From Overthinking to On Point: A Reset for How You Speak Under Pressure
You know your stuff.
You’ve spent years building your expertise. In fact, you are a subject matter expert. You can explain your subject inside-out when there’s no pressure, like a face-to-face conversation with someone you know and trust. But the moment you step into a pivotal meeting, presentation, or unexpected question, something shifts inside you.
It’s not a knowledge problem. It’s the tension, the internal noise, the pressure of public speaking and the need to “get it right.” It is the uncertainty of how you’ll come across that derails your delivery.
You might overthink. Ramble. Go blank. Or hold back altogether.
Then you walk away thinking, “Why didn’t I say what I actually meant?”
You’re Not Alone - And You’re Not Broken
This is incredibly common among thoughtful professionals, especially those who care about getting things right and maintaining credibility.
But here’s what’s important: you don’t need to change who you are or learn to “perform” to fix this. What actually helps is learning to reset how you show up when the stakes are high so you can speak with more calm, clarity, and control.
Let’s break down the three shifts that make the biggest difference.
1. Clarity: Say What Matters
When pressure kicks in, your brain wants to cover everything, every risk, every detail, every angle. You think it’ll help you sound thorough. But more often, it creates overwhelm, for both you and your listener.
Take James, a capable project manager with deep technical knowledge. In high-level meetings, he used to rattle off everything he knew. You can imagine how this came across. But once he learned to step back and focus on the one thing that mattered most, his updates became sharper, more effective, and his confidence grew with them.
Reflection question:
When I speak, am I focused on what truly matters - or am I trying to cover everything to avoid being wrong or misunderstood?
2. Focus: Stay Present, Not in Your Head
Pressure disconnects you from the present and gets you trapped in your head. You start second-guessing your words, anticipating how others might respond, or replaying what you just said.
But presence brings power. It keeps you responsive instead of reactive. When you can stay grounded in this moment, you free yourself to speak with steadiness and intention.
Priya, a seasoned Insurance professional, knew her material inside out. But in team meetings, she often lost her thread mid-sentence because she was rehearsing or editing in real time. When she learned to use physical grounding cues, slowing her breath, softening her focus, she stayed connected, clear, and in control.
Reflection question:
What pulls me out of the present when I speak - and what helps me come back to it?
3. Trust: Let the Real You Come Through
Expertise isn’t always enough to inspire trust. What does? Presence, steadiness, and realness. People trust you more when you sound like you, not a polished version you’re trying to perform.
That means dropping the pressure to be perfect and showing up as the person who genuinely knows what they’re talking about. Not forceful, not flashy, just grounded and real.
Reflection question:
When I speak, am I trying to perform or prove something - or am I allowing myself to speak from what I already know and believe?
The Bottom Line
You already know what to say. The challenge is how to say it when the pressure is on.
If you’re someone who walks away from meetings thinking, “I didn’t show up the way I wanted to,” know this: clarity, focus, and trust aren’t personality traits. The good news is: they’re habits you can build.
And when you do? Speaking becomes less about surviving the moment and more about owning it.
You don’t need more information.
You need a reset, one that brings out the confident communicator you already are. Reach out if this is something you want to take on for your upcoming meetings, presentations or the conversations you’ve been avoiding for too long.