How do we find the courage, or the skill, to speak up for issues we feel strongly about when there is a real risk of consequences?

That’s exactly what I’m exploring in this episode.

I’ve recently decided to focus my ‘change the world’ energies into one cause - housing affordability - and in doing so I’ve had to confront my concerns about negative consequences.

Being seen as ‘political’.

Being seen as a left-wing hippie (proud to be one, if I’m honest).

Potentially losing work because of my views.

There can be real risks that need to be managed when we speak up, so I’m sharing the process, the thinking, that I’m using to feel ‘safe enough’ to speak up.

Listen in to hear:

• Why ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ is shitty advice

• How I’m both amplifying others’ voices as well as speaking up myself

• How I assess the risk of speaking up, and then manage those risks (not eliminate them)

• Why being mindful of, and speaking into, nuance and complexity is important

• How to NOT get caught up in well-meaning but not productive moral outrage and righteous indignation

• How I’m ‘practising’ in lower risk environments

• Why I’m choosing housing affordability out of all the other causes I care about

Other episodes mentioned:

174 - How Personal Is Too Personal

170 - How To Make A Difference Over The Long Term

171 - Managing Conflict & Disagreements -

You can follow and DM me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/catmatson/

And you can get into a deeper discussion on substack - https://catmatson.substack.com/

If you overthink or second guess how you're going to express yourself in team meetings, this episode is for you.

In our reluctance to NOT appear 'bossy' we sometimes overthink our messages, try to facilitate a discussion when really, our recommendation is appropriate and prioritise consensus over getting things done.

Inspired by a real conversation in my Communicate with Impact program, in this episode I'm sharing some practical and mindset tips to help you say what you want to say, with authority and credibility, without sounding pushy, bossy without feeling awkwardly assertive.

Listen in to hear:

• Mindset shifts for confident recommendations
• How to own your expertise in meetings
• Language hacks to soften any potential harshness
• Moving from asking for permission to making direct recommendations
• The impact of imposter syndrome on speaking up

Other episodes mentioned: # 7 - Why Me? Overcoming 'I'm Not Good Enough'

Get my FREE How To Stop Rambling Masterclass

I've become very present, recently, to how our work-from-home, online world, is reducing our casual conversations.

And with that, we're losing the key human skills of building relationships through conversations.

In this episode I'm 'working out loud' on this 'trend' ...

Listen in to hear:

• my 'evidence' for this diminishing human skill of conversations and connection
• why relationships are a key part of a successful (meaningful, satisfying) career or business
• how conversations - imperfect, flawed, unscripted - are the building blocks to relationships
• why I think we need to consciously create time to build relationships - and not just through asynschronous text and voice notes, or social media comments

I would love to know what you think. Leave a comment below.

I'd also love to answer your questions in a future episode - leave them below DM me on instagram

And if you'd like to better understand why you ramble, and how to manage it, you want my FREE How To Stop Rambling Masterclass