Your team member is hesitant to speak up in meetings. How can motivational interviewing help?
Helping a hesitant team member speak up in meetings can be challenging, but motivational interviewing can make a difference.
Motivational interviewing is a collaborative conversation style that strengthens a person's motivation and commitment to change. Here’s how you can use it to support a team member in speaking up:
Have any strategies worked for you? Share your thoughts.
Your team member is hesitant to speak up in meetings. How can motivational interviewing help?
Helping a hesitant team member speak up in meetings can be challenging, but motivational interviewing can make a difference.
Motivational interviewing is a collaborative conversation style that strengthens a person's motivation and commitment to change. Here’s how you can use it to support a team member in speaking up:
Have any strategies worked for you? Share your thoughts.
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Motivational interviewing is a powerful tool for encouraging team members to find their voice. Start by expressing empathy—acknowledge their hesitation without judgment to create a safe space. Highlight discrepancies by helping them see how staying silent may conflict with their personal goals or team values. Most importantly, support their self-efficacy by emphasizing their unique strengths and ability to contribute meaningfully. These strategies can foster trust, build confidence, and inspire active participation. What methods have you used to empower others to speak up? Let’s exchange ideas!
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I think it's important to not necessarily make any assumptions about what I perceive as hesitation on the team member's part. Approach the topic with genuine curiosity and non-judgment, and try to understand what the team member's understanding of the situation is. And build from there.
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I agree with this problem, but I think that hesitation is not a problem to speak in a meeting, it's a problem of communication, knowledge and language. So first we need to develop a better communication skill and make a strong grip in language and increase our knowledge. Until above three things will not develop problem of hesitation to speak in a meeting will not resolve.
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Motivational interviewing can help a hesitant team member by creating a supportive environment that fosters open communication. By asking open-ended questions, reflecting their concerns, and affirming their strengths, you help them explore their reluctance to speak up. This method encourages self-motivation and helps the team member identify their own reasons for contributing. It also reduces anxiety by reinforcing their value to the team. Through empathy and collaboration, motivational interviewing builds confidence and empowers them to express their ideas more freely in meetings.
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Build Trust: Create a safe and supportive environment. Example: "What makes it challenging to share your thoughts in meetings?" Explore Hesitation: Help them uncover reasons behind their hesitation and desire to contribute. Example: "What’s one benefit of sharing your ideas with the team?" Boost Confidence: Affirm their strengths and past contributions. Example: "Your insights are valuable and can really help the team." Encourage Action: Guide them to identify small, achievable steps. Example: "What’s one thing you’d feel comfortable sharing next time?"
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It can effectively help a hesitant team member speak up in meetings by creating a supportive environment where they feel valued. It encourages exploration of their reluctance, helping them clarify fears like judgment or lack of confidence. MI fosters self-reflection on how their contributions align with their goals, boosts confidence through reinforcement of past successes, and facilitates the development of strategies for participation, such as preparing points in advance or practicing with a colleague. This approach empowers them to engage more actively in discussions.
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Es una situación que podes detectar en varias ocasiones, por este motivo, considero que la entrevista motivacional es una oportunidad especial para poder abordar y ayudar a las personas potenciar sus oportunidades de mejora como es este ejemplo. La clave está en acompañarlos a identificar sus fortalezas y generar confianza en sí mismos, sin forzar el cambio, sino motivándolos desde sus propios valores y objetivos, acompañarlo con objetivos, metas y desafios que le permitan convertir ese desafio en un oportunidad.
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Everyone is always afraid of being ridiculed or laughed at during group meetings or discussions. The less confident or unsure a person is about the topic at hand, language of discourse and the calibre of the people in the group will determine how tongue-tied or hesitant a timid team member will become. Solutions: The following steps should be taken during the motivational interview: . Identify why the member had nothing to say during the meeting by starting with a lead statement like: a) What do you think of the behaviors of most of the people in our team? 2. Which language would you prefer we use as our medium of expression? 3. Mention five things you would discuss if you had talked during the course of the meeting the other day?
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How about the Dale Carnegie program "How to Make Friends and Influence People"? At the very least there are probably YouTube Videos or podcasts on how to speak upmore in meetings or at parties.
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I think genuinely hearing the employee and expressing empathy with what they share is so important. It allows the employee to feel heard, making them more comfortable to share their feelings. This initial connection is like "money in the bank" so that you have equity when it comes time to point out the discrepancies between their behaviors and expectations. Because of that equity, the employee is more open to accepting the constructive feedback.
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