by Carrie Beckstrom, Chief Executive Officer, PowerSpeaking, Inc.

Last year I had the privilege of introducing a number of speakers at the Women in Tech World Series conferences. All the speakers were powerful. When it comes to courage, however, there was one woman who stood out above all the rest.

On day one of the 2023 European Women in Tech Conference, Janet Maldonado, Head of Engineering, Boehringer Ingelheim, stepped onto the stage to deliver her talk, “Disrupt or Be Disrupted: Embracing Change to Thrive in the New Frontiers of Technology.”

I’ve said over and over throughout my career that improving your communication skills is a lifetime journey. You can never refine them too much.

Because women are still fighting the headwinds of workplace inequality—and often, their own self-limiting behaviors—learning to recognize and communicate their value is crucial if they want to grow and advance.

I want to tell you a story about the importance of connecting as humans at the start of a meeting.

In May of 2022 our executive team gathered to talk about budgets. I was so deep in task mode when the meeting started, that I dove immediately into the topics at hand.

As more Fortune 500 companies issue sweeping edicts making a return to the office mandatory, I confess, I’m surprised—and disappointed. 

What is it that makes us decide it’s time to rethink our professional or personal goals? An unsatisfying job? A career that no longer feels “right”? A nagging sense that we’d like to contribute more to solving community—even global—issues?

The world is changing, and so are stakeholders’ expectations for communication from the C-suite. Today, employees, customers, and partners demand a new level of authenticity, transparency, and engagement from business leaders.

You’ve been asked to make a sales presentation to a potential international customer located in a country you’ve never visited.