TSMP Law Corporation partner in the litigation department Ong Pei Ching was quoted in a personal column written by Vivien Ang of the Business Times on the topic of whether there is a difference between being loud vs being heard from the perspective of an employer. It was published in the 7 March 2020 weekend edition.

She said: “We have limited bandwidths. At any given moment, we are thinking about our to-do lists, the Covid-19 virus or what to eat for lunch. We rarely have the time and energy to coax ideas out of the quiet ones. So, by default, louder people get more attention.”

However, a quietly passionate person can impress with deep knowledge and clear ideas. Virtuosity can be very attractive in itself, and fresh ideas and unconventional plans will help one stand out. “While it is important to speak our mind, we don’t always have to be loud. We need to consider the context and our audience. Indeed, if we prove to be an empty vessel, anything we subsequently say will be dismissed as noise … In a client meeting, wisdom is in knowing when to speak to avoid looking like you are a mere scribe,” she said.

She adds that although there is no one type of employee who is a good employee, “a workplace is the world stage on a smaller scale; anybody who contributes is valued”.

“Teamwork must mean that sometimes you are the person holding up the spotlight instead of hogging it”.