You're speaking up. That's the frustrating part. You prepare, you contribute, you make your point clearly. And somehow it still doesn't land. Someone talks over you. Your idea gets a lukewarm response. Then someone else says it five minutes later and suddenly it's the strategy.

And the advice you keep getting? Be more confident. Project your voice. Take up space. As if the problem is how you're delivering the message rather than who the room has decided to listen to.

This episode of Career Espresso is about what's really going on when your contributions keep getting overlooked and what actually helps when confidence was never the problem.

What you'll discover

• Why the "just be bolder" advice makes things worse when the room is already set up to hear certain voices over others
• What's behind that slow retreat from contributing - and why going quiet is a rational response, not a personality flaw
• The small timing shift that changes how people experience your presence in a meeting before the usual dynamics kick in
• Why one conversation before the meeting can do more than any amount of assertiveness in the moment
• What to do when you've tried everything and the problem is how the meeting runs, not how you show up in it

Perfect for women who are sick of being told to speak up louder when they've been speaking up all along.

Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.

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