Elaine Belson, LCSW, talks with Diane DiResta about self-authority, public speaking, and communication as a leadership skill in presentations, meetings, one-to-one conversations, and online. Drawing on her experience as a speaking coach and author of Knockout Presentations, Diane shares practical ways to reduce fear, build confidence through practice, and speak with greater presence.

• Why fear of humiliation can hold speakers back—and why it helps to have a plan for recovering from mistakes.
• How repetition, preparation, and feedback build confidence.
• Why a clear structure helps speakers avoid rambling and communicate with authority.
• How public speaking skills apply in everyday conversations, meetings, podcasts, and video.
• The importance of mindset, audience awareness, and aligning vocal, visual, and verbal communication.
• Speaking up in male-dominated environments, responding when an idea is overlooked, and adapting to an audience without losing authenticity.

00:22 - Diane’s freshman-year public speaking story
02:16 - Fear of humiliation and recovery strategies
03:13 - Turning nervous energy into confidence
04:09 - Building confidence through repetition and practice
05:18 - Preparation and delivery
06:04 - Public speaking as everyday communication
07:59 - How structure prevents rambling
10:07 - The mindset: “I have a right to be here”
12:11 - Imposter syndrome and overthinking others’ reactions
14:49 - Adapting to an audience while staying authentic
16:21 - Speaking in male-dominated fields
17:38 - Clear language instead of hedging or apologizing
20:54 - Emotions at work
23:08 - Shifting focus from self to service
24:03 - Situational speaking
28:43 - Timing, bias, and whether ideas land
30:51 - Reading audience body language
33:56 - Embracing mistakes
36:24 - Humor and grace under pressure
39:19 - Being yourself rather than a copy
40:06 - Matching your message to your audience
42:11 - Mindset and skill set
47:39 - Communication as a leadership skill

Diane DiResta, Certified Speaking Professional, is Founder and CEO of DiResta Communications, Inc., a New York City consultancy serving business leaders who deliver high-stakes presentations one-to-one, on stage, or virtually. She is the author of Knockout Presentations: How to Deliver Your Message with Power, Punch, and Pizzazz and has spoken on four continents.

Diane has been featured on CNN and quoted in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. ZoneofGenius.com named her to its list of Top 20 Speaker Coaches and Trainers. Thanks for the invite to come ealry, Her LinkedIn Learning course, Speaking Confidently and Effectively, ranked among the Top 20 Most Popular Courses for two consecutive years.

• Press: https://www.diresta.com/press
• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediresta
• Website: http://www.diresta.com
• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/dianediresta.com

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/elainebelsonlcsw
• Free Discovery Call: https://zcal.co/esbelsonlcswc/15min
• Website: https://www.TheSelfAuthorityCoach.com

Join Elaine for a LIVE event to learn how to “Speak Up with Courage & Authority” on October 20, 2026: https://liz-lopez.mykajabi.com/speak-up

What does it look like to lead without carrying everything yourself?

Elaine is joined by Dr. Stephanie Duguid, a Leadership Culture Strategist, keynote speaker, best-selling author, and host of Create Culture on Purpose: The Leadership Impact Podcast. With more than 30 years of experience in education and organizational leadership, including service as a dean and senior leader, Stephanie has guided teams through cultural transformation and organizational change.

Together, Elaine and Stephanie explore why so many women feel responsible for holding everything together, and how that pattern can lead to exhaustion and burnout. They discuss practical ways to set boundaries, navigate difficult conversations, communicate with empathy, and stop taking ownership of other people’s emotions.Stephanie also shares her simple framework for responding rather than reacting: +pause, notice, and choose.

This conversation is a reminder that leadership isn’t about doing it all. It’s about creating clarity, connection, consistency, and healthier cultures in the small moments.Through Do Good Leadership, Dr. Stephanie partners with organizations to strengthen communication, leadership alignment, and workplace culture so teams feel supported, connected, and motivated to thrive.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Setting boundaries without caring less
• Saying no and delegating with intention
• Having difficult conversations with clarity and empathy
• Building trust through communication, connection, and consistency
• Responding instead of reacting with “pause, notice, choose”
• Releasing the responsibility to solve everyone else’s problems
• Creating culture on purpose at work, at home, and in relationships

Connect with Dr. Stephanie Duguid
Website: https://www.drstephanieduguid.com/
Podcast: Create Culture on Purpose: The Leadership Impact Show https://www.drstephanieduguid.com/media
SKOOL Community: https://www.drstephanieduguid.com/skoolcommunity
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drstephanieduguid/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drstephanieduguid/
Books and resources: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0CNJB8TTK/allbooks?ccs_id=44ead1a5-fe13-48ad-936f-c5f25a1e1813Connect with Elaine
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/elainebelsonlcsw
Free Discovery Call: https://zcal.co/esbelsonlcswc/15min
Website: https://www.TheSelfAuthorityCoach.com

Claiming Power Without Losing Yourself with Olga Valadon

Elaine Belson, LCSW-C, talks with Olga Valadon about career transitions, self-advocacy, emotional intelligence, and how women can claim visibility without losing their values.Olga shares her move from financial services to professional services and the culture shift that made self-promotion feel uncomfortable.

She reflects on how a Stanford program helped her rethink power—not as something inherently negative, but as a tool leaders can use to support teams and help others advance. The conversation also explores people pleasing, perfectionism, the qualification trap, and small habits—like repeatedly apologizing—that can undermine authority.

Olga and Elaine discuss emotional fluency: naming and understanding emotions so leaders can respond thoughtfully, learn from feedback, and move forward after mistakes.

About Olga Valadon

Olga Valadon is a strategic advisor, executive education facilitator, and speaker with 30 years of experience in global financial and professional services. She has led teams and advised senior executives, including Boards of Directors. She is the founder of Change Aligned, a leadership advisory and development company that works with executive teams and senior leaders to improve strategy execution by harnessing emotions—the hidden driver of costs, speed, risk, and growth.

Website: https://www.olgavaladon.com/
Change Aligned: https://changealigned.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olgavaladon/

Timestamps

(00:31) Olga’s career transition
(02:08) Self-promotion and workplace culture
(05:14) Rethinking power and visibility
(09:21) Why self-advocacy can be difficult
(16:06) Using power for good
(21:22) Language habits and authority
(24:09) Perfectionism and the qualification trap
(31:21) Emotions as data
(37:32) Mistakes, learning, and self-judgment
(47:46) What emotional fluency means
(50:22) Feedback, posture, and language habits
(53:15) Testing assumptions and staying open to learning

Connect with Olga!

Website: https://www.olgavaladon.com/
Change Aligned: https://changealigned.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olgavaladon/

Connect with Elaine!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainebelsonlcsw
Free Discovery Call: https://zcal.co/esbelsonlcswc/15min
Website: https://www.TheSelfAuthorityCoach.com