But that’s not what most people will remember.
They’ll remember his certainty.
People may not know if an idea is good.
But they do know when a speaker is certain, it is.
Still body.
Measured cadence.
Pauses for impact.
A deep, grounded feeling tone.
Agree with him or not, this is what statesman-like communication looks like.
How does your voice make people feel?
There are voices we trust before we know why.
We feel a voice before we think about it.
Is this person calm? Rushed? Safe? Certain? Worth listening to?
Because we can’t see the voice, we dramatically underestimate how much it shapes trust and authority.
Here’s a short clip of Sam Elliott speaking as himself on the Off Camera show.
He’s not acting. He’s just talking.
Listen for a moment before analysing anything.
What do you notice?
For me, his voice feels:
There’s no push in it. No grasping. No need to impress.
The cadence is slow.
The pitch sits low and steady.
Even when he’s saying something ordinary, the voice itself communicates experience and ease.
It’s a reminder that we don’t just hear meaning – we feel it.
The poet Maya Angelou once said:
“People will never forget how you made them feel.”
Voice is one of the fastest ways we create that feeling.
Two executives can say the same sentence.
One creates calm and credibility.
The other creates tension – and often, neither can quite explain why.
Now here’s the uncomfortable question:
How does your voice make people feel?
And what if it’s not what you intend?
What if improving your vocal tone by just 5% made your ideas land more clearly, made people listen longer, or made your presence feel steadier under pressure?
One simple way to start noticing is something I often suggest to senior leaders.
For seven days, record a 50-second open–middle–close about your day.
Then listen back immediately – not to judge, just to hear what others hear.
Most people avoid this. Hearing your own voice is confronting.
But it’s also one of the fastest ways to discover the signal you’re sending before you ever say a word.
Because whether we realise it or not, people are always listening – not just to what we say, but to how it makes them feel.
How does this person make me feel – before I even process their words?
I just watched a superb 17-minute talk by investment banker Jim Donovan called
“Managing Client Relationships.”
Yes, the content is strong.
But what really stood out to me was how he communicates:
He’s deeply believable.
Not because he’s trying to persuade, but because he looks and sounds like he knows what he’s talking about.
If you watch the clip, try this simple exercise:
Don’t ask, “Do I agree with him?”
Ask, “How does he make me feel?”
Then pick one small thing you could borrow:
That’s how executive presence is built – one borrowed behaviour at a time.
Watch the clip here:
https://lnkd.in/guymZaG5