Cara wore a perfectly tailored cream-colored suit, with her left hand, she flipped her long blonde hair behind her left shoulder. The tennis bracelet she wore on her left wrist sparkled, and before she had said five words, she seemed to own the room. Everyone volunteered their attention to her. And she made it look effortless.

You’ve seen it before.
The leader who walks into a room and instantly owns it. They haven’t said a word yet—but somehow, everyone is paying attention.
What is that?

It’s not magic. It’s presence.
And if you're a leader like Cara—or aspiring to be one—you need it.

And you can learn it.

If you want to command the room, you must develop four essential skills in four major areas: Body Language, and the 3 P’s of Vocal Delivery—Pitch, Pace, and Pause.

1. Body Language: Own the Space Before You Say a Word

Your body talks before your voice ever does. And when you walk to the front of the room—or even just unmute on a Zoom call—people are already forming impressions.

What’s your posture?
Where are your hands?
Are you grounded and present—or jittery and checked out?

Try This:

• Stand with intent. Plant your feet shoulder-width apart. No swaying, no pacing. Stillness creates strength. When you do move, move with intent, no pacing like a Bengal tiger.
• Use open gestures. Palms visible, arms relaxed. Don’t cross your arms or put your hands in your pockets.
• Make eye contact. Not a glare, not a stare—just direct, confident connection. In a room, speak to one person at a time. Don’t scan the room trying to touch everyone. Lock in on one person at a time. When you’re online, look directly at the camera when you’re talking. Look at the screen when you’re listening.

Real-world example:
I once coached a senior VP who was delivering a high-stakes earnings call. When he first rehearsed, he stood with his legs stiff and symmetrical, and his arms folded across his body. We shifted him to an asymmetrical pose, one foot slightly in front of the other, hand open in front of him. The board’s feedback? “You looked like you owned the moment.”

2. Pitch: Vary Your Tone to Add Color and Clarity

Monotone kills momentum.
If every sentence sounds the same—flat, predictable—the audience doesn’t know what’s important. Pitch variation brings energy, emotion, and emphasis.

Pitch is how high or low your voice goes. Great speakers use pitch like a painter uses color. They dial it up to inspire. They drop it down to land a point.

Try This:

• Record yourself reading a paragraph two ways: flat vs. animated. Hear the difference? So does your audience.
• Raise your pitch when asking a question. Lower it slightly to emphasize a key insight.

Real-world example:
Watch a TED Talk by any top presenter. Nearly all of them use pitch intentionally. It’s part of what makes the message stick—and the speaker sound trustworthy.

3. Pace: Control the Tempo So They Can Follow

Too fast? You sound nervous or scattered.
Too slow? You sound unsure or unprepared.
Just right? You sound confident, composed, and compelling.

Pace is how quickly—or slowly—you speak. Leaders who command the room know how to vary their pace, not just to sound good, but to help their audience keep up.

Try This:

• Practice speaking around 150 words per minute. That’s usually a sweet spot for a lot of presenters.
• Use faster pace to build excitement. Use slower pace to let an idea sink in.
• Avoid filler words (um, uh, like) by pausing instead of rushing.

Real-world example:
During a workshop, a young team leader rushed through a brilliant idea in under 30 seconds. No one caught it. We coached her to slow down at key parts of her presentation, the material that mattered most. The next time she presented it, the room lit up. People heard her. Because this time, she let them. Confident speaking and presentation skills are learned skills.

4. Pause: Give the Audience a Moment to Think—and Feel

This might be the most powerful of all.

A well-placed pause does more than just give you a breath—it gives your message weight.

Think about it:
You don’t remember the last person who talked at you without stopping.
You remember the one who made you think. The one who gave the room just enough space to feel the message land.

Try This:

• Build a 2-second pause after a key point. Count “one one-thousand, two one-thousand” silently.
• Pause before you answer a question. It shows you’re thoughtful—not reactive.
• Use a pause before your close. That moment of silence adds gravity to your final words.

Real-world example:
A nonprofit CEO I worked with ended her speech with a 3-second pause before her call to action. It was simple. It was clean. It brought the room to stillness. And when she delivered her call to action, her ask, the audience pounced on it! And it was all because she set up her call to action with the power of the pause.

You Don’t Need to Be Perfect. You Need to Be Present.

Commanding the room isn’t about having a booming voice or flawless delivery.

It’s about showing up with presence, using your voice and your body to serve the message, and creating a space where people listen—and feel heard.

These four skills—body language, pitch, pace, and pause—aren’t gimmicks. They’re tools. Learn to use them, and you’ll transform every meeting, pitch, and presentation you give.

And that’s the power Cara had when she owned the room from the start of her presentation. She had extensive influence over her audience during and after the presentation.

🎯 Ready to take your skills to the next level?

Sign up for our online course, Presentation Transformation.
You'll learn the exact presentation strategies leaders use to connect with any audience—and how to make confident communication your everyday skill.