Speak to Impact: How to Elevate Your Voice in Meetings

You may be one speak away from your next opportunity.

Meetings are where careers rise, stall, or go unnoticed. We often treat them as routine, even though they're leadership stages. The way you show up in the meeting — what you say, how you say it, and what others remember — shapes how people perceive your credibility, clarity, and leadership potential.

So how do we speak in meetings to create impact?

It starts with intention. And a willingness to evolve.

My Journey: From Silent to Strategic

Over my multi-decade career in tech — from hands-on engineer to corporate executive to founder and board leader — I’ve experienced five distinct patterns of voice growth. These stages reflect the dominant tendencies at each phase of my professional evolution. Even early on, there were moments of clarity and courage — but the patterns matter, because they shaped how I was perceived, how I led, and how my career evolved.

• Stage1: Silent & Tense – Early Career (Individual Contributor / SME)

In my early technical roles, I often stayed quiet, afraid of saying the wrong thing. My heart would race and my face would flush just knowing I had to speak. Occasionally, I found the courage to speak — and when I did, those moments gave me hope.

• Stage2: Quiet Doer – Mid Career (Team Lead / Project Owner / Manager / Sr. Manager)

As I began leading smaller teams or key deliverables, I focused on execution and hoped results would speak for themselves. I contributed when asked, but rarely took the floor voluntarily. I was building credibility — but not yet using my voice to lead. Trusted but not necessarily seen and therefore, sometimes passed over.

• Stage3: Learning to Lead Aloud – Director / Senior Director (Cross-Functional Influence)

At this stage, I began to understand the cost of staying quiet. I wasn’t just executing—I needed to influence. I often realized what I should have said only after the meeting ended. So I started preparing more intentionally and speaking with structure: problem, impact, solution recommendation.

My voice wasn’t always perfect—sometimes late or too cautious—but I learned that leadership is less about airtime and more about shaping direction when it counts, each meeting became a test in timing and tone.

• Stage4: Voice as Vision – Executive (Regional VP)

In this phase, meetings became less about sharing updates and more about shaping direction. I found myself in rooms with customers, executives, partners, and boards—where what was said had the power to unlock alignment, secure support, or avert risk.

My voice had to do more than convey knowledge—it had to project clarity of thinking, strategic foresight, and calm authority. Speaking here meant holding space for decisions, anticipating cross-functional impact, and sometimes—naming the difficult truth that no one else would.

I learned that vision isn’t just about where we’re going—it’s about how we make others believe the journey is worth it.

• Stage5: Voice as Platform – Now (Board Member, Community Leader, Emerging Founder)

Today, voice feels more collective than personal — shaped by the weight and opportunity of leadership. As President and Board Member of DFWIT, it means convening, listening, and amplifying others in the community.

A true platform is measured not by the volume of your own voice, but by how many others it helps bring into the conversation.

Though my founder identity is still unfolding, I’ve learned that founding isn’t a destination — it’s a journey of becoming. And with every step, my voice learns to carry others, not just ideas.

These five stages aren’t fixed or linear. But recognizing your dominant pattern — and your opportunity for growth — can transform your impact in the room.

The 3P Framework: Prepare – Participate – Propel

To grow your voice, I introduced a simple but powerful model:

• Prepare: Know the room. Know your point. Rehearse. Anticipate the key decision-makers and their priorities.

• Participate: Speak with clarity. Anchor your input to impact. Use structured delivery like Problem–Impact–Solution.

• Propel: Follow up. Reinforce your message outside the room. Build consistency between voice and action. Many overlook this last step. But Propel is where credibility compounds.

Speaking in meetings isn’t a personality trait. It’s a skill — and this 3P model is a toolset anyone can practice.

Who’s in the Room? And What Do They Listen For?

Not everyone in the meeting is listening for the same thing — and your voice should adapt accordingly:

• Boards & C-Suite listen for structure, strategic relevance, and risk-readiness.

• Sponsors & Executives listen for growth-readiness — clarity, ownership, and maturity.

• Clients, Customers & Advocates listen for empathy, clarity, and partnership or growth value.

• Partners, Peers & Followers listen for tone, trust, and relatability.

• Your Younger & Future Self listens for permission, courage, and long-term alignment.

One may wear multiple roles in a meeting depending on the context. Tailor your message to match what different roles need to hear to act.

What Executives Listen for — In Meetings

From my experience, these six traits matter most when speaking in high-stakes meetings:

1. Clarity of Thought – Speak with structure and purpose.

2. Strategic Relevance – Connect to business priorities.

3. Constructive Candor – Share truth with respect and courage.

4. Ownership Mentality – Show initiative and take accountability.

5. Listening & Responsiveness – Engage with others and adapt.

6. Executive Presence – Stay calm, clear, and composed in delivery.

Leaders listen for behaviors that reduce risk, build trust, and move action.

Speaking to influence means going beyond good ideas — it’s about how and when those ideas are delivered. These traits are not innate, but learned behaviors. They often reveal themselves most clearly through how we Prepare, Participate, and Propel.

Speaking Beyond the Meeting

What you say in the meeting matters. But what others observe of you before and after determines whether your voice leads or just lingers.

Leaders don’t just evaluate what happens in the room. In fact, your influence is often shaped by what happens outside of it:

1. Follow-through – Do what you say, consistently.

2. Proactivity – Solve before being asked.

3. Stakeholder Alignment – Communicate across functions.

4. Situational Awareness – Read the room and adjust wisely.

5. Integrity in Silence – Do the right thing, even when unseen.

Speaking earns attention. Showing up earns trust.

Final Takeaways

1. Speak to the room, not just in it.

2. Match your message to the mission.

3. Practice using the 3P framework: Prepare, Participate, Propel.

4. Understand the roles in the room and what they truly listen for.

5. Remember: every meeting is a stage — and your voice is the spotlight.

   
   

You never know which sentence might become your next opportunity!

What’s one shift you’ll make, starting this week?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Written by Yanbing Li, Founder of iSterna and President of DFWIT. Originally presented at the June 15, 2025 "Speak to Impact" Workshop, co-hosted by DFWIT & Texas Tech Talk Toastmasters Club.