Ep 87: Why Your Ideas Aren’t Landing — And What to Do About It
If you’ve ever walked out of a meeting thinking, “I literally said that 20 minutes ago… why did it only land when someone else repeated it?”, this episode is for you.
In today’s conversation, Sonya breaks down one of the most overlooked elements of leadership presence: communication design — the bridge between how you naturally express yourself and how your audience actually processes information.
You’ll learn why capability isn’t your barrier, why confidence isn’t the real gap, and why even highly experienced leaders still feel unheard despite delivering results. Sonya explains the four primary communication processing channels (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, auditory-digital), how they influence perception in high-stakes rooms, and how to translate your message so it lands every time — without changing who you are.
This episode is essential listening for leaders transitioning from expert to executive, from execution to strategy, or anyone tired of feeling overlooked in meetings, boardrooms, and strategic presentations.
Key Takeaways
- The real gap isn’t your capability — it’s how you're being experienced.
Leaders often get dismissed because their delivery doesn’t match the way their audience processes information. - People absorb information through four channels:
- Visual: needs structure, mental imagery, “picture this”
- Auditory: tuned to tone, pacing, resonance
- Kinesthetic: needs to feel, notice, experience
- Auditory-Digital: needs logic, sequence, step-by-step reasoning
- You have a natural communication blueprint.
It can be precision, storytelling, emotional resonance, vision, simplicity, or real-time insight — and forcing yourself into someone else’s pattern creates disconnect. - The goal isn’t to change who you are.
It’s to translate your natural design into the channel your audience is prioritizing — especially in high-stakes moments. - When you don’t translate your message, you risk:
- being labeled too in the weeds
- being seen as not strategic enough
- getting overlooked in critical conversations
- walking out feeling unheard
Timestamps
00:00 — Why capability isn’t the gap
01:00 — The experience vs. delivery problem
02:00 — Visual communication vs. verbal communication
03:00 — The 4 communication processing channels
06:00 — Why mismatches cause brilliant ideas to fall flat
09:00 — Why “be more concise” advice fails
10:00 — Your natural communication blueprint
13:00 — Why the expert → executive transition feels uncomfortable
14:00 — How to translate your design into your audience’s channel
17:00 — What happens when the gap is unaddressed
18:00 — Why you’re making yourself smaller in meetings
19:00 — The real definition of leadership presence
20:00 — How to work with Sonya to map your communication design
Links & Resources
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