Codie Sanchez identifies three phrases that undermine you: "I'm probably wrong," "I'm the worst," and constant apologizing. Each one signals weakness before you've even made your point, reinforces a negative self-image, or treats your existence as an inconvenience. Stop narrating yourself smaller.
Chapters
If you want to not get taken seriously, you should use these 3 phrases. One of my employees said this the other day in passing, and it made me want to rip my hair out on her behalf. So this one's for you. First one, "I'm probably wrong." You just shut down your own argument before you even gave it. Like, say the thing. If you're wrong, you're wrong. But at least this way you have a chance at being right as opposed to getting immediately dismissed. Second one, "I'm the worst." You forgot to reply to an email. You showed up 5 minutes late. Your brain doesn't know that you're joking, and you're not the worst. So every time you say it, you're filing a little piece of evidence to get yourself and you actually keep ruling against yourself. The third one is everybody's favorite. Sorry. And it's fine for real mistakes, but you did not inconvenience someone by speaking. You did not do anything wrong by just showing up. So when you over-apologize, you are literally telling everyone around you, including yourself, that your presence requires an apology. It doesn't. So stop narrating yourself into small corners and being more of a small person just because you use a few lines that you don't even realize the impact yet.
