Becoming more assertive?

[Chile Chef]

I was raised where you never want to raise your voice unless it's really really necessary, And I'm getting tired of people in my class not listing to me because I don't speak up.

It's not my place top speak up but if I did they would see I am smart & I know what I'm doing. I spoke up once but that was in a whole class situation.


The group thing seems different for me. I am not sure what to do, I want to become more assertive.

 

[Laury]

There's a difference between raising your voice and speaking up. To me raising your voice means yelling, as when you're angry. Speaking up means two things. Making your opinion known when it's important to do so; and raising the volume of your voice so that others can hear you clearly. It's always your "place" to speak up in a classroom situation where you wish to be heard - in both senses of the word. Be loud and be proud!

 

[Wyogal]

"Speaking up" can include projecting your voice, not necessarily louder. It's a confidence thing, as well as a breath support thing...

 

[Chile Chef]

There's a difference between raising your voice and speaking up. To me raising your voice means yelling, as when you're angry. Speaking up means two things. Making your opinion known when it's important to do so; and raising the volume of your voice so that others can hear you clearly. It's always your "place" to speak up in a classroom situation where you wish to be heard - in both senses of the word. Be loud and be proud!

"Speaking up" can include projecting your voice, not necessarily louder. It's a confidence thing, as well as a breath support thing...

Thank you guys and girls, WYogal, I have no problem speaking up in class, I just have a problem speaking up in group , when we group up I normal take a back seat "take notes" and listen.

 

[luvs]

plunge in like a swimming pool! hold your chin high, wear a dagnabbin scarf if you have to!, lol, & keep your posture great. things may work better then.
some places get me to being shy, like snobby hair salons. i just keep my wits 'bout me, & then things go smoothly.

 

[Wyogal]

Are you trying to say something and they don't listen, or do you not speak? How big is the "group?"

 

[lindatooo]

Take a look at the Dog Whisperer! Posture can solve lots of problems. As can deep breathing. What's the worst they can do to you? Disagree?

 

[Claire]

As with others, raising your voice does NOT mean yelling. I learned the quality of projecting your voice in two places. Bizarrely enough, in something like 4th grade with an exceptional music teacher (I'm not musical at all), then in the military. One day I was walking to town, and saw my husband several blocks away and put my all in it and called his name. He looked behind and around him, and finally spotted me. When we got together he asked how I did that, he'd have sworn I was right there.

But to me the main thing about becoming more assertive, and believe me, I have had issues with this, is to learn more and more. If you KNOW that you know more about a subject than anyone else, you can become more confident. And confidence is what we're really talking about here. Don't hoard information like some do (becoming a recluse who knows everything), and don't become an annoying know-it-all pain in the patootie. Just simply learn as much as you can, look at yourself in the mirror, and realize you're as good as everyone around you, and your voice deserves to be heard.