Executive Presence can be the difference between being ready for senior leadership and being seen as ready for it.

Rachel had the experience, knowledge and trust of the people around her. She had trained others, supported colleagues into bigger roles and could do the job standing on her head. Yet for 20 years, public speaking anxiety and the thought of a promotion interview kept her saying no.

Her story shows that getting promoted is not always about becoming more capable. Sometimes it is about allowing other people to see the capability already there. And this is where Executive Presence becomes practical: speaking up, making clear recommendations and showing that you can think under pressure.

You’ll hear how Rachel prepared for the presentation that had frightened her for years, why strong presentation skills are less about perfect slides and more about understanding your audience, and how three simple questions can sharpen your leadership communication: who is in the room, what matters to them, and what do they need to understand, decide or do?

You’ll also discover why unpredictable interview questions can reveal senior leadership presence. Asking for a question to be repeated, taking time to think and explaining what you know are not weaknesses. They are part of stepping up to leadership with judgement and composure.

Rachel did not walk into the room without fear. She walked in prepared enough to move with it. That shift changed more than the result. It changed what she believed was possible. Executive Presence grew through action, not through waiting to feel completely confident.

If you are navigating an executive leadership transition, this story is a reminder that confidence often comes after the bold move. If an important presentation or interview is ahead, download the Leadership Presentation Planner and prepare with more clarity and intention.

http://www.boldmovescoach.co.uk/planner

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Leadership Communication in Action is a podcast for women who are capable, thoughtful, and quietly questioning how they’re showing up at work and in life.

I’m Liz Boswell. I work with professional women who don’t need more advice, but do need space to think clearly, especially when the pressure is on.

Each episode is a calm, mentoring-style conversation grounded in real client moments. We look at the stories people carry, the behaviours those stories create, and the small, practical shifts that change how things land day to day.

You’ll hear honest reflections, psychologically precise questions, and simple actions you can try immediately, without overhauling your life or becoming someone else.

If you’re stepping into more responsibility, more visibility, or simply feeling the weight of decisions that matter, this podcast is here to help you slow things down, think more clearly, and move forward in a way that feels grounded and real.

A quiet companion for people who want to make better moves, not louder ones.

Speaking Up in senior leadership meetings can feel harder the moment attention starts to drift. Out comes a mobile phone, someone looks at another screen, and suddenly you’re questioning whether you’ve lost the room - even when people may still be listening.

Holding attention isn’t about controlling everyone around the table. It’s about creating clarity, staying connected to your message, and giving people a reason to care. Strong leadership communication starts by making the relevance clear: why does this matter, what’s at stake, and what decision needs to be made?

In this podcast episode, Liz shares three practical ways to hold the room in high stakes meetings: firstly - give people a reason to listen, second - stop assuming you know what distracted behaviour means, and finally - learn how to bring attention back when the room starts to wander. These are simple shifts that strengthen executive communication, improve public speaking and help you speaking up in meetings without forcing you to become louder or more performative.

Speaking Up with confidence also means reading the whole room, not fixating on one person’s behaviour. Sometimes someone who looks distracted is actually processing information in a different way. And this is where a pause, a well-timed question, or a clear expectation can help you reset the room without losing your authority.

If you want to sharpen your business communication before your next senior management meeting or presentation, this builds naturally on the earlier episode, How to Stop Rambling in Presentations. It’s practical communication expert guidance for women leaders and women in business leadership who want to communicate with calm authority and make their message easier to follow.

For more support with Speaking Up and preparing a clear, focused leadership presentation, use the Leadership Presentation Planner - click on the link below.

https://www.boldmovescoach.co.uk/planner

If you have a question for Liz or you'd like to share an idea for a podcast episode, you can send an email to [email protected]

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Leadership Communication in Action is a podcast for women who are capable, thoughtful, and quietly questioning how they’re showing up at work and in life.

I’m Liz Boswell. I work with professional women who don’t need more advice, but do need space to think clearly, especially when the pressure is on.

Each episode is a calm, mentoring-style conversation grounded in real client moments. We look at the stories people carry, the behaviours those stories create, and the small, practical shifts that change how things land day to day.

You’ll hear honest reflections, psychologically precise questions, and simple actions you can try immediately, without overhauling your life or becoming someone else.

If you’re stepping into more responsibility, more visibility, or simply feeling the weight of decisions that matter, this podcast is here to help you slow things down, think more clearly, and move forward in a way that feels grounded and real.

A quiet companion for people who want to make better moves, not louder ones.

Executive Leadership Transitions can feel strangely unsettling. You’ve earned the senior role, but the conversations are less straightforward, decisions carry more weight and there is no obvious person to tell you whether you’re getting it right.

In this episode, Liz Boswell explores why stepping into executive leadership can knock the confidence of even the most capable women. The problem may not be your capability at all. The environment has changed dramatically and the first step is to find your bearings.

You’ll hear:
• why the communication skills that brought you here can feel less reliable at C-Suite level
• how new relationships, expectations and consequences change the leadership terrain
• why working harder rarely creates the clarity you’re looking for
• one coaching question to help you see your leadership transition differently

Your Bold Move:

What has changed around you that you may have mistaken for something changing within you?

Follow Leadership Communication in Action so the next episode, a practical bearings check for your next important leadership conversation, is waiting in your feed.

Liz Boswell is the founder of Bold Moves Coaching in the UK and works with senior women navigating leadership transition, executive communication and life at the top.

Explore Bold Moves Coaching: http://www.boldmovescoach.co.uk/connect

Connect with Liz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boldmovescoach/

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Leadership Communication in Action is a podcast for women who are capable, thoughtful, and quietly questioning how they’re showing up at work and in life.

I’m Liz Boswell. I work with professional women who don’t need more advice, but do need space to think clearly, especially when the pressure is on.

Each episode is a calm, mentoring-style conversation grounded in real client moments. We look at the stories people carry, the behaviours those stories create, and the small, practical shifts that change how things land day to day.

You’ll hear honest reflections, psychologically precise questions, and simple actions you can try immediately, without overhauling your life or becoming someone else.

If you’re stepping into more responsibility, more visibility, or simply feeling the weight of decisions that matter, this podcast is here to help you slow things down, think more clearly, and move forward in a way that feels grounded and real.

A quiet companion for people who want to make better moves, not louder ones.

Leadership communication gets harder when you know your subject so well that everything feels important. You start explaining, add more context, throw in another example and suddenly you’re rambling without actually getting your point across.

At senior level, it’s not about proving how much you know. It’s about making it easy for people to understand what matters. Strong executive communication means knowing what to include, what to leave out and where you want the conversation to go. Because in leadership meetings, clarity creates credibility.

So how do you stop rambling without losing the warmth and personality that make you a good communicator? You’ll learn three questions that can transform your leadership communication before you even open PowerPoint: 

Who is your audience and what matters to them? 

What is the one message they need to remember? 

What do you want them to do next?

These questions help you move beyond simply sharing information towards purposeful business leadership. 

Want to make your next presentation clearer before you start building the slides?

Download the Leadership Presentation Planner and use the framework to strengthen your leadership communication from the start.

https://www.boldmovescoach.co.uk/planner

You’ll hear why a simple message isn’t simplistic, how tailoring your presentation to your audience strengthens public speaking, and why saying less can actually demonstrate greater confidence and expertise.

If public speaking anxiety makes you over-explain under pressure, knowing your destination gives you something to return to when questions, nerves or tangents take you off track. 

This builds on my episode, “Public Speaking Anxiety: Why Speaking Up in Leadership Meetings Feels So Scary | Keeping Calm When Presenting”, particularly for women leaders navigating high-pressure conversations.

End of episode - follow for more

Leadership Communication in Action is a podcast for women who are capable, thoughtful, and quietly questioning how they’re showing up at work and in life.

I’m Liz Boswell. I work with professional women who don’t need more advice, but do need space to think clearly, especially when the pressure is on.

Each episode is a calm, mentoring-style conversation grounded in real client moments. We look at the stories people carry, the behaviours those stories create, and the small, practical shifts that change how things land day to day.

You’ll hear honest reflections, psychologically precise questions, and simple actions you can try immediately, without overhauling your life or becoming someone else.

If you’re stepping into more responsibility, more visibility, or simply feeling the weight of decisions that matter, this podcast is here to help you slow things down, think more clearly, and move forward in a way that feels grounded and real.

A quiet companion for people who want to make better moves, not louder ones.

Avoiding presentations might feel like a sensible way to manage public speaking anxiety, but it could quietly be limiting how others see your potential. Strong leadership communication isn’t about being the most polished person in the room. It’s about giving people the opportunity to experience your judgement, ideas and ability to lead when it matters.

Ready to stop avoiding the presentation and start planning it properly?

The Leadership Presentation Planner helps you get clear on your audience, your message and what you want people to do next before you open PowerPoint.

Get the Leadership Presentation Planner — £29 instant digital download

https://www.boldmovescoach.co.uk/planner

If you’re trusted, capable and ready for greater responsibility, doing excellent work behind the scenes may not be enough. Speaking up in presentations and leadership meetings gives senior decision-makers evidence of how you think, respond to challenge and make complex ideas clear. It builds executive presence and helps others imagine you operating at the next level.

You’ll discover why waiting for confidence can keep you stuck, how presentation avoidance affects your visibility and why saying yes can become an important leadership decision. Effective leadership communication doesn’t require you to eliminate your nerves first. Confidence often develops because you prepare, step forward and learn from the experience — not because you waited until presenting felt comfortable.

And this is where visibility matters for getting women promoted. When you repeatedly let someone else deliver the presentation, they become associated with the ideas, questions and strategic conversations happening in the room. Through executive coaching, we can reframe presenting as something bigger than performance: an opportunity to demonstrate leadership communication and let people see what you could contribute at a more senior level.

So, what presentation are you avoiding? Identify it, then ask yourself: What might become possible if I said yes? Building executive presence isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about allowing more people to experience the leader you already are.

If nerves are part of what’s holding you back, go back and listen to Public Speaking Anxiety: Why Speaking Up in Leadership Meetings Feels So Scary | Keeping Calm When Presenting. It will help you understand what’s happening when the pressure rises and give you a stronger foundation for your next opportunity. Then follow the podcast for more practical leadership communication strategies.

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Leadership Communication in Action is a podcast for women who are capable, thoughtful, and quietly questioning how they’re showing up at work and in life.

I’m Liz Boswell. I work with professional women who don’t need more advice, but do need space to think clearly, especially when the pressure is on.

Each episode is a calm, mentoring-style conversation grounded in real client moments. We look at the stories people carry, the behaviours those stories create, and the small, practical shifts that change how things land day to day.

You’ll hear honest reflections, psychologically precise questions, and simple actions you can try immediately, without overhauling your life or becoming someone else.

If you’re stepping into more responsibility, more visibility, or simply feeling the weight of decisions that matter, this podcast is here to help you slow things down, think more clearly, and move forward in a way that feels grounded and real.

A quiet companion for people who want to make better moves, not louder ones.

What if the biggest barrier holding women leaders back from speaking up with confidence isn't a lack of ability at all? Public speaking anxiety begins with the negative thoughts running through your own mind, and that story can quietly undermime your leadership visibility, executive presence and opportunities for promotion.

Rather than trying to eliminate nerves, this conversation offers a different perspective. You'll discover why your inner dialogue has such a powerful impact on public speaking, how fear of judgement fuels public speaking anxiety, and why changing your thinking can transform the way you show up. This builds on the ideas shared in Episode 6, Women Leaders: Is it Really Imposter Syndrome? | Transforming Self Doubt to Self Worth, where self-belief becomes the foundation for confident leadership.

Want to feel more prepared before your next presentation?

One of the best ways to reduce presentation anxiety is to know exactly what you want to say before you start thinking about slides.

The Leadership Presentation Planner is a practical 13-page workbook that helps you get clear on:

Who is your audience?
What do you want them to remember?
What do you want them to do next?

Get the Leadership Presentation Planner — £29 instant digital download

https://www.boldmovescoach.co.uk/planner

You'll also take away four practical strategies to help women leaders feel calmer before presenting: focus on your audience before your slides, practise out loud until your message feels natural, replace imagined criticism with positive audience engagement, and use simple body language techniques to settle your nervous system. 

Whether you're speaking up in meetings, pitching ideas or presenting to senior stakeholders, these tools help your message land with greater clarity and confidence.

End of episode - follow for more

Leadership Communication in Action is a podcast for women who are capable, thoughtful, and quietly questioning how they’re showing up at work and in life.

I’m Liz Boswell. I work with professional women who don’t need more advice, but do need space to think clearly, especially when the pressure is on.

Each episode is a calm, mentoring-style conversation grounded in real client moments. We look at the stories people carry, the behaviours those stories create, and the small, practical shifts that change how things land day to day.

You’ll hear honest reflections, psychologically precise questions, and simple actions you can try immediately, without overhauling your life or becoming someone else.

If you’re stepping into more responsibility, more visibility, or simply feeling the weight of decisions that matter, this podcast is here to help you slow things down, think more clearly, and move forward in a way that feels grounded and real.

A quiet companion for people who want to make better moves, not louder ones.

Women leaders often believe that they have imposter syndrome but what if that label is stopping you from asking the question that matters most? Instead of assuming something is wrong with you, what if you asked, What's happened that's made you question yourself? 

This single question that I use in my leadership coaching often helps women change how they see themselves - it can completely transform your confidence, your leadership and your future.

So much self doubt grows in uncertainty rather than truth. In this episode I'm sharing a real coaching story where you'll discover how one senior leader rebuilt her confidence by looking at the evidence instead of the story she'd created. If you've ever felt your voice at work disappear after being promised a pay rise that never happened or received feedback that made you doubt your judgement, this conversation offers a practical way forward. Women leaders don't need to fix themselves, they need to understand the context behind their self-doubt.

You'll hear why imposter syndrome may not be the real problem, how rebuilding self-worth strengthens leadership, and why asking, What happened that made me start doubting myself? opens the door to lasting change. You'll also learn a simple technique to collect evidence that challenges fear and helps you trust yourself again. This conversation is especially relevant for those focused on getting women promoted and creating workplaces where talented people feel able to contribute with confidence.

This also builds on Episode 3, Leadership Communication: If Speaking Up About Your Success Feels Awkward, Listen to This, where the focus shifts to communicating your value once you've rebuilt your confidence. Women leaders deserve to lead without carrying stories that no longer serve them, and the strongest foundation for confidence is always self-worth supported by evidence. If you've been wondering whether you need help with imposter syndrome, this perspective may change how you think about yourself forever.

If this conversation resonated, follow the podcast, share it with someone who needs to hear it, and leave a review to help more women discover practical, evidence-based leadership conversations.

Tags: women leaders, imposter syndrome, leadership, self doubt, getting women promoted

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Leadership Communication in Action is a podcast for women who are capable, thoughtful, and quietly questioning how they’re showing up at work and in life.

I’m Liz Boswell. I work with professional women who don’t need more advice, but do need space to think clearly, especially when the pressure is on.

Each episode is a calm, mentoring-style conversation grounded in real client moments. We look at the stories people carry, the behaviours those stories create, and the small, practical shifts that change how things land day to day.

You’ll hear honest reflections, psychologically precise questions, and simple actions you can try immediately, without overhauling your life or becoming someone else.

If you’re stepping into more responsibility, more visibility, or simply feeling the weight of decisions that matter, this podcast is here to help you slow things down, think more clearly, and move forward in a way that feels grounded and real.

A quiet companion for people who want to make better moves, not louder ones.

Have you ever been told you're "too bossy" or "too direct" and been left wondering what you're actually supposed to do with that feedback? For many women leaders, vague feedback about communication style can undermine confidence far more than they support growth. The problem isn't always the feedback itself, it's that opinions about communication style are often presented as facts, making it difficult to know what genuinely needs to change.

Instead of accepting personality-based labels at face value, discover how to separate interpretation of communication style from observable behaviour so you can make informed decisions about your leadership. 

Through practical examples and real coaching experiences, you'll learn why effective leadership feedback should always focus on behaviours rather than assumptions, and how curiosity can help you gain clarity instead of self-doubt.

You'll hear practical assertiveness tips for responding to difficult conversations, including the questions that encourage meaningful dialogue, uncover useful evidence and shift vague criticism into actionable guidance. Whether you've been told you need more executive presence, received confusing executive feedback, or questioned your own communication style, these strategies will help you protect your confidence while continuing to grow as a leader.

The goal isn't to become a different person or make yourself smaller. It's about understanding which feedback genuinely supports your development and which comments belong in the bin. The strongest women leaders don't stop speaking up because of labels, they seek clarity, make intentional choices and continue leading with confidence. If you're ready to strengthen your leadership without losing your authentic voice, these insights will help you move forward with purpose as one of many capable women leaders navigating complex workplace feedback.

If recent feedback has left you feeling confused or questioning yourself, please book an Explo ation Conversation and let's work through it together so you can move forward with confidence.

Simply click the link and share a few details and Liz will be in touch www.boldmovescoach.co.uk/connect 

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Leadership Communication in Action is a podcast for women who are capable, thoughtful, and quietly questioning how they’re showing up at work and in life.

I’m Liz Boswell. I work with professional women who don’t need more advice, but do need space to think clearly, especially when the pressure is on.

Each episode is a calm, mentoring-style conversation grounded in real client moments. We look at the stories people carry, the behaviours those stories create, and the small, practical shifts that change how things land day to day.

You’ll hear honest reflections, psychologically precise questions, and simple actions you can try immediately, without overhauling your life or becoming someone else.

If you’re stepping into more responsibility, more visibility, or simply feeling the weight of decisions that matter, this podcast is here to help you slow things down, think more clearly, and move forward in a way that feels grounded and real.

A quiet companion for people who want to make better moves, not louder ones.

If the thought of blowing your own trumpet makes you cringe, this one is for you! Leadership Communication can feel deeply uncomfortable for British women who’ve been taught to stay humble, keep their heads down and avoid making a fuss. But staying quiet isn’t always humility. Sometimes, it becomes invisibility.

Many women with strong technical expertise and years of experience still struggle with speaking up about their achievements and it's certainly not a lack of confidence. It simply because nobody taught them how to communicate their value. And this is where personal branding often gets misunderstood. Sharing your knowledge isn’t showing off. It’s helping others benefit from what you know.

For british women focused on getting women promoted and building genuine leadership visibility, there’s an important distinction to make. Leadership Communication isn’t about saying, “Look how brilliant I am.” It’s about saying, “Here’s what I’ve learned, and perhaps it can help you too.” That shift changes everything.

Executive presence doesn’t come from being louder or pretending to be someone you’re not. It comes from communicating with generosity and purpose. Speaking Up about your experiences, lessons and expertise allows colleagues, clients and future leaders to learn from you. That’s influence, not ego.

Many British women have been conditioned to believe visibility and modesty cannot coexist. Yet kindness, ambition and humility can sit side by side. Leadership Communication is about contribution rather than attention, and that mindset creates space for authentic leadership visibility without sacrificing who you are.

If you’ve been waiting to be noticed, perhaps it’s time to write a new story. Leadership Communication isn’t about impressing people; it’s about helping them. And the world needs more women willing to share their wisdom.

Ready to take that next step? Book a free discovery call and explore what authentic visibility could look like for you (click on the link below)

https://www.boldmovescoach.co.uk/connect

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Leadership Communication in Action is a podcast for women who are capable, thoughtful, and quietly questioning how they’re showing up at work and in life.

I’m Liz Boswell. I work with professional women who don’t need more advice, but do need space to think clearly, especially when the pressure is on.

Each episode is a calm, mentoring-style conversation grounded in real client moments. We look at the stories people carry, the behaviours those stories create, and the small, practical shifts that change how things land day to day.

You’ll hear honest reflections, psychologically precise questions, and simple actions you can try immediately, without overhauling your life or becoming someone else.

If you’re stepping into more responsibility, more visibility, or simply feeling the weight of decisions that matter, this podcast is here to help you slow things down, think more clearly, and move forward in a way that feels grounded and real.

A quiet companion for people who want to make better moves, not louder ones.

Why do so many talented leaders find it easier to talk about their team’s success than their own? If the thought of sharing your achievements makes you uncomfortable, this conversation may explain why. Communication becomes challenging when you've been taught that being visible looks like bragging, even when your contribution deserves recognition.

Many professionals, especially women leaders, grow up with the belief that hard work will always be noticed. Keep your head down, deliver results, and opportunities will follow. But leadership doesn’t always work that way. Strong results matter, yet leadership visibility often depends on whether others understand the role you played in creating those outcomes.

This discussion explores a common challenge in leadership communication: knowing your value but struggling to articulate it. You’ll hear why highly capable people often hesitate when it comes to self-promotion, how confidence and competence are not the same thing, and why waiting to feel fully ready can hold back career growth.

A key insight is that your work may create evidence, but leaders still need context. Senior stakeholders rarely see every decision, conversation, or obstacle you navigate. Effective communication helps connect those dots. It allows others to understand the impact behind the outcomes rather than simply seeing the end result.

You’ll also discover a practical framework for talking about your achievements without feeling inauthentic. Instead of making broad claims, learn how to use facts, outcomes, and measurable results as evidence of your capability. This approach strengthens executive presence, supports speaking up in meetings, and helps your voice at work be heard with greater confidence.

Because it’s not about becoming louder. It’s about becoming clearer. Strong communication in leadership meetings helps others recognise the value you already bring and supports more intentional career progression.

If this resonated with you, subscribe to the podcast, share it with a colleague, and leave a review. Your support helps more leaders build confidence, visibility, and impact through better communication.

Tags: communication, leadership communication, executive presence, leadership visibility, speaking up in meetings

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Leadership Communication in Action is a podcast for women who are capable, thoughtful, and quietly questioning how they’re showing up at work and in life.

I’m Liz Boswell. I work with professional women who don’t need more advice, but do need space to think clearly, especially when the pressure is on.

Each episode is a calm, mentoring-style conversation grounded in real client moments. We look at the stories people carry, the behaviours those stories create, and the small, practical shifts that change how things land day to day.

You’ll hear honest reflections, psychologically precise questions, and simple actions you can try immediately, without overhauling your life or becoming someone else.

If you’re stepping into more responsibility, more visibility, or simply feeling the weight of decisions that matter, this podcast is here to help you slow things down, think more clearly, and move forward in a way that feels grounded and real.

A quiet companion for people who want to make better moves, not louder ones.