We have had an influx of new readers and I wanted to reintroduce myself. I am Regina Taute, a leadership and talent management consultant with twenty-five years of experience helping organizations build practical systems that grow people and performance. I work with leaders and teams who want clarity, confidence, and communication that actually works in the real world, not theory that gathers dust. I also co-host the LEADERish podcast, where Doris and I explore lessons that help people lead well at work and in life.

If you are new here, I am glad you are with us. This community is built around honest conversations about leadership, growth, and the small shifts that create real change.

So now on to the lesson...

Earlier this week, I stood in a conference room in warm and sunny Florida with a new client and their entire leadership team gathered around me. They had flown in from different parts of the country and carried that familiar mix of nerves, pride, pressure, and hope that most leaders bring into a room when there is something important at stake.

Within the first ten minutes, I was reminded of something I have learned again and again. Presentation skills are rarely about slides or posture. They are about clarity, connection, and the courage to make your point without hiding behind jargon or volume.

And that shift changes everything.

At one point, a participant paused before speaking. He looked down at his worksheet, took a breath, and said quietly, “I think the hard part for me is deciding what to say when the stakes are high.”

There it was. Not a technique issue. A decision issue.

So we worked from that moment. We stripped the message to its essential purpose. We practiced pausing long enough for the brain to catch up. We reframed the story so the client would care within the first thirty seconds.

That is the real work. Presentation skills are identity work. They ask us to show up as someone willing to be clear, even when clarity feels risky.

Why This Matters in Today’s Workplace

Leaders are communicating in environments that are louder, faster, and more complex than ever. Dr. Wendy Wood reminds us that most of our behaviors run on habit. When we feel pressured, we default to familiar patterns, even when they do not serve us.

In presentations, that looks like:

• Talking faster instead of pausing
• Adding more slides instead of sharpening the message
• Using technical detail instead of telling a story that resonates
• Overexplaining instead of trusting we have already earned credibility

The through-line is simple. We try to protect ourselves instead of connecting with others. Read that again.

A Few Practical Shifts You Can Use This Week

If you have an upcoming meeting or presentation, try one of these:

• Start with the conflict. What problem are you solving.
• Give a minimal rewind. Just enough context to keep the room with you.
• Say the key point early. Do not wait until the end to get to the good part.
• Pause for two beats before your most important sentence.
• Translate your message so it makes sense to someone outside your function.

Small changes. Big clarity.

As I left the session, I found myself thinking about something James Clear once wrote. “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

For leaders, your communication is a system. The structure you choose. The story you tell. The presence you bring.

When that system is intentional, everything else feels easier.

If This Resonated...

We explored these ideas in more depth on the LEADERish: Leadership lessons straight up this season, especially in our episode on storytelling and the power of presence. If your team is navigating high-stakes conversations or shifting expectations, this kind of work can change the way they connect and communicate.

And since it's December, we are taking the month off from podcasting, but we will be back in mid-January to kick off a fresh season with big ideas and new lessons. Shoot me an email if you have an idea for the next season of the podcast. We LOVE and very much appreciate your ideas!

Let me know if you want to explore a development session for your organization. These workshops continue to be some of the most transformative experiences I get to facilitate.

Reach out if you want to chat or just catch up...I'm here for it all! I really mean that. like really.

Here's to finishing strong!

- Regina