you treat family like any other employee to avoid any conflict. You may want to have a nepotism policy in place to protect you and your family member from any issues of favoritism.

 

Tips for Working with Family

If you do decide to bring family members into your business, you can keep the working and personal relationships strong and separated. Here are some tips:

 

Keep it professional.

  • No matter how close you may be out of work, address each other professionally in the workplace.

 

Show respect.

  • Family members should always show respect appropriate for their position at the company, even if the dynamic is different in the family. For example, your uncle may be a perceived authority figure in normal life, but if you’re his boss at work, he should treat you like a boss.

 

Keep work at work.

  • One of the biggest challenges is keeping professional and personal lives separate when you work with family. Vow to keep work at work and home at home, so you can maintain your previous relationship dynamic outside of the office.

 

Looking for Business Support?

Navigating the ins and outs of business can be challenging. Whether you need help with hiring, growing and scaling, or other aspects of your business, a professional coach can help. Work with Allison Todd directly and set your business up for success! 

Is Work-Life Balance Actually Possible When You Own a Business?

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Starting a business brings a lot of responsibilities and tasks that can quickly eat up your time. If you’re starting a business while also balancing home and family time, or a full-time job, it may seem impossible to get any true work-life balance.

Is it possible? Can you achieve work-life balance while owning and running a business?

Yes! It takes some changes to how you approach work, but you can make it happen! Here’s how.

Reflect on the Big Picture

If you’re struggling with your work-life balance, or lack thereof, the first step is to give yourself some distance and reflect on the big picture.

For many business owners, this reflection only happens when something significant happens, such as a death or the birth of a child, but it doesn’t have to take such a big upheaval.

Consider your sources of stress or dissatisfaction. How are the circumstances affecting your performance? Your happiness with your work or personal life? How are your priorities? What are you giving up pursuing your business goals?

Once you have a clear picture, you can take concrete steps to change them.

Delegate Wherever Possible

Small business owners are go-getters, which is great for getting a business off the ground, but not so great for taking on way too much. For many, the idea that “if I want something done right, I have to do it myself” can quickly take over.

Delegating can free up a lot of time, provided you can relinquish some control. Remember, it’s a choice to continue doing tasks that could be outsourced or delegated to someone else. This not only impacts your work-life balance, but as your business grows, it will pull you away from mission-critical tasks.

Take More Time Off

I know, easier said than done. But taking the appropriate time off is essential to keeping your wellbeing and work-life balance intact. Otherwise, you can quickly find yourself working every day and losing a sense of satisfaction with your life.

One helpful way to ensure you get the time you need is with a four-day workweek. With this approach, you can still be productive and make money with just four days, and you’ll be able to devote more time to personal responsibilities and leisure.

Set Rigid Hours

One of the ways business owners can get too caught up in their business is by keeping a flexible schedule. For traditional employees, they typically have set shifts, so they can manage their personal time.

When you own a business, it’s too easy to work 10, 12, or 14 hours without realizing how much time you’re really putting into it. You try to get “just one more thing” done in the day, and before you know it, you’ve worked far beyond a normal workday.

Start by setting a clear time that you begin and end your workday, even if you’re working from home. Remember, more time isn’t necessarily more productive time, and you’d be better served by sticking to a set schedule and forcing yourself to manage your time effectively.

Find Your Work-Life Balance

No one said running a business was easy. In fact, business owners typically work more and longer days than a comparable employee, but it doesn’t have to be that way. With some tweaks, you can find your work-life balance and still run a successful and profitable business.

Are you looking for some guidance with your business from a professional coach? Work with Allison Todd directly and see how you can reach your business goals!

Streamline These Services with SOPs

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Your business will have repeatable processes, even if you’re a sole proprietor. On your own, you may be keeping a lot of information in your head, since you’re doing it all yourself.

Unfortunately, that can take a toll over time. You may do the same things daily, weekly, or monthly, but eventually, you may come to a point of wondering if you did what you needed to. Or worse, you may be wondering how you did it the last time.

Developing standard operating procedures, or SOPs, is an important step in building a viable business that’s ready to grow and scale.

What Are SOPs?

SOPs are outlines or checklists that demonstrate how to complete the repeated tasks that take place in your business, such as your social media management, customer service procedures, or other tasks.

They may not seem as important when you’re on your own, but as you scale, SOPs are essential to keeping your brand consistent and ensuring that everything is done on time and as efficiently as possible.

Also, creating an outline for repeated tasks helps you see where you can streamline your processes to save time. For some tasks, you may be creating more work for yourself because you have to start from scratch.

When you have SOPs, you have everything you need at your fingertips each time. You’re taking out everything that’s unnecessary, which is MUCH easier when you have a clear outline and plan.

Benefits of SOPs

How do SOPs help you streamline your business?

You can move faster through tasks, get more accomplished, and ultimately, earn more. You cut back on the time it takes to do the repeatable tasks your business needs, giving you more time to focus on mission-critical aspects of your business or to serve customers. In short, more money for fewer hours – who doesn’t love that?

You can bring on more team members and ensure that your standards are upheld. A well-documented process makes it much easier to bring on new team members and delegate tasks to them without concern for how it may impact your business or processes.

How to Create SOPs

SOPs aren’t as simple as they may seem to create. They take planning, coordination, and research to be fully functional.

Fortunately, there are numerous tools and templates to help, but here’s a quick breakdown.

Clearly articulate the vision of why you’re writing an SOP and what you’d like the reader to achieve.

Identify the reader you’re writing for. Identifying and understanding the audience ensures your SOP is appropriate for the employee and suited to their knowledge and experience.

Define the scope of the task. As your business scales, some tasks may overlap between departments, and this is where SOPs can get tricky. Before you begin, define whether the SOP will be general or specific to one department.

Choose the relevant format. Formatting is important in SOPs. Your general format should include:

  • – Title page
  • – Department, date, and ID
  • – Purpose statement
  • – Definitions
  • – Step-by-step instructions
  • – Additional information that’s relevant to the task

 

Let’s Get Started!

If you want your business to grow, SOPs are a must to streamline your processes and develop consistency across all employees and departments.

Are you looking for help with growing and scaling your business? Get expert guidance with experienced business coach Allison Todd! Work with Allison Todd directly.

4 Ways to Scale Your Side Hustle into a Full-Blown Business

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Whether you started a side hustle as a passion project or you finally followed your dreams with your free time during the pandemic, it doesn’t have to be a side hustle forever.

Sure, starting a side hustle helps to bring in some extra cash, but what if you could do what you love full time? That can be a reality with the right planning and effort.

1. Research Your Market

According to Harvard Business Review, the best predictor of success is how well a business leader understands the market.

Is your project something that will still have a market in a year? In five years?

Here are some questions to ask:

  • Who is your target market?
  • Can your target customers afford your product or services?
  • Who are your competitors? Do they offer more or less than you? Have they been around longer?
  • Does your business have the potential to keep growing into the future? What do you need to make that happen as far as staff and overhead?

If you think your business can still grow and thrive in the long term, you can make it a reality.

2. Take the Necessary Steps to Scale

Many people take on a side hustle and keep their full-time job to increase their income. But before you can turn your side hustle into a full-time job, you need to know what steps are necessary to grow.

For example, maybe you started a small side hustle selling baked goods in your home kitchen. Do you have the setup to sustain a full-time business in your home kitchen?

As a business owner, you need to prepare for what you’ll need to scale your business, even if you hold on to your full-time job in the meantime. Whatever your dream is, you should envision your path to success and how you’ll attract and retain customers.

Consider things like:

  • Commercial space to produce or store your inventory and reach a higher volume of customers
  • Commercial-grade equipment or machinery
  • Employees you may need to hire to help you with the day-to-day operations

3. Create a Business Plan

A business plan forms the foundation for the future of your side hustle as a bona-fide full-time business.

Your business plan should include:

  • A business name
  • A description of the current target market
  • Competitor analysis
  • Cost analysis, including material costs, registration costs, staff costs, marketing budget, space rental, pricing plan, estimated volume and profits for each month, and a break-even point

Having a strong foundation can help you develop realistic expectations and attract investors to your business.

4. Seek Investors

Starting a business can be expensive, but investors can help you get a strong start. Your business plan is an essential tool to securing startup capital.

Consider options like:

  • Bank loans for small businesses
  • State and local grants
  • Small Business Administration loans
  • Crowdfunding platforms

Once you have the funding, you can get started scaling your business!

Keep Hustling

If you have a side hustle right now, you have the drive, passion, and talent to turn it into your full-time job and business. The road to success can be long and arduous, but strategies like these put you in the strongest position for future success.

Looking to scale your side hustle with the guidance of a professional coach? Work with Allison Todd directly! 

Contractors vs. Full-Time: The Small Business Guide

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One of the most effective ways to scale your business is to grow your team. But that can be a difficult undertaking with several considerations before you even start taking applications or interviewing contractors. 

The Difference

A freelance contractor works for you independently and covers taxes on their own. An employee is an in-house team member that answers to you. You’re responsible for reporting their earnings to the IRS. 

You hire a contractor as a 1099 employee after the terms and scope of services provided are agreed upon, as well as the cost. In this role, you will not have control over their process, pricing, or working hours, unless these were stipulated in the agreement. 

This category would include:

  • – Freelancers
  • – Consultants
  • – Temp-to-hire
  • – Agencies

 

A W2 employee is usually a long-term arrangement where you provide consistent direction and supervision. You dictate their hours, their job expectations, and pay. For a W2 employee, you may also have to offer other benefits or insurance.

There is also no competition for their time. A contractor will have other clients and projects in the works that require their attention, whereas an employee is someone you don’t have to share. 

The Cost

Independent contractors typically get paid with a flat fee for any services rendered or deliverables provided. This is usually determined in contract negotiations prior to any work taking place. 

With a contractor, you’re paying for their talent and expertise. While you’re in control of your overall project, they will play a more collaborative role, like a consultant. As a business owner in their own right, consider them a partner in your business, not an underling.

For a W2 employee, you can pay an hourly wage or salary that fits within your budget. Talent that is interested in that pay scale will apply and may or may not negotiate pay. Keep in mind that when you hire a W2 employee, you will also have to cover any benefits, 401K, as well as cover tax payments.

Contractors will typically cost you more upfront with deposits and initial fees, whereas employees will require very little upfront but could cost you more over time. 

The Bottom Line

What do you want most out of this new team member? Do you want total control over their schedule? Are you looking for someone you can train up who will buy into your company culture and mission? 

Do you want exclusive access to their attention and talents? Are you hoping this person can wear multiple hats to take even more tasks off your plate? If you can afford all of the incidentals that come with an in-house employee, this may be the best path.

Or are you more interested in saving on hiring costs and benefits? Do you need more flexibility with short-term contracts? Is your need more immediate, and you don’t have time to train someone? 

If you’re not sure what you need or who to bring on, let’s chat! Helping entrepreneurs scale their businesses is my sweet spot! Book a consultation!

6 Things You Absolutely Need to Have in Your Contracts

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Contracts are legal agreements between two or more parties. But just because something is called a contract doesn’t mean it’s legally binding, nor does it mean that all parties involved are equally protected.

All contracts must have several essential elements to be enforced in court. Contracts may be missing a few elements and still be legally enforceable, but you’ll still want them in there to be safe.

Here are 6 things you absolutely need to have in your contracts.

1. Capacity

Contractual capacity is an individual’s ability to enter into an enforceable contract. Just because someone can sign a document doesn’t make it legal.

There are a few classes of people who may not be considered legally capable of entering a contract, including minors, people with mental disabilities, and intoxicated people.

If a person without contractual capacity enters an agreement, it becomes voidable, meaning that that party can end the contract at any time.

2. The Offer

The offer is the statement of terms and conditions to which the person making the offer is bound. This clearly expresses the willingness to abide by the terms of the contract, which are binding as soon as the other party accepts.

For example, if you have a dog-walking business, your offer would include a promise to walk someone’s dog in exchange for compensation from the owner, the offeree.

3. Acceptance

The acceptance of an offer expresses the willingness to abide by the terms and conditions of the contract.

Three things must occur for an acceptance to be valid:

  • – The offeree knows the offer
  • – The offeree has intent to accept the offer
  • – The acceptance is expressed as an agreement to the conditions of the offer

4. Legality

The contract’s legality refers to whether the terms and conditions are consistent with the law. If the subject of the agreement isn’t legal, the contract won’t be valid.

For example, you can enter into a contract to pay someone for a legal service, but not to perform illegal services or sell illegal goods. No matter the contents of the contract, it won’t be valid and enforceable in court if the subject itself is not legal.

5. Consideration

Both parties entering into a contract must offer something of value that makes the other want to agree to it. This could be money, goods, the completion of an action, or the act of refraining from an action.

If there’s no exchange of money, the parties should ensure that the court would see the trade as valuable.

6. Mutuality

Also known as the meeting of the minds, mutuality states that both parties must be bound to perform the obligations stated in the contract. If that doesn’t happen, the law will rule that neither party is legally bound to the contract. Both parties need to be bound to the contract, or neither is bound to the contract.

Ready to Sign on the Dotted Line?

Legally binding contracts are complicated. Before you make an agreement, make sure your contract covers the 6 key elements of a contract.

Need more guidance with your business contracts from an experienced business coach? Work with Allison Todd directly! 

Why Your Brand Guidelines Matter

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Brand guidelines or a brand book are a set of properties that explain how your brand operates, what it looks like, and who you are. It usually includes your mission, values, vision, tone, personality, and messaging. 

Built on your vision, personality, and mission are your brand assets, such as your color identity, logo, and visual styling. While it may seem superfluous, your goal is to attract a specific type of customer, and knowing what appeals to them is important. 

Here are my top reasons creating your brand guidelines is essential for your business. 

Brand Consistency

By creating a standard for how your brand appears, you will have a consistent identity in front of your audience. Changing graphics, colors, fonts, and associated with your brand makes you appear flighty and indecisive. 

Consistency in messaging and design shows you’re steadfast and reliable. It builds trust with your audience, who feels they know what to expect and are more comfortable working with you.

Brand Guidelines Encourage Relationships

It’s not just about colors and fonts. Comprehensive guidelines also advance your company’s values and mission. It’s an easy way to communicate what you stand for and how you intend to accomplish your goals. 

People connect with purposes, not brands. By showcasing a relatable, human element of your brand, you’re building authentic connections and relationships with your market.

Brand Recognition

We all know brands like Nike, Mcdonald’s, Ford. You only have to see their logo, and you instantly recognize who they are and what they offer. 

How? Because we’ve seen them over and over again, never changing, always consistent. 

While you’re probably not to mega-brand levels just yet, creating brand guidelines that your company lives and breathes by makes you instantly recognizable to your target audience. 

Brand Value Perception

Brand guidelines help you create a strong brand identity. When it’s designed to target your desired audience shows that you know your market. 

You understand their needs, desires, goals, and even a bit of their style. Together, this increases your value in their eyes, and they’re more open to paying what you’re worth. 

Brand Tone and Target Market 

Knowing your audience is key to developing a unique brand voice. If you’re a suit and tie brand, your tone and voice will trend more skilled and professional, and your brand visuals will be dark and sharp. 

If your market is families with small children, bright colors, bold fonts, and light, happy messaging is what connects with that aesthetic. 

If you go to market with any old logo you whipped up on Canva, and whatever font you happen to like, there is a strong likelihood that none of that will suit your brand. It doesn’t match who your customer is, and they may not trust your offer.

Your Brand Guidelines Matter Because Your Brand Is Selling Something

If you don’t have comprehensive brand guidelines keeping you on track, you may find your marketing is off, and you’re not reaching the right audience. I can help you develop robust and consistent brand guidelines that advance your messaging and your value. Book with me!

Break the Cycle of Toxic Productivity with Self-Love 

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With our always-on, always-available, fake-it-til-you-make-it hustle culture, there’s glory in being the workaholic, the go-getter, the workhorse.

We’ve normalized hustle culture, made it so that if you’re not always rushing, busy, and stressed, you’re not trying hard enough. Always go the extra mile.

Answer an email late in the evening? Sure! Put in extra hours on the weekend? No worries, you didn’t have plans anyway.

That’s not glory. That’s a fast-track to burnout and toxic productivity.

Being stressed and overworked is a toxic mindset skewed positive to keep you pushing harder and harder. But once you recognize it, you can prioritize self-love and break the toxic cycle.

What Is Toxic Productivity?

In recent years, our culture has been about the hustle and the grind. The “first-in, last-out” type is the one who gets the promotion.

The shift to hybrid and remote work only worsened this mindset. The boundaries between our work lives and our personal lives blurred more and more. Our phones and laptops are always on, we’re always available – and expected to be.

It’s difficult to turn the notifications off, especially with no physical separation between work and home. Our home office, couch, recliner, or even our beds may have become the new workspace, so of course we can’t just turn our work minds off.  

With no rest, no downtime, and no boundaries, we can’t enjoy our free time or focus on self-care and self-reflection. We may prioritize a project over date night, our child’s sports game or recital, or our own sleep.

Productivity is important, for sure, but it can be detrimental if it consumes our lives. If we think work is more important than anything else, to the point that we can’t relax and enjoy our families, hobbies, or time relaxing on our own, that’s when productivity builds to burnout.

Balance, rest, and self-love are vital to true productivity. If you’re running on fumes or struggling with concentration and focus, are you truly productive? Is the work you’re doing the best quality it can be?

Probably not. You can’t pour from an empty cup.

My Struggle with Toxic Productivity

“Love what you do, and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

We’ve all heard some variation on this quote, implying that if you’re passionate about what you do, it’ll never feel like work. You can’t get overworked, stressed, or burned out doing what you love, right? Wrong!

I was nearly claimed by my own toxic productivity. I worked all the time. It was easier to be productive.

Then COVID-19 hit. The lockdowns, stillness, and the claustrophobia of the pandemic made me feel like I had to move faster, produce twice as much, and push toward my ultimate goal.

I was buried in toxic productivity without realizing it – only to be buried by the bad news avalanche.

It was time to reconnect and recharge, focus a little on me. Time for a reset.

How to Overcome Toxic Productivity

The most important tool for overcoming toxic productivity is knowing how to recognize it.

Are you always focused on work – always checking email, even during time with your family or friends?

Are you checking or answering communications during off-hours, such as nights and weekends?

Are you measuring your self-worth through your work? Is excelling at your job or career the most important thing to you?

Are you missing out on quality time with your family, friends, pets, or hobbies in order to work?

Are you using work as a way to escape difficult life situations, such as a significant death or conflict with your partner?

If you answered “yes” to any of these, you may be struggling with toxic productivity.

Fortunately, you can break the cycle of overworking.

Take an Extended Recess from Work Responsibilities

If you’ve been going and going, it’s time to take a break. Taking time away from work responsibilities to focus on fun and passions is important at any time, but it’s even more important after the tumult of the past two years.

We experienced a collective trauma together during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s time to take a moment to breathe, reflect, and shift the focus back to yourself for a bit.

Spend time recharging and reconnecting. Feed your soul, reflect, and reset. Rediscover a lost hobby, or take up a new one.

Go for a walk or a drive with no destination in mind. Lie in the grass and watch the clouds. Do the least productive things you can think of to give your mind and body a rest.

However you choose to spend your time, it’s important that it’s about what you want, not the professional you, but the personal you – the multifaceted you. Close your laptop, turn off your phone, and just enjoy.

Over time, you’ll get used to unplugging and enjoy some much-needed time for yourself.

Prioritize Work-Life Balance

Even if you work from home, you need clear boundaries between work time and private time. You can set a work schedule for yourself, much like office hours, or designate time slots when you can be productive that work around your family’s schedule.

Whichever you choose, it’s important to stick to your schedule. Adjust as needed but be disciplined in your work time and your personal time.

During your personal time, do the things you enjoy. Practice your hobby, spend time with family, cook yourself a meal, watch your favorite television show, meditate, or do whatever makes you happy. When you return to work, you’ll be refreshed and ready to go.

Create a Self-Love Box

We all need reminders to develop healthy habits, and the self-love box is just that. Having a self-love box on hand can reinforce the message and give you tools to prioritize you.

Drawing from my experience as a confidence and business coach, I put together a self-love box that has all the tools and resources you need to love you greater! I’m always telling clients to create flashcards for their niche, and now I’ve taken that idea 10 steps further to build the ultimate toolkit to end your toxic productivity.

End the Toxic Cycle with Self-Love

Toxic productivity can sneak up on you, but when you know what to look for, you can promote better work-life balance and unplug to unleash your true productivity.

Are you struggling with your career or business? Let’s chat! Schedule a discovery call with me!

3 Things to Automate in Your Business Right Now

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Those menial, tedious tasks you hate doing every day? Automate. The technology to make your life so much easier is out there! You will boost your productivity and relieve yourself from the pressure of all the “to-dos” that you don’t really have to do. 

Let’s review my top 3 things you should automate in your business right now!

#1 Client Onboarding

Different from welcome emails, this is your internal process. It’s something you can create and set up once but use again and again. 

Using a productivity management system to send contracts, welcome packets, questionnaires, and client portal information automatically saves you time and puts the client at ease that you have it all together! It also ensures that everything is accomplished as quickly as possible, and nothing is ever missed. 

My Favorite Productivity Management Systems:

  • – Monday.com
  • – Airtable
  • – Asana
  • – Trello
  • – Zapier 

#2 Welcome Emails 

Did you know welcome emails usually have the highest open rates? These emails are your first access to direct contact with a potential client and are extremely valuable. Use them to engage with the lead and ask how they liked your resource. 

Using your CRM or email management system, set up welcome emails to fire off after a new contact is received and drip out over the following days and weeks. This keeps you at the top of their inbox while your name is fresh on their mind.

Leverage these notes to further establish who you are, what you do, and why they should care by providing practical, tangible value in their inbox. Slowly introduce other ways to connect with you and your higher-ticket offers. 

#3 Social Media Content

Automating content production can reduce the pressure on you or your team to be creative every day at the optimal posting time. While the content still has to be physically created or curated, there are tools and software platforms that help you automate the process. 

You can batch create your social media text and graphics using the free tool, Canva. If you run out of ideas, scroll through the feed of your ideal client or competitors and see what they’re engaged with. Use this to fuel your creation! 

Pre-made content calendars are also a dime a dozen, but apps like PostDeck also offer daily prompts and conversation starters to essentially generate content for you. 

When you’re ready to publish, upload your content to a platform like Sprout Social, Buffer, or Later. These services help you schedule content out for the week or even the month so you can “set it and forget it” and focus on engagement. 

Consider implementing Facebook’s “out of office” auto-responder for after-hours to connect with anyone who may reach out. Or, set up a chatbot to keep the conversation going and assist potential leads. 

Work Smarter, Not Harder!

Automation can be tech-heavy upfront, but the payoff is literally buying you more time! If you’re overwhelmed by manual processes and need support and encouragement to confidently make good business decisions, let’s talk! Book a consultation with me!

3 Mistakes Women Make In Their Business Communications

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Language and speech are what separates us from the animal kingdom. It’s a powerful tool when wielded properly. 

But it can also just as easily deflate our power as women when we fall prey to some of these common mistakes in business communications.

#1 Lack of Confident Language

You know I love to talk about confidence! Phrases and words that imply hesitation or fear are more common in women’s communications than men. 

Hedges, qualifiers, and tag questions siphon the power from your language and thoughts. You appear indecisive and ill-equipped. 

Phrases To Avoid:

  • –“It should be…, shouldn’t it?”
  • –“I’m not an expert, but…”
  • –“I just think…”
  • –“I actually think that maybe…
  • –“Am I making sense?”

 

These phrases all introduce “shrinking” language — an attempt to make your thoughts and words less intrusive or confrontational. You’re preemptively avoiding criticism by suggesting that even you think that what you said may not be right or coherent. 

If you don’t agree with a point or concept, you can still be diplomatic without being unnecessarily aggressive. “I don’t see it that way, here’s why.” or, “I think there’s a better way. Here’s my idea.” are easy phrases to infuse into the meetings that display confidence in yourself and what you bring to the table. 

If you’re attempting to invite feedback or spark further discussion, ask for it without denigrating your contributions to the conversation. “What are your thoughts on this?” or “I look forward to hearing your perspective.” are more confident ways to elicit connection and discussion.

#2 Over-Explaining = Asking Permission 

Many women are still working to earn their place in their career fields. This breeds a desire to over-explain their positions and thoughts in an attempt to prove they deserve a seat at the table.

If you’re waiting for someone to tell you that you deserve a seat at the table, we have a little work to do! I’m telling you, here and now, you don’t have to write the textbook to prove you deserve to be where you are. 

How do I know this? 

Because you’re there! 

Your ability to confidently communicate your thoughts and position will advance you much farther than simply filling the space with words. If you can say in ten words, don’t use twenty.  

Pauses are powerful. Use them to your advantage. 

#3 Deflating Tone and Emphasis

English is one of the most complicated languages on planet Earth, but like most languages, tone plays a significant role in emphasizing our meaning or intent. When you raise the pitch of your voice at the end of a statement, your language automatically sounds like you’re questioning your own words. 

It makes you appear tentative, as if you were unsure of your opinion or even yourself before you ever opened your mouth. Practice lowering the tone of your voice at the end of sentences and see what a difference that makes in how you sound and feel. 

Clear and Confident For The Win

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