Speak Up: Develop Your Executive Presence & Leadership Communication Style

Laura Camacho
  • 4.9 (117)
  • Business
  • Updated Weekly

🏆 Ranked #1 Business Communication Podcast by Million Podcasts Do you often feel sidelined in discussions, wanting to speak up and have more influence? Ever experience that you say something in a meeting and then it seems like people maybe are still not getting what you’re saying? Do you need more executive presence in high stakes meetings? Discover tactics to confidently assert yourself and make your ideas count on Speak Up, the podcast for high-performing introverts and ambiverts. You'll learn: 1. Visibility Strategies from the art of persuasion, ensuring your voice is heard and respected in meetings and sought after for key projects 2. How to expand your influence, to reclaim your recognition, get green lights, and avoid your ideas being taken credit for by others 3. How to develop your confidence, to participate actively in senior leadership and executive meetings and beyond Host Laura Camacho, with 20 years of coaching experience, guides high-performing professionals to express their ideas clearly and build executive presence. Tune in every Monday for a 10-minute executive communication skill, Wednesdays for a half-hour industry leader interview, and Fridays for a 8 to 10-minute charisma or leadership tip from leading personalities like JK Rowling and Elon Musk. If you're ready to move forward in your career, listen to Speak Up episode 390: These 12 Science-Backed Charisma Tactics Skyrocket Executive Presence & Leadership Impact: https://pod.fo/e/2c2b5e

  1. 3h ago

    593: The Hardest Career Lesson Nobody Tells High Performers Until It's Too Late

    Want Faster Promotions, More Influence, and Stronger Executive Presence? Book a confidential Executive Presence Strategy Call to discover the communication patterns that help high performers get seen as senior leaders. 👉 Book Your Call here What I'm about to say might be one of the most uncomfortable career truths you'll ever hear. But you need to know what you're dealing with. If you're a high-performing professional who consistently delivers results, you may believe that excellence alone should earn recognition and advancement. But as careers progress, the rules change. Leadership opportunities often go to those who can influence decisions, communicate strategically, build confidence, and demonstrate executive presence—not just those who work the hardest. This episode explores the hidden factors that determine who gets promoted and why so many talented professionals get stuck despite outstanding performance. By listening to this episode, you'll discover: 🎯Why exceptional performance stops being enough for career advancement at senior levels. 💰The critical difference between being valued for execution and being trusted for leadership. 🏆How executive presence, influence, and strategic communication shape promotion decisions and career growth. Listen now to learn the leadership skill set that helps high performers break through visibility barriers, earn greater influence, and accelerate their path to senior leadership. If today's episode hit a nerve... Good. Because the leaders who create extraordinary careers eventually learn this lesson. The only question is whether they learn it early enough to benefit from it. That's exactly why I created the Executive Presence Mastery System. It's designed for high-performing professionals who are done being underestimated, overlooked, or under-positioned. Together, we'll help you communicate with greater authority, influence senior stakeholders, navigate high-stakes conversations, and position yourself as someone decision-makers naturally trust at the next level. If that sounds like the kind of transformation you're looking for, click the link in the show notes and book a call or click here. We'll talk about where you are today, where you want to go, and whether Executive Presence Mastery is the right fit for helping you get there. Because the hardest career lesson nobody tells high performers... Is that being exceptional at your job is only half the equation. The other half is making sure the people who matter see you as the leader you're capable of becoming. To learn more visit www.speakupwithlaura.com. New Speak Up podcast episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning. This episode explores why exceptional job performance alone does not guarantee promotion into senior leadership. Laura Camacho explains how career advancement shifts from being based on execution and technical competence to being based on executive presence, strategic communication, influence, stakeholder management, leadership perception, and the ability to inspire confidence. Listeners learn why working harder often fails to solve visibility problems and what skills are required to transition from high performer to trusted leader. In Speak Up communication and executive presence coaching, high performing leaders and executives learn to enhance their influence and confidence, refining their communication style to increase visibility and effectiveness in promotion opportunities. By honing communication skills and fostering a trusted advisor mindset, aspiring executives cultivate mastery in public speaking and beat imposter syndrome. Your leadership becomes more strategic and inspiring.

    9 min

  2. 3d ago

    592: What OpenAI's CFO Can Teach You About Executive Presence (Even If You Can’t Read a Balance Sheet)

    Speak Up Summer Camp (July 6 – Aug 1) A private podcast with 24 short daily leadership reps to help you build the communication habits senior leaders actually notice. → Enroll here Are you trying to improve your executive presence—but still unsure what actually makes leaders influential at the highest levels? Many professionals believe executive presence is about confidence, charisma, appearance, or executive polish. But what if those assumptions are completely wrong? In this episode, Laura Camacho, PhD, uses OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar as a real-world example to reveal why executive presence is really about making your value visible—and how understanding your unique leadership archetype can dramatically increase your influence, credibility, and opportunities. After listening to this episode, you'll know: 💰How executive presence creates measurable business value through communication, trust, and decision-making. 🪝The seven Executive Presence Archetypes and the unique value each one contributes to an organization. 🏆A practical framework for identifying your own archetype so you can amplify your natural strengths instead of copying someone else's style. Listen now to uncover the value people already expect from you—and learn how to make that contribution impossible to miss. Speak Up Summer Camp (July 6 – Aug 1) A private podcast with 24 short daily leadership reps to help you build the communication habits senior leaders actually notice. → Enroll here To learn more visit www.speakupwithlaura.com. New Speak Up podcast episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning. In Speak Up communication and executive presence coaching, high performing leaders and executives learn to enhance their influence and confidence, refining their communication style to increase visibility and effectiveness in promotion opportunities. By honing communication skills and fostering a trusted advisor mindset, aspiring executives cultivate mastery in public speaking and beat imposter syndrome. Your leadership becomes more strategic and inspiring. Topics covered in this episode: Executive Presence ArchetypesExecutive Presence FrameworkBuilding Executive PresenceLeadership PresenceAuthentic LeadershipExecutive InfluenceLeadership CredibilityLeadership ConfidenceCommunication and Influence

    13 min

  3. 5d ago

    591: Leadership Tension Is Actually Your Executive Presence Test; How Are You Scoring?

    Speak Up Summer Camp (July 6 – Aug 1) A private podcast with 24 short daily leadership reps to help you build the communication habits senior leaders actually notice. → Enroll here What if the most difficult colleague at work is actually teaching you one of the most important leadership lessons of your career? Most professionals view having difficult colleagues as something ideally to avoid, survive, or win. But what if it isn't really about the other person at all? In this conversation, Annie Hoffman shares a powerful perspective on difficult coworkers, challenging bosses, and tense workplace dynamics that can help you communicate more effectively, stay composed under pressure, and strengthen your executive presence. By the end of this episode with sports media personality Annie Hoffman, you’ll know: 🔥In handling pushback, how to acknowledge the concern and redirect attention to the work itself. 🧲Ways to maintain confidence, emotional control, and professionalism when challenged in meetings or workplace conversations. 🔑Why documenting conversations through email while remaining respectful and professional actually protects relationships and keeps the facts top of mind. Press play to discover how a simple shift in perspective can help you handle workplace conflict with more confidence, influence, and emotional resilience. The reality is that senior leaders don't get promoted because they avoid tension. They get promoted because they remain effective during tension. If you would like to fortify your executive presence so you handle tension more effectively, try Speak Up Summer Camp July 6 - Aug 1, 2026. Click here now to enroll in Speak Up Summer Camp. About our guest: Annie H. Hoffman motivates clients—from top athletes to C-suite executives—to hone their on- and off-camera skills and strengthen their personal brands in order to advance their biggest goals. Known for her meticulous attention to detail, she coaches transformational breakthroughs that enable clients to make a quantum leap into the next flourishing phase of their careers—and lives. Prior to founding Annie H. Hoffman, LLC in Atlanta, she held a variety of prominent roles across the sports and media landscape. Her career highlights include serving as a stage manager for Monday Night Football, associate producer at the first all-sports news network, and the first female executive producer of an all-sports radio station. She has also worked as a columnist for CBS Sportsline (now CBSSports.com) and ABCsports.com, and served as a film consultant on TNT Monday Night Mayhem. In addition, Hoffman trained in acting and studied with professional voice coaches—skills that continue to inform the media and performance techniques she teaches today. Her media training, broadcast coaching, and PR and branding expertise have been sought by an impressive and diverse portfolio of clients, including television network CEOs, movie studio presidents, nonprofit leaders, and high-profile executives. With deep roots in sports and entertainment, she has also coached athletes from nearly every professional sports league in the United States, as well as numerous collegiate teams. To learn more visit www.speakupwithlaura.com. New Speak Up podcast episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning. In Speak Up communication and executive presence coaching, high performing leaders and executives learn to enhance their influence and confidence, refining their communication style to increase visibility and effectiveness in promotion opportunities. By honing communication skills and fostering a trusted advisor mindset, aspiring executives cultivate mastery in public speaking and beat imposter syndrome. Your leadership becomes more strategic and inspiring. Topics covered in this episode: reframing conflicthandling difficult colleaguesemotional resilienceexecutive presencepersonal responsibilityusing kindness to shift workplace dynamicsLeadership communication

    24 min

  4. Jun 22

    590: Does Your Leadership Communication Lack Executive Judgment? How to Fix It Right Now

    Want Faster Promotions, More Influence, and Stronger Executive Presence? Book a confidential Executive Presence Strategy Call to discover the communication patterns that help high performers get seen as senior leaders. 👉 Book Your Call here This is for those of you who know you're highly competent—but your communication isn't creating the level of authority you know you've earned. If you're a high-performing leader, you've probably experienced the frustration of knowing your expertise is strong while your influence doesn't seem to match. Many talented professionals unintentionally communicate in ways that either overwhelm decision-makers with detail or undersell their value by saying too little. As a result, they remain the trusted problem-solver instead of being seen as the strategic leader who should help shape decisions. After listening to this short episode, you'll know: 🔬 Why highly intelligent professionals are often underestimated in executive-level conversations. 🎯 How worrying about sounding intelligent can actually make you less effective. 🪝 How to tell whether people see you as not competent—or so competent at solving problems that they don't want to move you into leadership. Click Play now to pivot from being perceived as the technical expert to someone who helps people by making recommendations that support the organization's vision and strategic priorities. Or if you suspect people see you as the person who solves problems instead of the person who should help set direction... That's exactly why I created the Executive Presence Mastery System. Inside the program, we work on your real meetings, presentations, interviews, and executive conversations so your communication finally matches the level of expertise you've already earned. Because the goal is not to become someone else. The goal is for people to finally experience the leader who is already there. Click the link at the top of these show notes, and let's talk about it. Speak Up Summer Camp (July 6 – Aug 1) A private podcast with 24 short daily leadership reps to help you build the communication habits senior leaders actually notice. → Enroll here To learn more visit www.speakupwithlaura.com. New Speak Up podcast episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning. In Speak Up communication and executive presence coaching, high performing leaders and executives learn to enhance their influence and confidence, refining their communication style to increase visibility and effectiveness in promotion opportunities. By honing communication skills and fostering a trusted advisor mindset, aspiring executives cultivate mastery in public speaking and beat imposter syndrome. Your leadership becomes more strategic and inspiring. Topics Covered in This EpisodeExecutive judgment vs. executive presenceWhy smart professionals are often underestimatedThe hidden cost of over-explainingHow to communicate strategic thinkingMoving from problem-solver to strategic leaderWhy competence doesn't automatically create influenceExecutive communication for directors and VPsConnecting information to business strategyHow senior executives evaluate leadership potentialThe difference between expertise and leadershipTranslating complexity into executive-level clarityWhy concise communication isn't enoughBuilding authority in executive meetingsAvoiding the "trusted expert" career trapDemonstrating strategic thinking in conversationsHow leaders make better business decisionsCommunicating vision, priorities, and business impactGetting recognized as a leader, not just a performerExecutive presence for introvertsCareer advancement through strategic communication

    10 min

  5. Jun 19

    589: Why "Fake It Till You Make It" Is a Complete SCAM for Executive Presence and How Executive Presence Archetypes Accelerate Your Success

    Speak Up Summer Camp (July 6 – Aug 1) A private podcast with 24 short daily leadership reps to help you build the communication habits senior leaders actually notice. → Enroll here Have you been trying to improve your executive presence by becoming more confident, charismatic, or outgoing—yet still feel like you're forcing a version of yourself that doesn't fit? Many professionals believe executive presence looks the same for everyone. But the leaders who create the greatest influence often do so through very different strengths. In this episode, Laura Camacho challenges the myth of the "ideal executive" and introduces a powerful framework that helps you identify your natural leadership style so you can build influence without sacrificing authenticity. By the end of this episode you’ll know: 🚀How the 7 Executive Presence Archetypes explain why successful leaders influence others in completely different ways 🎯How to identify your primary and secondary leadership archetypes using three simple diagnostic questions 💰How to strengthen your executive presence by amplifying your natural strengths instead of copying someone else's style Listen now to discover your unique executive presence archetype and learn how to become a more influential, trusted, and authentic leader without changing who you are. To learn more visit www.speakupwithlaura.com. New Speak Up podcast episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning. Research ReferencesZenger, J., & Folkman, J. — Leadership effectiveness research showing that exceptional leaders succeed through different combinations of strengths rather than one ideal leadership profile.Grant, A. M., Gino, F., & Hofmann, D. A. (2011). Reversing the Extraverted Leadership Advantage: The Role of Employee Proactivity. Academy of Management Journal.Goleman, D. (1998). What Makes a Leader? Harvard Business Review.Brown, Pauline (2019). Aesthetic Intelligence: How to Boost It and Use It in Business and Beyond. While focused on aesthetic intelligence rather than leadership, Brown's work supports the broader idea that individuals create influence through distinct and recognizable styles rather than conformity to a single ideal. In Speak Up communication and executive presence coaching, high performing leaders and executives learn to enhance their influence and confidence, refining their communication style to increase visibility and effectiveness in promotion opportunities. By honing communication skills and fostering a trusted advisor mindset, aspiring executives cultivate mastery in public speaking and beat imposter syndrome. Your leadership becomes more strategic and inspiring. Topics in this episode: The 7 Executive Presence ArchetypesExecutive PresenceLeadership Communication

    13 min

  6. Jun 17

    588: How Elite Athletes and Great Leaders Build Unshakable Executive Presence Through State Management

    Speak Up Summer Camp (July 6 – Aug 1) A private podcast with 24 short daily leadership reps to help you build the communication habits senior leaders actually notice. → Enroll here Do you ever walk into an important meeting fully prepared—only to freeze, ramble, or fail to show up as your best self? Most professionals assume executive presence is about confidence, communication skills, or charisma. But what if the real issue is your mental and physiological state? In this eye-opening conversation, Deri Llewellyn-Davis shares the science behind his Ultra State Framework and explains why modern technology, constant distractions, and dopamine overload are preventing leaders from accessing flow, focus, connection, recovery, and peak performance when they need them most. After listening, you'll discover: 😱Why your phone and daily habits may be sabotaging your executive presence and leadership performance. 🚀How to intentionally access flow, focus, connection, recovery, and peak states to perform at your highest level. 🧩Practical techniques for staying calm, confident, and influential—even when everyone else in the room is stressed or emotional. Listen now to learn how mastering your state—not just your skills—can transform your leadership, performance, and executive presence. Speak Up Summer Camp (July 6 – Aug 1) A private podcast with 24 short daily leadership reps to help you build the communication habits senior leaders actually notice. → Enroll here To learn more visit www.speakupwithlaura.com. New Speak Up podcast episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning. About our guest: Advising over 330 boards and testing performance in extreme environments, Deri Llewellyn-Davies reframes executive presence as a state-selection issue rather than a motivation problem. His Ultra States framework helps leaders understand why clarity, listening, and authority disappear under pressure. From very humble beginnings Deri has worked his way up through the corporate ranks, built over 20 companies of his own and firmly established himself as one of the leading experts on business strategy and extreme performance. Despite being told by experts that he would never complete several of his physical feats he has proved that you can do the impossible … if you simply use the right strategies. He has helped his business clients produce an incredible 860% faster growth than the UK average. As an adventurer and extreme sportsman, he has climbed 6 of the 7 tallest mountains in the world including an infamous feat on Mount Everest. He also completed the toughest footrace on earth, The Marathon Des Sables… a gruelling challenge that can make even the toughest men crumble, and this is just a small part of his many feats. In Speak Up communication and executive presence coaching, high performing leaders and executives learn to enhance their influence and confidence, refining their communication style to increase visibility and effectiveness in promotion opportunities. By honing communication skills and fostering a trusted advisor mindset, aspiring executives cultivate mastery in public speaking and beat imposter syndrome. Your leadership becomes more strategic and inspiring.

    27 min

  7. Jun 15

    587: Why Your Identity as the Skilled Problem Solver Is Preventing Your Next Leadership Promotion and Masking Your Executive Presence

    Want Faster Promotions, More Influence, and Stronger Executive Presence? Book a confidential Executive Presence Strategy Call to discover the communication patterns that help high performers get seen as senior leaders. 👉 Book Your Call here If everyone in your company knows you as the person who solves problems, there's a good chance you've accidentally disqualified yourself from becoming a VP or even Sr Director. If you've built your reputation as the reliable expert who always has the answers, you may unknowingly be reinforcing the very perception that's limiting your advancement. While technical expertise and execution drive early career success, senior leaders evaluate something entirely different when considering Director, Senior Director, and VP promotions. In this episode, you'll learn why the skills that made you successful may now be preventing leadership from seeing you as an executive. By the end of this short episode you'll know: 🔎Why being the best problem solver on your team can actually stall your career 🔑The uncomfortable difference between how Directors create value and how VPs create value 🚀The shift required to become viewed as an executive instead of an expert Listen now to learn the leadership mindset and communication shifts that help high performers earn greater influence, stronger executive presence, and faster advancement into senior leadership roles. If you've spent years becoming the go-to problem solver in your organization... And you're starting to hear feedback like: "Think more strategically." "Communicate at a higher level." "Develop more executive presence." I want you to understand something: Your company doesn't need more proof that you're capable. They already know that. What they're looking for now is evidence that you can think, communicate, and influence at the next level. If you're ready to make that shift, book a strategy call here and let's identify exactly what's keeping leadership from seeing you as an executive—and create a plan to change it. To learn more visit www.speakupwithlaura.com. New Speak Up podcast episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning. In Speak Up communication and executive presence coaching, high performing leaders and executives learn to enhance their influence and confidence, refining their communication style to increase visibility and effectiveness in promotion opportunities. By honing communication skills and fostering a trusted advisor mindset, aspiring executives cultivate mastery in public speaking and beat imposter syndrome. Your leadership becomes more strategic and inspiring. Topics Covered in This Episode Executive PresenceLeadership PromotionVP Promotion ReadinessSenior Director PromotionStrategic LeadershipLeadership CommunicationExecutive CommunicationLeadership DevelopmentHigh Performer Career GrowthProblem Solver MindsetStrategic ThinkingExecutive MindsetLeadership InfluenceLeadership VisibilityExecutive-Level ThinkingMoving from Tactical to Strategic LeadershipDirector vs VP Leadership DifferencesBuilding Executive PresenceLeadership PerceptionBusiness Impact CommunicationLeadership AlignmentStakeholder InfluenceStrategic Decision MakingCreating Organizational ClarityInfluencing Senior ExecutivesLeadership TrustExecutive CredibilityExecutive Leadership SkillsLeadership Career PlateauWhy High Performers Get Passed Over for PromotionLeadership Skills for VP RolesTransitioning from Expert to ExecutiveExecutive VisibilityStrategic CommunicationLeadership Growth StrategyExecutive Influence

    8 min

  8. Jun 12

    586: Why This New Status Symbol Provides the Executive Presence Advantage Nobody Talks About

    Want Faster Promotions, More Influence, and Stronger Executive Presence? Book a confidential Executive Presence Strategy Call to discover the communication patterns that help high performers get seen as senior leaders. 👉 Book Your Call here Today we’re talking about one of the biggest invisible signals in modern leadership. Have you noticed the vibe change around you? Because of that, there’s a status symbol that has quietly become incredibly rare. And how you can use it to be the leader who is respected, grounded, influential, and hard to ignore in our rather chaotic culture. In today’s workplace, talent alone is no longer enough to stand out. With constant distractions, information overload, endless meetings, and nonstop communication, professionals who can think clearly and communicate with calm precision are becoming incredibly rare—and incredibly valuable. This episode explores why clear thinking has quietly become one of the most powerful status symbols in leadership and how it directly impacts executive presence, influence, and career growth. By the end of this episode, you’ll know: 🚀How the new status symbol creates instant executive presence and builds trust with senior leaders 😩Why overexplaining, rambling, and emotional processing weaken leadership perception 4️⃣ Four practical communication strategies to sound more strategic, confident, and influential in executive meetings Press play to learn how to communicate with clarity, authority, and calm confidence so you can stop sounding overlooked and start sounding undeniable. Speak Up Summer Camp (July 6 – Aug 1) A private podcast with 24 short daily leadership reps to help you build the communication habits senior leaders actually notice. → Enroll here To learn more visit www.speakupwithlaura.com. New Speak Up podcast episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning. In Speak Up communication and executive presence coaching, high performing leaders and executives learn to enhance their influence and confidence, refining their communication style to increase visibility and effectiveness in promotion opportunities. By honing communication skills and fostering a trusted advisor mindset, aspiring executives cultivate mastery in public speaking and beat imposter syndrome. Your leadership becomes more strategic and inspiring.

    9 min
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4.9
out of 5
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🏆 Ranked #1 Business Communication Podcast by Million Podcasts Do you often feel sidelined in discussions, wanting to speak up and have more influence? Ever experience that you say something in a meeting and then it seems like people maybe are still not getting what you’re saying? Do you need more executive presence in high stakes meetings? Discover tactics to confidently assert yourself and make your ideas count on Speak Up, the podcast for high-performing introverts and ambiverts. You'll learn: 1. Visibility Strategies from the art of persuasion, ensuring your voice is heard and respected in meetings and sought after for key projects 2. How to expand your influence, to reclaim your recognition, get green lights, and avoid your ideas being taken credit for by others 3. How to develop your confidence, to participate actively in senior leadership and executive meetings and beyond Host Laura Camacho, with 20 years of coaching experience, guides high-performing professionals to express their ideas clearly and build executive presence. Tune in every Monday for a 10-minute executive communication skill, Wednesdays for a half-hour industry leader interview, and Fridays for a 8 to 10-minute charisma or leadership tip from leading personalities like JK Rowling and Elon Musk. If you're ready to move forward in your career, listen to Speak Up episode 390: These 12 Science-Backed Charisma Tactics Skyrocket Executive Presence & Leadership Impact: https://pod.fo/e/2c2b5e

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