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'Someone needed to say this': Indian woman in US says her American colleagues taught her a different way to approach confidence at work Sneha Kumari | Aug 15, 2026, 10:21 IST An Indian professional in America learned to speak up more freely at work. She realized her upbringing encouraged silence until absolute certainty was achieved. Her American colleagues shared ideas and asked questions without full answers. This experience showed her that speaking up matters more than perfect knowledge. Confidence, she discovered, is a skill that can be developed through practice. Image credit : ChatGPT | Indian Woman In US Shares A Workplace Lesson From Her Peers For many young professionals, speaking up at work can feel like a high-stakes game of "What if I'm wrong?" An Indian woman working in the US, however, says her experience with American colleagues completely changed the way she looks at workplace confidence. Harini, who says she is the only Indian in her office, reflected on how she grew up believing that you should speak only when you are absolutely sure of your answer. But after watching her colleagues confidently share ideas, ask questions and voice opinions without always having everything figured out, she began to see things differently. What she initially thought was a difference in knowledge, she realised, was often simply a difference in how comfortable people were with speaking up. Taking to her Instagram, Harini shared a clip explaining, "I am the only Indian in my entire office, and for years I thought that my American peers knew something which I didn't. It's not that I didn't know anything, but they were more comfortable speaking before they had all the answers." Harini said her upbringing in India taught her to be careful with her words. The idea was simple: think before you speak, and only share your opinion when you are confident that you are right. While that approach may have helped her in school, she realised that carrying the same mindset into the workplace was making it harder for her to put herself out there. She also explained that professional spaces often reward people who are willing to contribute to the conversation, even if their idea isn't fully polished. In her experience, her American colleagues seemed more comfortable sharing their thoughts, asking questions and speaking up without overthinking every word. Harini pointed out that waiting until you are completely certain can sometimes mean missing your chance to be heard. Someone who is only 66 per cent confident but is willing to share their idea could end up influencing the conversation before someone who is 90 per cent sure but stays silent. As she put it, an idea cannot get recognition if you never put it out there. For her, the lesson wasn't about pretending to know everything or speaking without thinking. Instead, it was about letting go of the pressure to be perfect before contributing. And honestly, that's a struggle many young professionals can relate to. Whether it's overthinking a message before sending it, rehearsing a sentence in your head before speaking in a meeting or waiting for the 'perfect' moment to share an idea, sometimes the biggest barrier is simply being scared of getting it wrong. "I mean, growing up in India, I was taught that you have to think twice before you speak and don't speak until you're too sure about it. And that mindset, I guess, helped me in the school. But I think it's taking me nowhere here in the workspace," Harini said. She further added, "The room will never reward the idea which you never put out, right? So, this isn't about pretending to know everything; it's about not waiting until you're 100% sure before you contribute because while you are waiting to be perfect, someone else is already moving the conversation forward." Harini also said the experience changed how she understood confidence. For a long time, she believed confidence was something people either naturally had or didn't. Watching her colleagues speak up so freely made her realise that it can actually be developed with practice. As soon as the video surfaced on the platform, it sparked a discussion online; a user said, "So true 💯. They speak their mind out loud. We were raised to hold on until we were too sure. Also in households, speaking up is not always a good thing. We were never encouraged to speak. Without speaking, the career ladder cannot be climbed in North America!" "Congrats on your achievement! It seems you've finally succeeded! Your points were unclear, and there is likely no truth in what you said. I don't know why India was brought up. I grew up there, and my American colleagues appreciated my ability to speak up." While one shared, "This is so true… I always hear stories about such things from my husband’s office team… Thank you for sharing 🙌🙌🙌." "This is so true for American/North American work culture!," another added. "Confidence is a skill." Can't agree more. 💯 ❤️" "Completely agree. I learned this the same way." But after watching her colleagues confidently share ideas, ask questions and voice opinions without always having everything figured out, she began to see things differently. What she initially thought was a difference in knowledge, she realised, was often simply a difference in how comfortable people were with speaking up. Taking to her Instagram, Harini shared a clip explaining, "I am the only Indian in my entire office, and for years I thought that my American peers knew something which I didn't. It's not that I didn't know anything, but they were more comfortable speaking before they had all the answers." Image credit : Pexels | Indian Woman In US Shares A Workplace Lesson From Her Peers Speaking up matters more than being perfect While that approach may have helped her in school, she realised that carrying the same mindset into the workplace was making it harder for her to put herself out there. She also explained that professional spaces often reward people who are willing to contribute to the conversation, even if their idea isn't fully polished. In her experience, her American colleagues seemed more comfortable sharing their thoughts, asking questions and speaking up without overthinking every word. Image credit : Pexels | Indian Woman’s Workplace Lesson 'You don't have to be 100% sure' As she put it, an idea cannot get recognition if you never put it out there. For her, the lesson wasn't about pretending to know everything or speaking without thinking. Instead, it was about letting go of the pressure to be perfect before contributing. And honestly, that's a struggle many young professionals can relate to. Whether it's overthinking a message before sending it, rehearsing a sentence in your head before speaking in a meeting or waiting for the 'perfect' moment to share an idea, sometimes the biggest barrier is simply being scared of getting it wrong. "I mean, growing up in India, I was taught that you have to think twice before you speak and don't speak until you're too sure about it. And that mindset, I guess, helped me in the school. But I think it's taking me nowhere here in the workspace," Harini said. She further added, "The room will never reward the idea which you never put out, right? So, this isn't about pretending to know everything; it's about not waiting until you're 100% sure before you contribute because while you are waiting to be perfect, someone else is already moving the conversation forward." 'Confidence is a skill' Watching her colleagues speak up so freely made her realise that it can actually be developed with practice. Internet reacts to the viral video around Harini's working experience "Congrats on your achievement! It seems you've finally succeeded! Your points were unclear, and there is likely no truth in what you said. I don't know why India was brought up. I grew up there, and my American colleagues appreciated my ability to speak up." While one shared, "This is so true… I always hear stories about such things from my husband’s office team… Thank you for sharing 🙌🙌🙌." "This is so true for American/North American work culture!," another added. "Confidence is a skill." Can't agree more. 💯 ❤️" "Completely agree. I learned this the same way."