Shanli Liu, a CPA and coach, shares three ways to sound more assertive: stop over-apologizing, stop downplaying your contributions before you speak, and learn to say no without explaining yourself.
When you need to sound more assertive, here's what I want you to do. Number 1, stop over-apologizing. This is where you say, "I'm sorry, so sorry," in every single sentence. I know it's a tick. I know it's a habit, but you gotta stop, and I'm gonna explain why. Number 2, stop undervaluing what you have to say. That's when you downgrade your comment before you even get it out. Again, this is hurting your confidence We're going to dive into it. And number 3, get comfortable with the word no. Get comfortable disappointing people. No is a complete sentence.
