How to Make Yourself Heard in Meetings
Getting colleagues to stop talking over you takes time and strategy
Jessica Powell, the former Google vice president who wrote The Big Disruption and told you how to quit your job, is here to answer your common but tricky work questions. Check back every other week for more management advice with a tech inflection.
I’m a data scientist at a successful startup. I’m constantly told that I’m at a great place to work for women: Our CEO is female; our product offers a service targeting women; and, unlike other places where I’ve worked, we spend a lot of time thinking about the female consumer.
But none of this changes the fact that I’m often the only woman in the room during technical conversations. I’m frequently interrupted during meetings, and I watch my ideas be ignored — only to have someone else repackage them as their own a few minutes later. How can I make myself heard?
I wish this were the first time I’ve heard this problem. Alas, there is a large body of research around how women are interrupted more frequently than men — even on the Supreme Court!
While gender dynamics are very likely at play in the problem you’re describing, many of the tips to tackle it are applicable to most anyone who’s struggling with making themselves…
