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Have you ever been asked for your opinion in an executive meeting, only to have your brain freeze—even though you knew exactly what you wanted to say five minutes earlier?
You’ve delivered the results. You know the business. Your team already sees you as a confident, capable leader. But in high-stakes executive meetings, you may find yourself second-guessing your recommendations, retreating when challenged, or thinking of the perfect response only after the meeting ends.
The problem is bigger than one uncomfortable moment. Senior leaders are forming opinions about your readiness for the next level based on how they experience your leadership when the pressure is on. And if they aren’t seeing your strategic thinking, excellent work alone may not be enough to convince them you’re ready for VP.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
🥶Why freezing in executive meetings doesn’t mean you can’t think on your feet—and the belief that could be making the problem worse
đź“–How to prepare for high-stakes conversations without trying to anticipate every possible question or having every answer
đź’°How to communicate your recommendations, handle pushback, and give senior leadership consistent evidence that you can lead at the next level.
Play this episode to learn how to stop disappearing when the stakes are high and start showing senior leadership the confident, strategic, VP-ready leader you already know you can be.
So look, if you find yourself freezing when a senior leader puts you on the spot—even though you know your business, you’ve delivered the results, and five minutes later you know exactly what you should have said—that’s not something you want to keep hoping will fix itself.
If Senior Director, VP, or C-suite is your goal, you don’t want excellent work happening behind the scenes while your executive presence is holding you back in the rooms that matter most.
That’s exactly why I created Executive Presence Mastery. It gives you the one-on-one guidance you need to communicate your thinking clearly, handle pushback with confidence, and show up like a senior leader—without becoming an extrovert, dominating meetings, or trying to prepare for every possible question.
If this episode felt a little too familiar, go to the show notes, click here, and book a confidential Executive Presence Strategy Call with me.
To learn more visit www.speakupwithlaura.com. New Speak Up podcast episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning.
The Speak Up Podcast helps high-performing professionals develop executive presence through strategic communication, executive confidence, and leadership influence. Each episode provides practical strategies to help you speak up in meetings, communicate with senior leaders, present ideas with clarity, build executive visibility, strengthen your leadership presence, influence without authority, stop overexplaining, answer difficult questions with confidence, and become a trusted executive leader.
Whether you're preparing for your next Vice President promotion or looking to communicate with greater credibility and gravitas, you'll learn actionable executive communication skills that accelerate career growth.
Topics covered in this episode:
- Executive presence for introverted leaders
- How to stop freezing in executive meetings
- Thinking on your feet under pressure
- Communicating confidently with senior leadership
- How to handle pushback from executives
- Building confidence in high-stakes meetings
- Showing strategic thinking at the executive level
- Preparing for executive meetings without overpreparing
- Moving from Director to VP
- How to demonstrate VP readiness
- Becoming more visible to senior leadership
- Avoiding the “invisible overperformer” trap
- Speaking with confidence when you don’t have all the answers
- Building a reputation as a senior leader
- Executive communication skills for high-performing introvert
