At a certain level, being brilliant at what you do is no longer enough. You have to be able to walk into a room, communicate what matters, and bring people with you. That’s influence. And it’s one of the biggest differences between someone who is exceptionally good at their job and someone people trust to lead. In this episode, I sit down with Karen Laos, a global communication expert who has coached leaders at organizations including NASA, Google, and Netflix, to unpack what makes some people immediately credible when they speak and what the rest of us can learn from them. Karen has spent her career studying, teaching, and coaching communication at the highest levels. And what I love about her approach is that she doesn’t teach people to perform confidence. She teaches them how to communicate from it. At the center of our conversation is Karen’s signature Confidence Cocktail™, her five-part framework for developing the kind of communication that builds trust, strengthens executive presence, and makes people want to listen. We talk about: • What powerful communicators understand about influence that most people miss • The five ingredients of the Confidence Cocktail™ and why each one matters • Why more words rarely equal more authority • How great leaders create connection without sacrificing credibility • What changes when you stop communicating to prove yourself and start communicating to move the conversation forward • How to develop a stronger executive voice while still sounding unmistakably like yourself • The communication shifts that can change the way you're experienced in a meeting, on a stage, in an interview, or across the executive table Because executive presence isn’t about having the deepest voice, the biggest personality, or the most impressive title in the room. And confidence isn’t about pretending you have all the answers. It’s knowing what you bring to the conversation and communicating it in a way other people can trust. That matters whether you’re leading a team of five, presenting to the board, interviewing for the biggest role of your career, pitching an idea that needs funding, or walking into a room where you’re the least senior person at the table. People experience your leadership through your communication. Before they know how hard you work, they hear how you articulate an idea. Before they see every decision you’ve made, they experience how you handle pressure, disagreement, uncertainty, and attention. And long before most people have enough information to fully evaluate your expertise, they’re already deciding whether they trust you. That’s why communication isn’t a “soft skill.” It’s a leadership skill. A career skill. And, at the highest levels, it’s an influence skill. Connect with Karen Laos: Website: https://karenlaos.com/ LinkedIn: Karen Laos Connect with Teegan Bartos: Website: https://joltyourcareer.today/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/teeganbartos
