Do these things during your next meeting if you struggle being heard
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Last week, during a coaching session with a senior VP, she paused mid-sentence, leaned back, and said quietly:
“I don’t think people actually hear me. I speak… but nothing lands.”
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard this from an executive.
It won’t be the last.
In fact, 73% of leaders I work with say their biggest communication struggle is being heard in meetings - especially when the room is fast-paced, filled with opinionated peers, or dominated by louder personalities.
But here’s the truth I’ve seen across hundreds of coaching hours: being heard is not about speaking more. It’s about speaking with intention.
And it’s a skill - not a personality trait.
Today’s Newsletter’s edition I have curated for you gives you science-backed insights, real client scenarios, and practical steps you can try in your very next meeting, especially if you’re tired of repeating yourself, being talked over, or feeling invisible in conversations.
Ready?
Sharpen your presence without raising your voice
If I had to name the one challenge I see repeatedly showing up across industries - from tech to pharma to finance - it’s this: talented leaders who know exactly what they’re talking about, yet struggle to sound like leaders in the room. They hesitate, they overthink, they wait for the perfect moment… and then the moment passes. And nowhere is this more visible than in meetings - the stage where your leadership presence is tested the most, and where many strong leaders unintentionally shrink. Not because they lack confidence, but because their communication habits quietly work against them.
If you’ve ever walked out of a meeting thinking, “I should have spoken up earlier,” this part is for you.
1. Say less - but say it earlier
One of my clients, a director in a global healthcare firm, waited until minute 40 of every meeting to contribute. Her reasoning?
“I need to hear everything first, so what I say is thoughtful.”
By the time she spoke, decisions were made.
When we adjusted one single thing - making her contribute value in the first 10 minutes - her influence shifted immediately. She didn’t change her tone, her storytelling, or her communication style. She simply entered the conversation earlier, which signaled presence, authority, and leadership.
Leadership takeaway for you:
Timing communicates confidence. Early contributions set the tempo for your influence.
2. Anchor your point with context, not volume
Another client, a newly promoted GM, struggled because “no one connected the dots”.
He felt ignored - until we realized he was delivering conclusions without context.
Executives don’t need long explanations. But they do need mental frames.
Try this formula:
➡️ “Here’s what I’m seeing.”
➡️ “Here’s what it means.”
➡️ “Here’s what I recommend.”
This short structure increased his meeting effectiveness by 40% (self-reported) and drastically improved alignment across his team.
Leadership takeaway for you:
People don’t resist your message - they resist the lack of clarity around it.
3. Use strategic pauses - they are louder than words
In one workshop, I watched a senior leader deliver a brilliant point… then immediately bury it under three more sentences.
The team remembered nothing.
Pauses are not silence. They’re punctuation.
Neuroscience shows that silence activates deeper processing - which means people remember your point better when you let it land.
Try pausing for 1–2 seconds after your key line. You’ll feel the room shift.
