Ep. 49 - The Gap Between What You Say and What They Hear: Speaking to Influence with Dr. Laura Sicola
What Do People Really Hear When You Speak?
What we say and what other people hear aren’t always the same thing. Somewhere between our words, tone, delivery, and the way another person interprets them, meaning can shift. For leaders, that gap can have a real impact on trust, credibility, and whether people ultimately buy into what they’re saying.
In this episode of the CivilTalk Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Laura Sicola, executive communication coach, cognitive linguist, speaker, and author of Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice. Laura has spent more than 20 years studying how people communicate and helping leaders understand not only what they’re saying, but how they’re actually being experienced by the people listening.
Drawing from her background in cognitive linguistics, Laura breaks down the subtle ways our voices shape perception, from pitch, pacing, and emphasis to the signals that communicate confidence, uncertainty, authority, or openness. We explore why strong communication is about more than choosing the right words, what it really means to “sound like a leader,” and how to adapt the way you communicate without sacrificing authenticity.
We also dive into Laura’s Three Cs of executive presence: Command the room, Connect with the audience, and Close the deal, as well as ideas from her widely viewed TEDxPenn talk, Want to Sound Like a Leader? Start by Saying Your Name Right. More than a decade after that talk, Laura reflects on what she has learned about voice, influence, executive presence, and the ways people experience one another in conversation.
Ultimately, this conversation looks at the space between intention and impact and what we can do to make that space a little smaller.
Learn More About Dr. Laura Sicola
Laura Sicola:
https://laurasicola.com/
Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice:
https://laurasicola.com/book/
TEDxPenn — “Want to Sound Like a Leader? Start by Saying Your Name Right”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02EJ1IdC6tE
Speaking to Influence Podcast:
https://speakingtoinfluence.com/
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlaurasicola/
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@LauraSicola
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About CivilTalk & Clarion CI:
CivilTalk is a conversational intelligence company focused on helping people and organizations better understand the conversations that shape relationships, decisions, and outcomes.
Our AI-powered conversational intelligence agent, Clarion CI, observes and analyzes real conversations to surface insights that are often difficult to see in the moment—including areas of consensus and disagreement, participant positions, emotional intelligence behaviors, and opportunities to reframe. Clarion gives leaders and teams a clearer view into how their conversations are actually unfolding, so they can communicate with greater awareness and turn insight into action.
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