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What does your leadership voice communicate—before you even get to the content of your message? In this episode, Nathan, Brian, and Linda talk with Dr. Laura Sicola, cognitive linguist, executive communication coach, and author of Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice.

Laura has spent over two decades helping leaders transform technical brilliance into real leadership impact. Together, we explore three big themes:

1. Personal branding as a promise,
2. Authenticity and the “prismatic voice,”
3. How leaders can create engagement, clarity, and connection in virtual settings.

This conversation is full of practical tips, mindset shifts, and language tools that help leaders show up with presence, confidence, and intentional influence.

🔑 Key Themes & Takeaways

1. Your Brand Is a Promise

A personal brand isn’t a slogan—it’s the experience of you. If you don’t intentionally create it, it will create itself.

2. Authenticity Requires Flexibility

Genuine authenticity isn’t rigidity. It’s being able to flex different facets of yourself depending on context—your “prismatic voice.”

3. Avoiding Leadership Binaries

“Strong or kind,” “direct or approachable”—these false binaries limit leaders. Laura shows how to break free from either/or thinking.

4. Language Patterns That Undermine You

Words like “always,” “never,” and “everyone” trigger defensiveness and derail conversations—often without leaders realizing it.

5. Leading in a Virtual World

Engagement doesn’t happen by accident. Expectations, vocal presence, audio quality, and meeting structure all shape the room.

6. Fear of Judgment, Not Fear of Speaking

Most communication fear isn’t fear of speaking—but fear of scrutiny. Leadership requires the courage to take calculated risks.

📚 Resources Mentioned

• Speaking to Influence by Dr. Laura Sicola
• Dr. Sicola’s TEDx Talk: Want to Sound Like a Leader? Start by Saying Your Name Right
• Leadership Vision Podcast episodes on communication, presence, and team culture

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The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.