39. The CEO’s Guide to Showing Up Authentically on Mic

Today’s episode is a masterclass for every visionary ready to lead with presence and power on the mic. If you’ve ever wondered how to sound more like yourself—and less like a script—this episode is your blueprint. We explore:

• Why authenticity as a founder is more than “being real”—it’s about being recognizable.
• How mic presence is leadership in action.
• The 4 biggest voice blocks that keep CEOs from their full expression.
• And 5 powerful ways to anchor into your true tone—so your voice carries the weight of your mission.

Whether you're podcasting from a CEO seat or evolving into one, this episode will help you shift from performing to resonating. 

🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned:

• Try HoneyBook – My favorite client workflow tool that’s streamlined my entire business. Get 30% off with my referral link: share.honeybook.com/herbusiness
• Episode 37: “The Pivot: From Podcast Host to CEO” – Listen to this one next to hear the backstory on how this podcast and business evolved: SP37 Episode Link 
• Learn more about podcast services or book a strategy session at: www.soulpodcasting.com
• DM me on Instagram to continue the convo: @soulpodcasting

✨ Key Takeaways:

• Your voice is a strategic asset. It communicates leadership, not just information.
• Don’t over-polish. Presence > performance.
• Use rituals to ground your energy before recording.
• Edit with intention—protect the human parts of your delivery.
• Podcasting is not about being perfect. It’s about being rooted in your mission and speaking from that truth.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Hi, and welcome to the Soul Podcasting Podcast, where we
help thought leaders, founders and CEOs like you amplify your voice,
share your message, and turn soulful storytelling into legacy. I'm
Demitria Zinga, founder of Soul Podcasting Collective, which is a
creative boutique agency for podcast strategy, editing, coaching and content repurposing.

(00:35):
I'm here to help you grow your brand and help
you do it with intention and clarity. Now, before we
dive in, I do want to tell you about a
tool that's totally changed the game for my business, and
it's called Honeybook. I've been using it for a few
years now. It helps me to manage everything from client communication,
to automating my workflows and even AI powered note taking.

(00:56):
This platform is how I've streamlined how I run behind
the scenes. So I've added my referral link in the
show notes where you can get thirty percent off, or
you can just go to share dot honeybook dot com,
slash per business. And if you haven't caught episode thirty
seven yet, please be sure to listen to that one
after this one. And that's where I dive into the

(01:16):
evolution of this podcast and the direction of my business
shifting from this hands on solopreneurship into a more CEO
led brand and creative agency model. I had a lot
of fun on that episode because I also shared the
history of how I got into podcasting. So I will
definitely leave a link to that episode in the show
notes as well. But for now, let's talk about something

(01:38):
that most founders overlook in their content strategy, and it's
how to actually show up on the mike as the
visionary that you are, not just as a host, not
just as a teacher, but as a leader. So whether
you're walking the dog or driving, let this be a
space for you to drop in with yourself. Take a breath,

(02:01):
turn the volume up, and let's get into today's episode.

(02:29):
Authenticity in your role as a founder or CEO goes
beyond being real. It's about being recognizable in your tone,
in your perspective, and how you move through your message.
Your voice is an extension of your leadership. It reveals
what's going on inside of you, your internal state. So

(02:49):
if you're really clear on your mission, your voice carries
that conviction, and if you're uncertain or you're disconnected, your
listeners will feel it even without knowing why. So no,
you don't have to sound scripted, you don't have to
sound like anyone else. You just need to sound like yourself,

(03:09):
grounded in purpose, and that's where resonance lives. It's where
your audience starts to trust you with more than just
their time. We're going to talk a bit about why
your mic presence is leadership and action. We're talking more
about leadership on this podcast, and that's one of the
ships that we're making here is that we're not just
talking about the tech tools and the how tools of podcasting,

(03:31):
because again, I've talked about that for at least thirty
six episodes of the beginning stages of this show. But
now I want this podcast to delve into more leadership
because I think that's what podcasters need, is just to
continually remind ourselves that we're not behind the mic just
because we're wanting to do yet another thing and add
yet another task to our list. We actually want to lead,

(03:53):
and we want to lead with purpose. We want to
share our expertise, our thought leadership, and in order to
get better at that, we have to continue to grow
in our leadership and to be aware of how we
need to grow This really hits home with me right
now because I'm doing so much to improve myself right now.

(04:14):
I am reading lots of books, I'm listening to audios,
I've joined coaching programs. I'm really working on self development,
and so this is what my space looks like right now.
And I really would love to join with you and
with others who want to be a part of this
show and talk about leadership, because that's what podcasters are.

(04:36):
We are putting ourselves in a position to grow and
to learn, but also to lead. And what I love
about podcasting is that this is a medium that becomes
an extension of your thought leadership. So it's not just
about gaining followers, but it's about cultivating deep trust. It's
not just about marketing your offer, but it's about mentoring

(04:58):
your audience through your voice. And it's not just being informative,
as I've been attempting to do for the past few
years on this podcast, giving you information on how to
start a podcast, but it's about being more intentional about
every word, even every pause and every shift in my tone.
It's meaningful. And so as I'm changing directions, I'm hoping

(05:21):
that we can move together in this realm of podcasting
and really accept that this is more of a calling
to be an influence. I've talked a bit about being
an influencer on my other podcast, and I think it
stands to talk about it here too, because I do
believe that being a podcaster is in many ways being

(05:42):
an influencer, and so we do have to be careful
how we show up. We have to be mindful and
intentional about what we're doing. Podcasting really allows you to
reinforce your brand values, to introduce some nuance, and bring
your community deeper into your mission. So the more aligned
you are in your delivery of your show, the more
credibility you build, not only as a host, but as

(06:04):
a voice that people want to follow. So I believe
that this is how CEOs build movements. It's episode by episode.
So now let's talk about what can get in the
way of your natural voice, and we can name a
few things that often block founders from expressing their full
authentic presence on the mic. These aren't just bad habits,

(06:28):
there are symptoms of deeper mindset patterns that we as
CEOs have to work through, and the first is that
we want to be super polished to the point of
unfortunately disconnection, and there is a difference between quality production
and overproduction. You can sound professional and still lose the

(06:48):
essence of what makes your voice distinct. If you edit
out every single breath and inflection or pause, that feels imperfect.
And after years of editing, I can tell you now
that it is something that I still struggle with a bit,
because in the pursuit of sounding tight or on brand,
what you really end up doing sometimes is removing the
human tone altogether. And when you do that, your audience

(07:12):
can't feel you. And as a founder, your credibility doesn't
come from perfection, but it comes from your presence. If
your podcast sounds mechanical or like you're reading a script
line by line, that's not presence. That is performance. So
just easy on the over production. But we want to
present quality, but it doesn't have to be super tight

(07:35):
and super perfect. The second thing that we tend to
do at times is dimming our tone to be more acceptable.
So maybe you've been told that you're too much, too intense,
too emotional, too passionate. So now you're starting to second
guess yourself every single time you feel a surge of
energy and your delivery instead of channeling it, you flatten

(07:57):
it out. But that energy that as part of your
signature voice. It's the boldness your listeners are craving. It's
what makes them believe you. Remember, you're the founder, you
are the visionary. So if you don't speak with conviction,
why should your audience lean in? We want you to
be yourself and we don't want you dimming your tone.

(08:20):
Be who you are. The third thing is borrowings someone
else's voice. And I've talked about imitating others on this
show because it is something that I have struggled with.
When I look to other people who seem to be
doing really well, it's easy to want to emulate how
they approach things, maybe sound a little bit like them,

(08:41):
Maybe piece my podcast together kind of in the format
that they do. It's easy to want to emulate or
copy someone else, But there's a huge difference between being
inspired by someone else and their delivery and trying to
imitate it. So maybe you've in turn someone else's style,

(09:02):
like a top host that you admire, or a business
coach that you respect, or a voice from a bigger platform. Right,
but without realizing it, you start to pace your sentences
like them, You mimic their tone, you even adopt their
catch phrases. You want to sound like they do. And
this is really common. Like I said, I've done this

(09:22):
many times, and it is forgivable, Okay, it's it's something
that you shouldn't feel bad about it. Actually, it just
means that you want to be better at your craft,
so that that's okay. But just remember that you need
to find your own voice and stick with your voice.
The longer you stay in someone else's soundscape, the more
invisible your own voice becomes. Your brand isn't just what

(09:44):
you say. Your brand is how you say it. It's
how you present. So remember that being yourself is everything
in this podcasting space. And the fourth thing that I
really want to drill down on in terms of the
things that can get in the way of your natural
voice is op reading from an old identity, because sometimes
the biggest block is that you've outgrown the identity that

(10:06):
you built your podcast on. And that has been one
of the mindset shifts I've had to make as I've
grown throughout my podcasting journey. I've had to set different
expectations on all three of my current podcasts just to
let my audience know, Hey, this is where I am
today and I'm not who I was when I first
started this podcast, and things have changed, and therefore my

(10:27):
goals on this show have changed, and so I've had
to reevaluate what my mission statement is for each of
those shows. Maybe you started as a service provider, but
now you're leading a team, or you've shifted from educator
to thought leader. You've evolved, and that's okay, that's great,
but your voice on the show, on the podcast hasn't

(10:48):
caught up to where you are today, and that creates
a gap. What your audience hears no longer reflects who
you are now. So bridging that gap means you have
to make a decision to speak from your current seat,
and that's where your true voice lives. You have to
speak from where you are today. So sometimes you'll have

(11:08):
to make amends and close that gap by making an
announcement on your show that things have changed for you
and where you're going from this day forward, how you're
shifting things on your show, and that is going to
help free you to be yourself and be who you
are today. It doesn't mean you need to shut down
your show or start a brand new one unless that

(11:29):
is part of your goals and what you want to do.
And it also doesn't mean that you have to continue
being who you were and showing up the way you were,
because you can't be true to yourself if you do that.
So just let your audience know where you're going and
recalibrate and continue on. So let's get into this idea
of anchoring your authentic presence. And you're probably wondering what

(11:50):
do I mean by anchoring, Because when I think of
an anchor, I think of a ship that sails in
the middle of the ocean and needs a place to
dock and to land, and there's that anchor that it
has to throw down on the shore so that it
can have this stability and it's not floating out there
in the middle of the ocean. It has an anchoring space.

(12:11):
So now that we've named the blocks the mental blocks,
let's talk about the practices that help root you into
your voice of being a CEO. So I'm speaking founder
to founder. I know that you listening to this show
today may very well be a CEO yourself, a business owner,
a founder, and so I'm speaking to you from that

(12:33):
perspective as well, because when your voice feels aligned, the
microphone becomes less of a task and more of a
tool for you. So you want to speak from conviction,
not just content. Once you're grounded, you can start speaking
from conviction. Once you're no longer floating around in the
middle of the ocean, and you've found your anchoring spot.

(12:53):
Now you can speak from your truth. So before you
hit record, you have to ask yourself, why does this
episode so matter to me right now? And how does
it matter to the people that I serve? And that
becomes your anchor. And this isn't just about manufacturing passion
in your delivery, pretending that you're passionate, but it's about
tuning into the fire that already exists in your mission.

(13:18):
The more conviction you have behind the message, the less
you're going to need to perform. So you're going to
speak differently when you're connected to that why behind your words.
So there's a couple of things you can do that
might help you to regulate your energy and get you
grounded and calm enough to be able to do the work.

(13:39):
If it feels like a chore to get on the microphone,
just remember that each time you show up, you're doing
yourself a favor. You're doing your business a favor, you're
doing your listener a favor. But it can feel like work.
And once you're grounded, even if it still feels like work,
there are some things you can do to kind of
motivate yourself. And there are a couple rituals you can

(14:01):
do or things that you can bring into your routine
that helped to make you more excited about the work
of podcasting. And here a couple of things I recommend
that I actually do that make me happy. And one
of them is just taking a deep breath with my
hand over my heart before I start. I know it
sounds a little woo woo and a little LOUPI, but hey,
this is what I do because it helps ground me.

(14:24):
So find what works for you. But for me, it
would be taking a deep breath. It's lighting a candle.
It's sipping on something warm, usually it's a tea. For me,
it's saying a short prayer before I get on the microphone.
Sometimes these rituals like this can help to calm you
down so that you are in a space to actually share.

(14:45):
Every time you're on the microphone, remember you are sharing
your truth with the world, and it takes energy out
of you to share. So this is not something that
you should take lightly or allow anyone to make you
feel like it's something that you should take lightly. Remember
this is work, and it's work from your heart. When
I called this show soul podcasting, I was really literally

(15:07):
thinking of podcasting from the soul, meaning putting your whole
heart and soul into what you do. And that is,
if not done correctly, an energy drainer, but if done well,
it could be an energizing force that you give to
your listener. And even though that energy is coming from you,
it won't be tiring and draining for you if you
know how to refuel yourself and to prepare to do

(15:30):
this work. Whether you're podcasting once a week, you know,
once every other week, once a month, it's still a
task and it's something that you have to be mentally
and emotionally ready for. It's giving back to your listener,
it's giving back to your audience, and giving and sharing
takes time and it takes emotional energy. It also takes

(15:51):
mental energy, and not to mention, if you're also editing afterward,
that takes a lot of time and energy as well.
So this isn't about being woo again. It's about creating
spaciousness before you step into the spotlight, and you need
that time in that space. Also, just remind yourself that
when you're talking on your microphone to the world, you're

(16:14):
not really talking to the world. You're not really talking
to the crowd. You're speaking to one person. So I
want you to think of it as a friend or
that one person that you really want to reach and
talk to them. Right, You're not giving a ted talk.
You're building trust. Pick one person you want to impact,
whether it's your dream client, a past coaching student, or

(16:34):
someone who would really feel this content, and visualize that
person and now just talk to them, not your whole
entire audience, just that one person. This simple shift creates intimacy,
and that intimacy makes you instantly more relatable. And you
do want to protect some of the human elements in

(16:55):
your post production. So after you've done all of your
recording and you've spent a lot of energy pouring into
your audience, you want to remember that as you're editing
that you want to keep some of that humanity in
your final audio. So your breaths, your pauses, your emotions,

(17:16):
kind of the rhythms and the cadence of how you speak.
You want that to be part of your show. Your
natural cadence is not a fly. If some people have
told you you speak too slowly or too fast, remember
that's who you are. So it's your fingerprint and it's
how people can feel that energy coming from you. So
we don't want to edit out every single and awe

(17:38):
and every single pause, because that's part of your flow.
When we edit podcasts at Soul Podcasting Collective, we don't
just clean your audio. We protect that energy that makes
you who you are. We help you sound clear and
confident without stripping the message of its weight or the tone,
because how you say it is part of what makes

(17:58):
it land. So want to keep that. And lastly before
some of our final takeaways and our call to action
is that I want you to remember you don't need
to find your voice. You need to remember your voice.
You've already got it. You've got this. The way you
explain things to your team or to your coworkers, the

(18:21):
way you talk to your clients when you're in your flow,
the way you storytell when you're off the mic. You know,
it's how you thrive it's how you talk, it's how
you communicate. You're relaxed, You're real. That's the tone that
we want you to bring to your podcast. Your voice
should carry the essence of your brand and your culture,

(18:42):
and your character and your background, your experiences, your personality.
All that should be infused in your show, and it
should sound like a continuation of who you are and
every space that you're leading and that you're serving. Right,
So again, I mean, I can't read it. I rate
this enough, but I want you to just be yourself.

(19:02):
That's what I'm saying. Your voice is not an afterthought.
It is a strategic asset that you have, and how
you show up on the microphone just reinforces how you
lead your business and your team and your movement. So,
if you are ready to stop second guessing your sound
and you want to start leading your podcast with presence,
we are here to support that journey. So don't forget

(19:25):
to check out the show notes for more information on
what we've talked about. We are here to support that journey.
I am so thrilled that you've decided to listen to
this episode today. Also for more background on why this
podcast and my business has shifted you can listen to
episode thirty seven where I walk you through my evolution
and the vision behind this next phase. And yes, we've

(19:47):
got guests coming very soon, so these conversations will take
us even deeper into purpose and presence and thought leadership
and marketing and all the things that we need as podcasters.
So make sure you stay subscribed so you don't miss
a beat, and you can also DM me at Soul
Podcasting on Instagram, you can visit me on LinkedIn at

(20:07):
my name Dimitria Zinga, and you can also visit me
at my website for more information on how our team
can help you bring strategy, soul, and clarity to your
next season for your podcasting edits at soul podcasting dot
com and I can't wait to share more with you
next week. Until next time, happy podcasting,