Promoted? PUBLIC SPEAKING - Now You Need to Present Like a Leader
You’ve worked hard, proven yourself, and secured that well-earned promotion. But now comes the real challenge—you’re expected to step up and speak up. Whether it's leading team meetings, pitching to clients, or presenting at industry events, your ability to communicate with clarity and confidence will shape your success in your new role.
For many professionals in Manchester, this sudden shift can be daunting. Maybe you’ve never had to present before, or perhaps you’ve managed to avoid speaking in front of a room full of colleagues. But as a leader, strong public speaking skills are no longer optional—they are essential.
So, how do you go from hesitant speaker to confident presenter? This guide will show you how to develop the mindset, structure, and delivery skills needed to engage any audience and make an impact in your new role.
Why Public Speaking Matters More After a Promotion
As you step into a leadership position, your words carry more weight. People will judge your ideas, authority, and credibility not just by what you say, but how you say it.
Common presentation scenarios that newly promoted professionals in Manchester face include:
Team Meetings: Leading discussions, setting direction, and motivating your team.
Client Presentations: Selling ideas, pitching services, and negotiating deals.
Industry Events: Representing your company at networking events and conferences.
Senior Leadership Briefings: Delivering reports and insights to directors or executives.
Each of these situations requires more than just knowledge. You need presence, confidence, and the ability to hold your audience’s attention. If you struggle with public speaking, you risk losing credibility and influence at a time when you need it most.
The Three Biggest Challenges of Presenting After a Promotion
1. Feeling Like an Imposter
"Am I really the right person to be leading this?"Many newly promoted professionals experience imposter syndrome—the fear that they don’t truly belong in their new role. This often translates into nervousness, self-doubt, and weak delivery.
2. Struggling to Hold Your Audience’s Attention
It’s not enough to just get through a presentation—you need to make people care. A monotone voice, too much jargon, or a lack of engagement can make even the most important message forgettable.
3. Structuring Your Message for Maximum Impact
New leaders often fall into one of two traps:
Overloading presentations with too much information (losing clarity)
Winging it without structure (losing credibility)
Without a clear framework, your audience will struggle to follow—and your message will get lost.
How to Speak with Confidence and Authority in Your New Role
1. Own the Room: Overcoming Nerves and Building Presence
Reframe Anxiety as Excitement
Nervous energy isn’t a weakness—it’s a sign that you care. The trick is to harness that energy rather than let it control you.
Quick Exercise:Before you speak, breathe in deeply for four seconds, hold for four, and exhale for six. This calms your nervous system and reduces shaky delivery.
Adopt a Confident Stance
Your body language speaks before you even open your mouth. Stand tall, grounded, and open—it instantly signals confidence to your audience (and your brain).
Try This: Before your next presentation, practice power posing for two minutes—feet shoulder-width apart, hands on hips. Research shows this boosts confidence and lowers stress.
2. Make People Listen: Engagement Strategies That Work
The secret to great speaking? It’s not about you—it’s about your audience.
Use Vocal Variety
A flat, monotone voice will lose your audience in seconds. Vary your tone, pace, and emphasis to keep people engaged.
Try This: Record yourself reading a passage aloud. Play it back and note where your voice drops into a dull monotone. Practice adding pauses, energy, and emphasis in key places.
Speak with Your Whole Body
Confident speakers don’t just use words—they use gestures and movement to reinforce their message.
Quick Fix:Use controlled, intentional gestures to emphasise key points. Avoid nervous fidgeting, but don’t freeze like a statue either.
Engage Your Audience Directly
Make eye contact with different people across the room.
Ask rhetorical or direct questions to pull listeners in.
Use real-world examples and stories instead of abstract concepts.
Example:Instead of saying, “We need to improve client retention,” say,“Imagine you’ve just bought a product, but no one follows up. How likely are you to stay loyal? That’s what our clients experience right now.”
Stories and examples make information stick.
3. Structure Your Message Like a Pro
A clear structure makes your message more persuasive and memorable.
The Rule of Three
People naturally remember things in threes. Organise your presentation around three key points to keep it focused and impactful.
Example:Instead of dumping everything into one long presentation, structure it like this:
What’s the problem? (The challenge we face)
Why does it matter? (The impact on the business/team)
What’s the solution? (The clear action we need to take)
Start Strong, End Stronger
First impressions matter. Avoid opening with boring statements like, “I’m here to talk about…” Instead, start with a question, statistic, or bold statement to grab attention.
And don’t just trail off at the end. Close with a strong takeaway—a clear message or action step your audience should remember.
Want to Level Up Your Public Speaking? Let’s Work Together
Public speaking is a career-defining skill. In a fast-paced city like Manchester, where competition is high and leadership is about presence as much as expertise, your ability to communicate can set you apart.
Personalised coaching is the fastest way to:✔ Identify and eliminate your speaking weaknesses✔ Develop a powerful presence that commands attention✔ Gain confidence in high-stakes speaking situations
Why Coaching?
Reading about public speaking is useful—but real improvement comes from practice and expert feedback.Coaching gives you:
Immediate, tailored advice to refine your delivery
Strategies to control nerves and project confidence
A step-by-step approach to structuring compelling presentations
Take the Next Step
Don’t let nerves or lack of structure hold you back in your new role. Book a free consultation today and start mastering workplace presentations with expert coaching.
Your promotion got you here—your public speaking skills will take you even further. Let’s make sure you own the room.
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