Overview

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This course empowers professional women in leadership roles to communicate with greater clarity, confidence, and influence. You will begin by analyzing your own communication patterns to identify strengths and growth areas in leadership contexts, then explore research-backed strategies to overcome common barriers women face at work, such as being interrupted, having ideas overlooked or appropriated, and navigating bias in meetings and negotiations. Through practical frameworks, role plays, and reflective exercises, you will learn to demonstrate executive presence using voice, body language, and message framing tailored to different organizational audiences. You will practice designing and delivering high-impact messages that communicate expectations, priorities, and boundaries, and use strategic storytelling to articulate vision, build alignment, and mobilize support. The course also guides you in adapting your style to influence stakeholders across levels and cultures, advocating effectively for yourself and others in promotion and resource conversations, and leading difficult conversations using structured communication models. You will conclude by building a personalized communication development plan with clear goals, practice strategies, and metrics to support your continued growth as a leader.

Syllabus

Self-Awareness and Gender Dynamics in Leadership
- Start by grounding your leadership communication in clear self-awareness and an understanding of the gendered dynamics that shape workplace interactions. In this module learners will diagnose their habitual patterns, learn research-backed causes of common barriers, and practice immediate strategies to respond to interruptions, idea appropriation, and bias. Activities emphasize reflection and practical techniques you can use in your next meeting to influence outcomes more effectively.
Executive Presence: Voice, Body, and Framing
- Build a measurable, authentic executive presence through voice work, posture, and intentional message framing that fits your role and context. This module focuses on actionable verbal and non-verbal techniques that increase perceived credibility and clarity, plus how to craft concise messages that land across audiences. Learners will practice short, job-relevant exercises that they can apply immediately in presentations and informal conversations.
Strategic Influence, Storytelling, and Advocacy
- Translate presence and clarity into influence by using strategic storytelling and tailored approaches to persuade stakeholders. You’ll learn how to adapt your style across levels, functions, and cultures, and how to make clear, compelling asks for promotions, resources, and support. Practical frameworks guide you to structure stories and requests so they build alignment and mobilize action.
Leading Difficult Conversations and Growth Planning
- Move from single conversations to sustained growth: practice structured approaches for conflict and hard conversations, gather usable feedback, and design a personalized development plan. This module emphasizes repeatable models you can use to de-escalate, set boundaries, and negotiate outcomes with confidence, and shows how to turn feedback into measurable progress. By the end you’ll have a concrete plan with goals, practice strategies, and metrics to track your communication growth as a leader.