What do you do if your ideas are being dismissed in meetings?

It isn't always about you. It is normally (often) about the person who is dismissing your ideas. Take a moment to step back and put yourself in their shoes. Look at the dynamics in the room. Then look at your idea and sanity check that it solves a problem that is known with the group, and that fits the needs of the group. If the problem is not known, you may need to start by raising awareness. If the dynamics in the room are hard to break into, consider offering your ideas outside of the room. Don't tell someone that their idea is a bad one - you are better to run with their idea - build trust before asking questions to understand why they believe their idea is a good one - then with the new data, you can reframe, or re-offer yours

Firstly, always review and assess your ideas internally and invite colleagues to build on your suggestions. Secondly, present your ideas with sound logic, supported by data and examples. After the meeting, follow up with key participants to further discuss your ideas and gain support. If your ideas are still being dismissed, respectfully request specific feedback.

Reflect: are your ideas crap? Or are you crap at delivering them? If your ideas are crap - you need to change them. Thats easy. If your delivery is crap - you can work on that. Gather feedback from peers or mentors; take on some training; join toastmasters. Finally, if your ideas are great, and you are delivering them well, but they're dismissed because the meeting owner is an asshat, you need to change your manager!

Be succint. AVOID a lot of waffle and unesseccary context. Nobody needs to understand the issue in the same depth as you do - they just need to be teased with the juicy bits. A follow-up meeting will be scheduled if your juicy teaser is actually a good idea!

Gather momentum, one rolling rock at a time. Sometimes all it takes is one of your peers to provide a supportive grunt. Can you convince one of your peers to share a supportive wink, nod, or noise?

Resilience is NOT bashing your head against the wall. Learn to discern the difference between rejection of a crap idea, and resistance to change.

Peers (colleagues) and mentors are a huge value-add to your life and career. Find people that you can share with and communue with (or comisserate with if needed). While they don't need to be domain experts, they should have a working understanding of the issues on the table.

At the end of the day, a lot depends on HOW WE COMMUNICATE our ideas in meetings. Did we apply the 4 Cs of communication - CLEAR, CONCISE, CORRECT, COURTEOUS? Sometimes, being OVERZEALOUS about our ideas could come across as being TOO PUSHY in the eyes of others. Sometimes, we become IMPATIENT if others start asking questions about our ideas. If these ideas had been tested & proven before in other companies, then ASSERT them as such. Show facts & figures. Have we been too ARROGANT when we shared our ideas? Perhaps our OVERCONFIDENCE & BIG EGO have put people off? If we TRULY BELIEVE in our ideas, KEEP GOING to get them HEARD. DON'T GIVE UP just because we keep hitting dead ends. When one door closes, another door opens. Keep your chin up!

If your ideas are being dismissed in meetings, it's important to address the situation assertively yet diplomatically. Firstly, calmly express gratitude for the opportunity to contribute and acknowledge others' viewpoints. Then, succinctly reiterate your idea, providing additional context or evidence if necessary. If it's still met with resistance, inquire about specific concerns and actively listen to feedback. Avoid becoming defensive and instead focus on fostering constructive dialogue. If appropriate, seek support from allies or propose a trial period to test the idea's viability. Ultimately, persistence and professionalism can help garner recognition for your contributions.