How do you amplify your voice?

"International Women’s Day” occurs once a year…yet I spend almost every day finding new ways to amplify women leaders. 

So many women share with me the challenges they face in having their voices heard. 

This typically occurs when they’re in a meeting where the other participants are mostly men. 

Here’s what often happens: 

A woman will make a great point in a conversation and then, later in the discussion, one of her male colleagues will make the exact same point -- and he will get the kudos for sharing his wisdom.

It has happened to me too…

I’ve come up with a few techniques for how to handle this:

First, and typically this is the best option, you can deal with it when it occurs by saying ‘I’m glad that John agrees with me on this point”. 

Second, you can say ‘I completely agree with John and this is exactly the point that I mentioned earlier’.

Or, third, you can handle this after the meeting is over by enlisting the support of one or two trusted colleagues. Mention to them what you noticed in the meeting and ask if they also saw it. 

If they did, then ask them to acknowledge your contribution the next time this happens. 

If this keeps happening with the same individual, then you can handle it differently. You can privately speak with John and suggest to him that if he agrees with you on a topic, he can openly support you on it in group discussions instead of simply repeating it later in the dialogue. 

I regularly work with women leaders on how to address this in a way that makes them appear both confident and collaborative. 

How do you amplify your voice?"