976: How (and When) to Freely Speak Your Mind with Elaine Lin Hering
Jul 8, 2024
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Communication expert Elaine Lin Hering discusses the importance of speaking up at work. She highlights the costs of silence, ways to stop self-censorship, and strategies for creating a culture of open communication. The podcast delves into different communication styles, when to speak up or stay silent, and empowering self-expression in the workplace. Listeners learn tips for work-life balance, embracing imperfect action, and redefining leadership through small actions.
Speak up wisely by asking 'What do I think?' and 'What do I need?'
Take action in low-risk environments to build confidence in expressing thoughts and feelings.
Deep dives
Elaine Lynn Herring on Unlearning Silence
Elaine Lynn Herring emphasizes the importance of reclaiming personal thoughts by asking questions like, 'What do I think?' and 'What do I need?' She highlights the cost of staying silent at work and advises on creating environments that support speaking up wisely, addressing the impact of silence on health and relationships.
Discovering Your Voice
Finding your voice involves taking action and experimenting in low-risk environments like expressing opinions with strangers or friends. Elaine encourages small experiments to build confidence in sharing thoughts and feelings, urging individuals to discern patterns in what feels challenging to say.
Navigating Speaking Up Challenges
She advises on identifying the rational indicators for speaking up, such as caring about the issue and determining if you can live with staying silent. Elaine highlights the importance of gauging personal stakes and the potential benefits of using your voice in various situations.
Leadership Dynamics and Babel Hypothesis
The Babel hypothesis of leadership, where talk frequency is misinterpreted as leadership potential, is discussed. Elaine encourages creating space for diverse leadership styles and emphasizes the value of substance over the quantity of verbal contributions in meetings.
Elaine Lin Hering works with organizations and individuals to build skills in communication, collaboration, and conflict management. She has worked on six continents and facilitated executive education at Harvard, Dartmouth, Tufts, UC Berkeley, and UCLA. She is the former Advanced Training Director for the Harvard Mediation Program and lecturer at Harvard Law School. She is the author of the USA Today Bestselling book Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully.