118. How Senior Leaders Speak: 5 Signals for Instant Authority

Ever wondered why senior leaders can say three sentences and suddenly everyone pays attention? It’s not vocabulary. It’s not charisma. It’s how they speak.

In this episode, we break down five communication signals that make people sound senior, and how you can start using them right away. You’ll hear real examples of rambling vs. senior-level clarity, how to frame your thinking, why ending with action changes how people see you, and the underrated power of silence.

We also look at cultural nuances and finish with three quick changes you can apply in your next meeting to sound clearer, more confident, and more intentional in English.

Access the full article: talaera.com/blog/speak-briefly-sound-senior

Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/talaera

Speak up, be heard, get promoted. Imporve your communication skills with a Talaera coach.

https://offers.talaera.com/busines-english-coaching-programs

Transcript

0:01

Welcome to Tele Talks. If you are a global professional looking to speak English with more clarity, confidence, and presence, you are in the right place. This is Paula, and today we're looking at how senior people communicate and how you can bring the same energy to your meetings. Let's dive in. Okay. Tell me if this sounds familiar. You're in a meeting and a lot of people are talking. Some of them may be too much. Then one of the, the senior folks jumps in and says three sentences and, and suddenly the whole room shifts and you see how people focus and everyone kind of adjusts and everyone kind of goes, ah, that's where we're going. I used to think it was vocabulary or experience or charisma, and yes, of course that does help, but there's one thing. It's how they speak that makes a huge difference. So today I want to break down the communication patterns that make people sound senior. And by the way, you can totally learn them. Um, so we'll unpack five of them and you'll see that once you start noticing them cannot unsee them. Let's start with an obvious one because nobody does this naturally signal. One is they starred with the point. I used to start my messages like, so yesterday I met with a client and we discussed a few ideas about the next phase, but senior people don't warm up. They don't say so basically, um, the thing is they just go straight in. We need to delay the launch. The client is leaning towards option B, or here's what I recommend. This technique is quite interesting. It is known as bluff or bottom line upfront, and it means that you start with the bottom line, say the conclusion first, and then give the details if needed. You'll notice how it's much clean, much clean, it's faster, and uh, right away it signals I'm not here to waste your time. Signal. Two, they keep it short. It doesn't mean cold, just short. You have one idea, one sentence, then you pause, next idea, next sentence, uh, and so on. And it's, this is the opposite of rambling. And by the way, rambling doesn't mean you're not smart. It just means your brain's working faster than your mouth. Welcome to the club. But seniors, uh, have trained themselves to sort of like package ideas. They talk in like chunks or clear units. This makes everything easier to follow. I don't think everyone's ever complained about, you know, wow, that person's updates are so clear and short. What she, um, alright, so let me show you what this actually sounds like because be concise is, I think, useless advice unless you see the difference. So here's an example of me rambling. So, um. Okay. Um, I think we might need to reconsider the timeline a little bit because I was talking to the product team and I'm not totally sure, but it seems like there might be a few dependencies that we didn't really account for, so maybe we could potentially push things back. So that is the rambling version, and here's the senior version. We need to adjust the timeline because two dependencies came up. I'll confirm details by the end of the day. So that's just one idea, one sentence, and then stop. And yes, this includes cutting the fill words. Like actually, basically, you know, like, kind of, yeah. They make your message heavier and less clean. Um, so try to give the message without the verbal clutter and as we said, keep it short. Okay. Signal three, they show their thinking. I find this one quite interesting and, and, and it is something I didn't notice until I started paying attention. Senior people frame their opinions. So here's what a message sounds like with no framing. I am not sure, but maybe we should switch to option B. I mean, I don't know. What do y'all think? And if we frame it showing our thinking, it could sound like this. So here's how, how I'm thinking about this. Option B gives us more flexibility. Let's look at another example. With no framing. It might sound like, yeah, I'm worried this might create problems with the client, but maybe it's fine versus framed, showing your thinking is, well, the risk I see here is client confusion. So you'll notice how when senior leaders show their thinking, they see things like, here's how I'm thinking about this, or, my view is, or the risk I see here is. And you see that it's subtle but powerful and it tells the room well, I'm taking responsibility for this perspective. You notice how all of these have in common, uh, one thing in common and is that they don't apologize their way into a sentence. They just say, here's my view, and everyone understands the context immediately. I think this is a way of creating that instant authority without being loud or aggressive. So again, for this signal three of showing your thinking, you can use phrases like, here's how I'm thinking about this, or My view is, or the risk I see here. And then you add your point, signal four, they end with action. This is my favorite one. Senior people don't just share ideas. They. They close the message with the next step, and we've talked about the, the framework of what, why next at til before the, what are you talking about? What is this, uh, message about? Why should they listen to you? What should happen next? Well, this signal is about that next, what should happen next? Something like, let's move forward with option B, or I'll update the deck by this afternoon, or let's revisit this on Thursday. Right, and, and this is why people trust senior communicators oftentimes, not because they're smarter, but because they give direction. They're able to guide the, the team and the project and direction feel safe. Even something like, well, I'll take it from here, is enough to make the room kind of like relax and, and know that they can trust you. So. Let's look at some examples. If you're just sharing, you might see things like, so the client liked the proposal, and yeah, that's pretty much it. So one way to close or end with action is, okay, the client liked the proposal. I'll send the final version today, right? You are taking a, you are ending with action. I'll send the final version today. Another soft ending could be, well, maybe we can look at options and see what might work. That is unclear, right? If you want to end with action, you can turn that into, okay, let's look at three options. I'll send the short list in 30 minutes so people know what to expect. Ending with action, um, also means not overtalk, so. If here's an example of where you might be over talking. Um, so basically, I think option B is kind of better because of the timeline and the cost. And if everyone's okay with it, we can maybe consider moving in that direction. There's a lot of fluff in there, right? It's much better to end with action, just saying, all right, let's move forward with option B. All right. And signal five, they use silence. This last one is, is a big one. Um, you'll notice how senior people are very comfortable with silence. They make their point and they just stop talking. I think silence is one of the strongest communication tools you can use. And, and I know for a fact that most people panic and fill it, but senior people don't. Now, I also want to acknowledge that silence is very cultural. In some cultures it means respect. Others means I disagree, and other me in other cultures might mean I respect you and I'm listening to you and I'm, I'm thinking this through. Uh, but regardless, it carries meaning. It might mean that you are not looking for approval. So if you're able to give your message and then pause, it gives your message weight and it signals definitely signals confidence. It also gives the listener time to absorb. And, and, and a great effect of silence is also that people engage instead of tuning out, I wanna be anti ramble. So once you've made your point, stop talking. Uh, sometimes I recommend count to two in your head and let people process what you just said. So. Many of the messages that we've, or many of the signals that we've covered in this episode are about brevity or conciseness, right? Keeping it short, but why, why does it work? Why does it feel so powerful? Well, it's, it's like a, I think it's like a cheat coat, right? When you're brief or concise, it shows you're clear in your own mind. If you can explain something fast and, and. Briefly, people often assume you understand it well. It also reduces friction. No one leaves thinking, I have no idea what they said, and instead they're like, okay, I got that. Awesome. They didn't waste my time. And it also makes you sound confident without trying, because short sentences feel intentional. They're hard. It, it does state practice. But once you're able to speak that way, you show that you're confident and, and that you own your message. So it's not so much about talking less in a way, yes, but it's not so much about that, but it's about making every sentence count. Now, the nuance we talked about how, uh. Cultures, uh, influence how you speak. We talked about silence, but also, uh, being brief, right? Not every culture sees brevity the same way. In places like the us, Germany, the Netherlands, brevity equals competence. People like to be, uh, brief and that signals you are competent and you're efficient in other parts, like in Japan or Korea. Sometimes it is true that brevity without explanation can feel rude. Um, and if you go to Spain, Mexico, Brazil, you want to add warmth and, and, you know, storytelling, they, they matter for sure. Maybe in India, people expect more relational context before getting to the point. Um, so the goal is not to be short at all costs. Right. Our goal here is to be clear and really give the amount of context that the room meets, right? So think of it like, I don't know, I like to say adjusting the seasoning. It's the same dish, but different spice levels. Um, I always say try to understand what the other person's looking for, what their benchmarks are, and not adjust accordingly. But regardless of where you are. Brevity, uh, is what most senior people around the world, um, use. When they deliver, they message their message. So what are three changes that you can make tomorrow based on this, right? If you try these in your next meeting, I promise you'll sound instantly more senior. One is start with your point, just one sentence. You can practice this before, uh, the actual meeting. Number two is cut the extra words, say the thing. And not pre-phase the thing number three, and with what happens next. I love this one, right? Because when you give direction, it signals authority. Um, I think these three alone will upgrade how people perceive you. And as we always say, if you do want to actually practice this, like with real coach or real scenarios, uh, that's where we can help. Uh, RA's coaches do this every day with global professionals who want to sound clearer. More confident, more senior in English and actually have an impact. So you can check out our coaching programs@uhtele.com and in the episode description. Alright, keep it short, keep it clear, and trust your message. That's it for today. See you in the next month. Thank you so much for listening to Tera Talks. This year, we have so much more for you. I'm committed to bringing you the best guests episodes and courses to help you take your career to the next level. Hit the subscribe button and keep learning. I.