Why Smart Women Still Shrink in High-Stakes Rooms and How to Stop

You can be smart, experienced, and successful—and still find yourself shrinking in high-stakes conversations. In this episode, we unpack why this happens to so many accomplished women and why it has little to do with competence. You’ll learn the subtle communication habits that quietly give away authority—and practical shifts you can use immediately to show up with calm certainty, clarity, and presence when it matters most.

You’ll learn the three most common ways accomplished women unintentionally diminish their impact: over-explaining, softening the ask, and waiting to be invited into the conversation. More importantly, you’ll discover simple, powerful shifts that help you show up with clarity and calm authority when it matters most.

This episode is for women executives and senior leaders who are ready to stop over-functioning and start leading from self-trust—without apology or second-guessing.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why over-explaining can dilute credibility—even when your ideas are strong
   
• How softening language undermines otherwise reasonable asks
   
• Why waiting to be invited costs influence in senior rooms
   
• The mindset shift from being granted authority to assuming it

If this resonated, this is exactly the work I do with women executives who want to command high-stakes conversations with presence, clarity, and unshakable self-trust. If this sparked something in you, let’s talk.

 

Favor to Ask

If you enjoy this podcast, please leave a review on Amazon or wherever you listen. Your reviews help more people find the show and start communicating with greater confidence and ease.

Some resources for you:

Come to my first-ever retreat! If you’re an executive woman looking to become a more confident communicator and uplevel your presence and ability to command any room, join us HERE. It’s April 30-May 3.

Get 3 Strategies to Speak Up in Meetings here.

Project more confidence and credibility with my free tips: 9 Words to Avoid & What to Say Instead: Words to Avoid | Karen Laos

My book “Trust Your Own Voice”: https://karenlaos.com/book/

 

Connect with me:

Website: https://www.karenlaos.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenlaosofficial 

Episodes also available on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEwQoTGdJX5eME0ccBKiKng/videos

About me:
Many years ago I found myself tongue-tied in a boardroom, my colleagues and executives staring at me. My stomach in my throat, I was unable to get the words out (in spite of being in a senior leadership role). 

Then, I heard my boss shut down the meeting. My heart sank. I was mortified. She pulled me aside and said, "You didn't trust your gut. You could've tabled the meeting like I did."

Why didn’t that option occur to me in the moment? Why did I feel like I needed permission?

That was the day I set out to change. I began a journey of personal growth to discover the root of the problem. Once I did, I wanted every woman to experience that same freedom.

I’m now on a mission to silence self-doubt in 10 million women in 10 years by giving them simple strategies to speak up and ask for what they want in the boardroom and beyond, resulting in more clients, job promotions, and negotiation wins.

Companies like NASA, Netflix, Google, and Sephora have been propelled toward more effective communication skills through my signature framework, The Confidence Cocktail™.

This is your invitation to step into your most confident self so you can catapult your career!

Karen Laos, Communication Expert and Confidence Cultivator, leverages 25 years in the boardroom and speaking on the world’s most coveted stages such as Google and NASA to transform missed opportunities into wins. She is fiercely committed to her mission of eradicating self-doubt in 10 million women by giving them practical strategies to ask for what they want in the boardroom and beyond. She guides corporations and individuals with her tested communication model to generate consistent results through her Powerful Presence Keynote: How to Be an Influential Communicator.

 

Get my free tips: 9 Words to Avoid & What to Say Instead: Words to Avoid | Karen Laos

 

Connect w