Speak Up: Develop Your Executive Presence & Leadership Communication Style

516: How Top Leaders Build Influence and Executive Presence Without Saying a Word—Yes, That’s a Thing

Jan 7, 2026

In this engaging discussion, Dre Baldwin, a performance coach and former pro basketball player, delves into the pivotal role of confidence in career advancement. He highlights how nonverbal cues, like posture and eye contact, can significantly influence first impressions. Dre emphasizes the importance of 'command presence,' noting that confidence stems from internal self-talk. He also shares methods to raise your performance standards and how leaders naturally command attention with their presence. Tune in for insights that could redefine your professional influence!

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INSIGHT

First Impressions Are Story-Making

People form a story about you within three to ten seconds based mainly on nonverbal cues.
Confidence multiplies your demonstrated competence in others' minds, reducing the need to repeatedly prove yourself.

ADVICE

Adopt Command Presence Habits

Adopt police-style 'command presence': tidy attire, upright posture, eye contact, torso facing people, and scan the room.
These nonverbal behaviors increase visibility and communicate authority without speaking.

ADVICE

Hide Your Phone To Boost Presence

Remove your phone from sight when in public or meetings to appear present and alert.
Staying visually engaged signals attention and preserves your presence in the room.

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To see if Laura’s Executive Presence Mastery System 90-day coaching intensive is right for you, set up a strategy call here.

Are you great at your job—but still locked outside the c-suite?

In this powerful episode with Dre Baldwin, you'll discover why confidence—not just competence—is the critical multiplier in career success. If you’re constantly being relied upon but not recognized or elevated, it may not be about your output... it might be about your presence.

Learn how people assess you in the first three seconds and how that moment shapes your career path—without a word being spoken.

By the end of today’s chat with performance coach Dre Baldwin you’ll know:

🔥The valuable concept of "command presence" and how to embody it instantly—even in high-stress situations

🎶How to shift from outstanding at execution to key strategic leader using nonverbal communication and mindset

🏆Dre’s framework for raising your performance floor so results and growth become inevitable

Play this episode now to upgrade how you’re perceived at work—and finally unlock the influence and advancement your performance deserves.

Like Dre said in the episode, confidence isn’t something you fake—it’s something you become.

That’s exactly why we created the Executive Presence Scorecard—to help you identify more specifically what’s missing in your presence, to help rebuild your confidence from the inside out. To get access to my executive Presence Scorecard (assessment) simply email me at hello@speakupwithlaura.com with “score” in the subject line.

ABOUT THIS WEEK’S GUEST:

Dre Baldwin is a former 9-year professional basketball player who's done 4 TEDxTalks on Discipline, Confidence, Mental Toughness & Personal Initiative. He's the author of 43 books, including The Third Day: The Decision That Separates The Pros From The Amateurs.

Dre has published over 8,000 videos to 142,000+ subscribers, his content being consumed over 103 million times. His daily Work On Your Game MasterClass has amassed over 3,000 episodes and more than 7.7 million downloads.

In just 5 years, Dre went from the end of his high school team's bench to a 9-year professional basketball career. He played in 8 countries including Lithuania, Germany, Montenegro, Slovakia and Germany.

Dre invented his Work On Your Game framework as a "roadmap in reverse" to help professionals with Mindset, Strategy, Systems & Accountability.

A Philadelphia native, Dre now lives in Miami.

In Speak Up communication training, teams and individuals learn to enhance their influence and confidence, refining their communication style to increase visibility and effectiveness in promotion opportunities.

By honing executive communication skills and fostering a trusted advisor mindset, aspiring executives cultivate mastery in public speaking and beat imposter syndrome.