Want to know THE simplest way to deepen authority and presence in your daily meetings?
Slow down.
I know. It’s so obvious.
So how come we don’t always do it, even though our environment needs it?
I coached a multilingual Manager recently who was regularly rushing through her presentations and conversations in English. She explained why:
“I don’t want people to focus on the fact that I’m an international speaker… so I speak fast to fit in”.
The problem was that it was reducing her clarity, presence and impact by 50%.
I shared a simple image with her that I always like to remember myself:
Our mouth is the DRIVER of our communicational car.
Our brain is sitting next to us in the PASSENGER seat.
Our mouth doesn’t know the directions yet of where to go.
Our brain does. It has an idea of the route it wants to take.
The slower our mouth drives, the more time our brain has to give good instructions.
If our mouth drives too fast, our brain (AND that of our listeners) can’t keep up.
That’s when we get lost, taking wrong turns into rambling routes and word traffic jams.
This doesn’t mean that we can’t adjust our speed just like when we’re driving.
We just need to remember that constantly speaking at 90km an hour will eventually get us an expensive ticket: the confused, frustrated or unengaged looks of our audience.
When my client slowed down, I could literally feel her FELT-sense of authority multiply.
She was able to:
– VARY tone to add variety
– ARTICULATE more clearly
– USE shorter, sharper sentences
– FOCUS more on structure and point
– ENSURE a falling tone to create finality
– PLAY with pace and rhythm to add impact
– ENHANCE the steady, assertive energy behind her words
– PAUSE intentionally to deepen clarity and space for insight
– CLOSE her mouth in the pauses to avoid unnecessary fillers
In short, it was clear that she had connected more deeply with the Leader within.
People FEEL that and they want more of it.
In summary:
if you’ve ever thought to yourself: how can I increase my leadership presence in meetings?
Don’t immediately rush past the obvious.
Start first by slowing down.
Because, strangely enough, it’s the fastest way to stand out.
And it’s the REAL reason we say communication is a two-way ‘street’ and not a ‘motorway’.