According to a Forbes survey, when it comes to new jobs or promotions, men apply only if they meet 60% of the qualifications, whilst women apply if they meet 100%.  The decision not to apply ultimately comes down to confidence levels instead of their actual abilities. This comes when the average working-age woman in the UK earns 40% less than her male counterpart. Ladies, it’s time to stop accepting the status quo and start being confident in the workplace. If you are a woman experiencing challenges in a male-dominated environment, read this blog for four ways to feel more confident at work.

What is confidence?

Confidence is a message your brain sends to your body. You have felt that confident message yourself many times, but perhaps when you felt no need for it, you didn’t even notice it was there – maybe you were walking carelessly in the countryside, dancing with friends at a bar or having dinner with your parents. So, how do we let that feeling out in other situations? Here are four tips to help you become a more confident speaker.

1. What goes up must come down

Do you ever find yourself raising the pitch of your voice at the end of every clause in your sentence when you’re not 100% certain about something? What you are doing is called upward inflexion or upspeak. This should be used sparingly because, in some situations, it can reduce the value of what you are saying, making you appear less authoritative and even less intelligent. In fact, there are only two occasions you should use upward inflexion: lists and questions. To sound more authoritative and confident at work, try using downward inflexion. This is when your voice comes down at the end of your sentence. If your idea has weight and importance, it must come down at the end. The end is the bit where you hand the idea over to the person you are speaking to. To help you do this, imagine your idea is a jewel you are handing to your listener.

2. Deal with manterruptions

Dominant personalities can derail even the best ideas just by interrupting. Certain people will always interrupt, no matter what. The good news is that you don’t have to fight fire with fire – there is another option. Let’s imagine someone has just interrupted you. We often build narratives around the events that happen around us, in an attempt to make sense of things – ‘I’m always being interrupted’ or ‘they don’t think I’m worth listening to’ or ‘they must be annoyed because of what I said the other day’. Now is not the time to brood on these imposter-type voices – it’s a surefire way to back away and lose confidence. Instead, think of the interruption as something that happened, not as evidence to back up a familiar narrative. This will drain the negative emotion out of the experience. You then have a clearer head to deal with the interruption.

You’ll always have to deal with interruptions in some capacity. But the good news is that you don’t have to be belittled by them. Follow these steps to help you:

Let them talk for a bit

Interrupting involves an adrenaline hit, and you need to let that release before jumping to take the baton back.

Address them directly

After a few seconds, you want to stop them. The most powerful device is saying their name. Avoid tentative disclaimers such as ‘I just want to say’, ‘how about?’ or ‘I’m just thinking out loud…’.

Pause

The pause takes back ownership of the space. Everyone’s attention and energy will return to you.

Be clear

By making a request, you turn this from a public shaming into an adult exchange – a clear request they’ll find hard to refuse. Give them an endorsement such as, “You’re making a really good point. I’m really interested, but I was in the middle of a point I’d like to finish, is that ok with you?” or “Thanks for raising that point. I hadn’t quite finished. Would you mind if I carry on?”. Once you’ve got the baton back, keep talking calmly and confidently – you have the conversational ‘right of way’.

3. Stop self-sabotaging

When a woman voices a point – but is ignored – and then a man makes the same point in the same meeting, and all heads nod in agreement – the frustration can feel overwhelming. It’s worth considering whether you’re subconsciously communicating in a way that doesn’t do yourself justice. Many women tend to start their sentences with self-deprecating language, disclaimers and apologies, even when they’re about to make a valid, insightful point. This can make you sound tentative, unsure or unqualified. It’s often well-intentioned – we don’t want to claim our idea is the best. But when we do this, the listener tends to hear the disclaimer rather than the idea, so we end up underselling and waiting for someone else to vouch for us. Paradoxically, if we don’t wait for someone else to vouch for an idea, it’s more likely to attract support.

That’s not to say you need to be rude and blunt – it’s about being polite but firm, ensuring your ideas get the space they deserve rather than not being taken seriously. Try switching the way you start your sentences and see what kind of impact they have. Here are some ideas…

● Instead of saying, “I wonder if maybe we should…” – try saying, “I recommend that we…”

● “Sorry to be a pain, but would you mind…” – try saying”, Please, can you get this to me by the end of play tomorrow.”

● “I’m no expert, but…” – try saying, “My research shows that… and therefore…”

● “At my old company, we did X” – try saying, “I was in charge of X, and I achieved Y.”

4. Use your body

How you enter the room (or virtual call) shapes how you stay in the room. Simply smiling and greeting people, you’re making a statement of your presence in just a few moments. Paying attention to your posture – shoulders back – can make a difference. This is when people take note of you – and how you act now affects how they will listen later. Plus, our body language affects how others see us and how we see ourselves.

There’s a region of your brain called the Broca’s area, which helps formulate speech, and it lights up when you gesture. So, when you start freeing your body, you encourage your brain to think of the right words so you can form your next sentence without freezing. Next time you’re about to give a presentation or speak in an important meeting, start with your hands poised, in line with your navel, rather than by your sides. This will make nonverbal communication feel more natural and comfortable from the word go.

So, there you have it, a few simple tricks to find confidence in a male-dominated environment. When your communication becomes more powerful, you’ll find that your team members benefit from your contribution, and other women will be encouraged to be more authentic and powerful. If you’d like to invest in yourself and become a powerful communicator by learning simple but effective tools like this, why not look into an effective communication course with the London Speech Workshop? We recommend booking a free Discovery Call to discuss your goals, challenges and budget.

And don’t forget to watch a replay of this LinkedIn Live with Jools Montague from the London Speech Workshop, who gives more expert tips on how women can feel more confident in male-dominated environments.

Author: Hannah is the Marketing Executive at London Speech Workshop, an industry-leading communication training and coaching institute. The proven Serlin Method™ uses a combination of modern psychology, performance techniques and memorable tools, empowering people to be the best communicators they can be.