I coach many people on how to be heard from the way they sit or stand, to their word choice, intonation, and delivery. All of those matter but none so much as your willingness to speak. You have to make your presence and opinion known. Don’t minimize the contribution and impact you can have by silencing yourself. I know, we have that internal conversation, “they won’t listen to me anyway so why bother?”.
Your voice matters. Your voice has an impact even when you are unaware of the impact. People are listening.
Last year when my then 9-year-old son was verbally and physically bullied by another student, I used my voice. When I felt I wasn’t being heard and no action was being taken, I didn’t get louder; I restructured my message. I had to speak in their language and work within their process. I had to address their concerns and fears. And finally they listened.
If you think people are not listening, rethink how you are communicating, but don’t stop talking.