A FAANG senior director had everything going for her — six years of tenure, billion-user products, team loyalty — but couldn't break through to VP. The problem? She sounded like a "corporate drone" who was "unsure of herself."
In this podcast episode, we dive deep into Lewis C. Lin's coaching session from his Dear Lewis newsletter "How do I demonstrate executive presence?", where he transforms a high-performer's communication from corporate babble to executive clarity. We break down the four game-changing techniques that helped "Lisa" finally convey the leadership presence she needed:
The Rule of 3 — Why waterfall thinking kills executive presence
Downward Inflection — The subtle vocal shift that commands vs. requests
Communication Efficiency — From 30-second responses to the 5-minute maximum
Precision Over Weasel Words — Why "87% of 30-day actives" beats "nearly all customers"
We explore how speech patterns unconsciously signal confidence (or lack thereof), share our own experiences with corporate communication traps, and discuss why technical excellence isn't enough without executive presence.
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