I Hate How I Sound, But I Know My Stuff

When Credentials on Paper Don’t Help You Feel Confident in a Room

You walk into the meeting.

You’ve reviewed your notes (twice), you know your content cold, and this topic is squarely in your zone of genius.

Then you start to speak.

And instantly, that tiny voice in your head starts in on you:

“Ugh. That didn’t come out right.”

Or worse:

“Why do I sound so awkward?”

You probably don’t hate your voice. (Or you might)

But what you really hate is how awkward you feel when speaking in public, like something isn’t syncing between your brain, your mouth, and the people in the room.

This is not an uncommon feeling.

The Disconnect Between What You Know and How You Express What You Know

Here’s the thing no one really talks about: You can be brilliant at what you do and still struggle to express yourself out loud.

Especially under pressure. Especially when the stakes are high.

Especially if you’re an introvert who prefers one-on-one conversations to group presentations.

Maybe you’ve reflected on how you speak and thought:

“I sound too formal: that’s not how I speak normally.”

“My tone was sharper than I meant it to be.”

“I keep overexplaining because I want to get it right.”

“That wasn’t what I meant to say at all.”

Here’s what’s happening:

You’re trying to be clear, prepared, professional, and in the midst of all that effort, your natural way of speaking gets lost.

Self-judgment, nerves, and vocal habits (maybe monotone or being overly intense) start running the show. Suddenly, the confident, intelligent person you are gets buried in the overthinking and over-editing in real time.

From Perfection to Connection

Let’s be clear: this isn’t a personality flaw.

It’s a skill gap, and more importantly, a mindset shift.

Here’s what we work on when you’re stuck in this space:

1. Stop chasing perfection. Start building connection

When you’re laser-focused on sounding right, you become disconnected from your audience. Your focus is on you, not on them. They don’t need perfection; they need human.

They want you to be Present, Clear and Thoughtful.

2. Explore the vocal habits that get in your way.

That slightly too-sharp tone? The fast talking? The overly formal tone? Those are learned behaviors, often developed over time to protect you from feeling uncomfortable. They can be removed and replaced with behaviors that better reflect your real self.

3. Build presence from the inside out.

We work to become aware of what’s going on under the surface. Do you have nervous energy? Are you feeling internal pressure, or self-doubt that leaks into your delivery? When you understand what’s going on and address these issues, you’ll feel more grounded and your voice, face, and posture will reflect it.

4. Practice in real-world situations.

As we go through the coaching engagement, you will employ your new habits each time you speak. You don’t put them all into action at once, but each time you focus on one (speaking more slowly, breathing more deeply, more warmth in your voice, etc.)

Gradually you will feel more connected to yourself, to your audience and to your message. And you’ll be able to maintain your composure, even when you’re on the spot.

🗣 Final Thought

You know your stuff. That’s not up for debate.

But if how you sound when you speak makes you cringe, it’s worth exploring why, figuring it out and fixing it so that you can sound more like you.

When you feel grounded and confident, you can be the best version of yourself: the person who leads with clarity and builds trust.

You don’t need to be perfect.

You just need the right support to bridge the gap between what you know, and how you express what you know.

📩 Ready to sound like the leader you actually are?

Book a Discovery Call or Explore Coaching Packages to get started.