Powerful Influence Through Speaking with Dr. Laura Sicola

How can leaders ensure their message lands with clarity, confidence, and influence? In this episode, Kevin Eikenberry sits down with Dr. Laura Sicola to discuss how leaders can strengthen their influence by mastering their leadership voice. Laura introduces her "vocal executive presence" framework, built around the three Cs: Command the room, Connect with the audience, and Close the deal. Kevin and Laura break down the three communication channels every leader uses—verbal, vocal, and visual—and why alignment across all three is essential for credibility. They unpack common leadership communication pitfalls, such as overwhelming others with too much "relevant" information instead of focusing on what is truly essential, and how habits like vocal fry, weak openings, or cluttered slides can quietly erode influence. Laura also shares memorable frameworks, including the 60-to-60 rule for opening meetings and the "prismatic voice" to remain authentic in different situations.

Laura's Story: Dr. Laura Sicola is an executive communication coach, 3x TEDx speaker, and author of Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice. With over two decades of experience working with Fortune 500 companies, global nonprofits, and government agencies, she empowers leaders to show up powerfully and speak with confidence in high-stakes conversations. Her proprietary "Vocal Executive Presence" framework helps leaders command the room, connect with their audience, and close the deal. She is a cognitive linguist by training and former faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. Her TEDx talk has nearly 7 million views, and her client list includes Amazon, Intel, HP, Kaiser Permanente, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speaking-to-influence/id1515649028