September 8, 2026
Tired Of Being The Only One Who Speaks Up In Meetings? Try This
Speaking up in meetings is great training for advocating for yourself and your career.
Dear Fairygodmentor®,
I’m the only one who speaks up in meetings, and I’m tired. How do I share the load?
-I’m Over It
Dear I’m Over It,
I overstand the frustration. We’re told that closed mouths don’t get fed. We’re also taught that to be visible at work, we need to speak up to be seen and heard. Now, it appears you have been voluntold to be the spokesperson for your entire team.
How are your meetings structured? Is your manager listing you as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) or Point of Contact (POC)? Or are you volunteering your input in meetings as they happen? If you are assigned as a team lead on a particular meeting, this may be the hand you’re dealt. But there’s still hope!
If you’re lucky enough to get to review the agenda well before the meeting (and not minutes before), perhaps you can take a look at what’s on deck for the meeting. If you’re not comfortable with speaking up on the project, I would suggest you reach out to another member of the project team to report out and share the load.
If you’re naturally curious and like to ask questions, I won’t dissuade you from speaking up and remaining visible. As a people leader, I love to have a diversity of thought and ideas in meetings. You can also encourage others to voice their thoughts and opinions by tossing it out to the rest of the team before voicing your point of view. It could sound like “I have some thoughts, but I’d love to hear what others think about …XYZ?” This way you’re opening the door for others to speak up, and the burden of discourse won’t weigh so heavily on your shoulders.
My final suggestion would be to discuss this observation with your manager during a one-on-one meeting. It could sound like, “What are your thoughts on my participation in team meetings? Do you think it’s the right level of input? What do you think about having a different POC report out at each team meeting to give others a chance to shine?” Your manager may be fine with you taking the lead because they don’t have to do the heavy lifting and may not realize you’re tired of carrying the meetings every time.
Speaking up in meetings is great training for speaking up and advocating for yourself and your career. It’s OK to delegate the weight in meetings and in other leadership situations. Keep speaking up – in meetings and beyond!
You got this!
Yours truly,
Your Fairygodmentor®
About Joyel Crawford:
Joyel Crawford is an award-winning career and leadership development professional and founder of Crawford Leadership Strategies, a consultancy that empowers results-driven leaders through coaching, training, and facilitation. She’s the best-selling author of Show Your Ask: Using Your Voice to Advocate for Yourself and Your Career.
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