· International Women's Day · Communication
Speak Up: free assertive communication game for meetings
A meeting, an interruption. Pick the reply that gets your idea heard.
What is Speak Up?
Someone cuts in, repeats your idea as their own, or talks over a new colleague. Pick the assertive reply: clear, calm and specific, not passive and not aggressive. The last chapter is about backing up someone else.
Speak Up is a free communication game for International Women's Day. In each scene you're in a meeting and something happens: someone cuts in, finishes your sentence wrongly, repeats your idea as their own, or calls a firm point "emotional". Pick the reply that gets the idea heard.
One reply is assertive: clear, calm, specific and respectful. The others are passive (giving the point up), aggressive (attacking the person) or passive-aggressive (a jab dressed as politeness). After each pick, every reply is revealed with its style and why. The third chapter switches roles: it happens to a colleague, and you're the one who can help.
At a glance
- Category
- Seasonal
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Play time
- 2–4 min
- Price
- Free, in your browser, sign-up optional
How to play
- Read the moment
- Each scene is a meeting: what you were saying, and what someone just said.
- Pick your reply
- Three or four replies: one assertive, the others passive, aggressive or passive-aggressive.
- See every style
- After your pick, every reply shows its style and why, with a tip you can reuse.
- Score
- 100 points per assertive reply, +20 per answer in a row (up to +60). Any other reply costs one of 3 lives.
Scoring
100 points per assertive reply, plus 20 per right answer in a row after the first, up to +60: 9 scenes, 1,320 points at most.
A passive, aggressive or passive-aggressive reply costs one of 3 lives.
What it trains
- Assertive communication
- Stating your point clearly and calmly without giving it up or attacking anyone.
- Recognising styles
- Telling passive, aggressive and passive-aggressive replies from assertive ones.
- Allyship
- Backing up a colleague who is interrupted, talked over or not credited.
Strategy and tips
- Say what you need
- "Let me finish this point" is short, polite and hard to argue with.
- Use facts, not labels
- "Four meetings in a row" works better than "you always".
- Make it easy to say yes
- Offer a time box or two options: "thirty seconds now, or ten minutes tomorrow".
- Link the idea back
- "It's the idea I raised earlier" restores credit without accusing anyone.
- Be the ally
- "I'd like to hear the end of that" plus the person's name hands the floor straight back.
Why play Speak Up?
Interruptions, credit taken and ideas brushed aside are common at work, and studies have found women are interrupted more often. The words you reach for in the moment matter: too soft and the idea disappears, too sharp and the meeting turns into a fight. Speak Up practises the middle way, assertive replies that keep the focus on the idea, and shows how anyone in the room can back a colleague up.
Frequently asked questions
Is Speak Up free?
Yes. It is free and runs in your browser, with no download. Signing up is optional.
What's the difference between assertive and aggressive?
Assertive replies state your point and your need calmly and respect the other person. Aggressive replies attack or blame the person, which usually turns attention away from the idea.
Is the game only for women?
No. Anyone can be interrupted or take credit by mistake, and anyone can be the colleague who backs someone up. All the people and teams in the scenes are made up.
Can I play with a keyboard or a screen reader?
Yes. Every reply is a button, the scene is read out when it opens, and each result explains every reply's style.