Story by May Busch
Editor's note: This story was featured in the winter 2025 issue of ASU Thrive.
Skill up
ASU’s CareerCatalyst offers several leadership courses, including “Leading Through Effective Communication.”
Whether you love meetings or hate them, they are golden opportunities to demonstrate your executive presence and build your brand as a high-potential performer.
Meetings are typically where your colleagues and senior managers spend the most time with you, which makes it an ideal setting for showing you can communicate like an executive. When they see you can operate at the next level, better opportunities will come your way as a result.
Whether you have recently been promoted to senior management or aspire to join the executive ranks someday, here are three strategies you can use to showcase your executive presence in your next meeting.
Have a view
One of my senior managers once told me, “May, you have to have a view.”
We had just left a meeting where I was briefing clients on interest rates. Since I didn’t know exactly where rates were headed, I didn’t say much. My manager explained, “Nobody knows for certain where interest rates are headed. You just need a view that you can explain. And you don’t have to be right all the time — no one is.” I learned a valuable lesson.
Having a perspective, even if it is not guaranteed to be correct, demonstrates confidence and leadership.
I am not advising that you make wild assumptions, but it is important you have an educated opinion that you can communicate with gravitas.
If you are not sure how to share your view, try an opening phrase like, “In my experience …” Or you could say something like, “Given the trend toward X it would make sense for us to try Y strategy.” Both options convey authority without being definitive.
Manage the airtime
Think of managing the airtime of a meeting as directing traffic. It is all about paying attention to who’s speaking and how much, then making subtle adjustments to foster a more productive conversation.
Keeping meetings efficient and focused shows that you are thinking about the bigger picture and respecting the people around you.
It starts with managing your own airtime. If you are speaking too much, your words will start to lose their weight. So, choose your moments where you are going to have the most impact. And then when you do speak up, be clear and succinct, and get to the point.
Then zoom out and observe the meeting overall. Are the naturally outgoing people in the room dominating the conversation?
When this happens, make it easier for others to engage by inviting people to share their thoughts and observations. If you don’t want to put anyone on the spot, you can ask, “What points of view have we not yet considered?”
Use only positive language
Back when I was a teenager, my father taught me a valuable lesson by challenging me to “use positive words only.” This advice has stuck with me ever since, and I encourage you to take on the challenge too.
Positive words make you sound more diplomatic and solution-oriented, key qualities of a respected executive.
Remember, leaders are problem-solvers, not complainers. And by using only positive words, you will find it impossible to complain. Better yet, your ideas will find more receptive ears and your influence will grow.
For example, instead of saying, “That idea is never going to work,” the positive-words-only version could be, “I wonder how that would support our team’s mission.”
Improve your presence at any career stage
Executive presence is not about having the right answers — it is about how you communicate your ideas, project confidence and demonstrate your leadership potential.
Working on these subtle but powerful communication strategies will help you show up as the leader you aspire to be in your next meeting.
About the author
May Busch, a former COO of Morgan Stanley Europe, is now an executive coach, speaker, advisor, author and executive-in-residence in ASU’s Office of the President.
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