Reclaim your confidence from speaking anxiety.
Communication coaching to amplify your voice in every room.
"I wanted to 'uplevel' my communication. But the work was actually just trusting how I lead and innately communicate."
— Sales Leader
Does your mind go blank in meetings?
You know your stuff. You're confident with your team.
But in front of senior leaders or high-stakes moments:
You lose your train of thought
You can't think clearly under pressure
You freeze when put on the spot
The unpredictability is the worst part.
Want to understand why this is happening? Take this free (and fast) quiz to learn why your voice disappears in certain rooms:
Before important moments →
Over-preparing obsessively
Dreading it for days
Worrying you'll be "found out"
This might sound familiar...
Physically, you feel →
Shortness of breath
Heart racing or chest tightness
Brain fog
Voice shaking or speaking too fast
During the moment →
Mind goes blank
Can't think clearly
Freeze when asked questions
Train of thought disappears
After →
Replaying it for days
Blaming yourself
"Why does trying harder make it worse?"
→ If this resonates, you're not alone. And there's nothing wrong with you.
This isn't a communication problem. It's a focus issue.
You communicate perfectly when you're comfortable—with your team, with peers, in familiar settings.
But in certain rooms, your attention splits:
Half your brain tries to remember what you want to say
Half monitors: "Do I sound confident? Do they think I know my stuff?"
That split causes everything: the brain fog, the lost train of thought, the physical symptoms.
When your nervous system detects threat—not from the content, but from the status dynamics—it activates fight-or-flight.
The good news: Focus is a muscle you can strengthen.
You don't need to become someone else. You need structure to consolidate your attention when it wants to splinter.
Watch Lee’s TEDx talk about this work:
I’m Lee Bonvissuto.
I created this work because I needed it—and because I kept meeting brilliant people who were considering leaving careers they loved because of speaking anxiety.
I believe speaking anxiety is a rational response to hierarchical power structures—not a personal failing.
My approach is all about presence, not perfection. Because you're confident when you're comfortable.
AS SEEN IN
Why does this happen to you (and not everyone)?
If you're here, you're probably:
✓ Mid-career with deep expertise
✓ Empathetic and thoughtful
✓ Detail-oriented
✓ Conscientious
These are strengths. They make you excellent at your work.
“Lee personalizes the learning plan based on your unique skills and challenges and iterates to adapt as you grow.”
— UX Director Salesforce
But in hierarchical workplaces, they become liabilities:
Your empathy picks up every micro-signal → you absorb everyone's anxiety
Your detail-orientation makes you over-prepare → you can't access it under pressure
Your conscientiousness makes you deferential → you shrink around authority
This isn't impostor syndrome. You're not broken.
You're responding rationally to systems that reward dominance over depth.
→ The solution isn't to fix yourself. It's to build capacity to access who you already are—even when the room makes you want to disappear.
"Lee has helped numerous folks on the Warp team find their voice and become clearer, more confident communicators. Highly recommend working with them!”— CEO at Warp
“Lee helped me acknowledge the deeper issues underneath my speaking anxiety while also offering easy and actionable tips to speak with more confidence and clarity.”
— Susanna, Product Manager
This work is different:
It’s not about fixing you →
There's nothing wrong with you.
You're responding rationally to oppressive hierarchies and alpha-dominant cultures.
“I appreciate how you customize tools on the fly. Knowing which tools I should focus on first has been helpful in allowing me to continuously improve without the pressure of implementing them all at once.”
— Engineering Leader
It’s not about performing confidence →
You don't need to become someone else. You need structure to find yourself under pressure.
Combining proven frameworks with your unique voice for sustainable confidence.
“It’s really amazing how far I’ve come, how much growth there’s been and how different I feel from 3 months ago. I feel like I can talk to anyone now.”
— Project Manager
It’s not about memorizing scripts →
Over-preparation perpetuates the problem.
Learn how to organize your thoughts on the go and prepare the right amount (for both spontaneous and public speaking!)
“I stopped over-preparing for presentations and everything feels easier now. This work is strengthening the muscle of being myself."
— VP in Financial Services
Questions you might have…
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Not quite. Impostor syndrome is about believing you don't deserve to be in the room.
This is status anxiety—you know you deserve to be there, but hierarchical dynamics trigger your nervous system to shut down your voice.
The work is about consolidating focus when power dynamics want to scatter it.
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Yes. Whether you're neurodiverse or neurotypical, the issue is fragmented attention.
Anxiety and ADHD show up similarly. Both benefit from tools that consolidate focus in the present moment—which is what this framework does.
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Because over-preparation perpetuates the problem.
When you script everything and rehearse obsessively, you reinforce the belief that your natural voice isn't enough. Then when something goes off-script (which it always does), you can't access what you know.
The solution is structure without scripts—frameworks you can customize, not memorized talking points.
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This is unpredictable speaking anxiety.
Your nervous system responds to specific triggers: authority figures, high-stakes moments, group settings, evaluation contexts.
You communicate perfectly when comfortable because there's no threat. The work is building capacity to access your voice even when your nervous system activates.
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Traditional training teaches you WHAT to say and HOW to say it.
This work teaches you WHERE to put your attention so you can access what you already know.
It's about consolidating fragmented attention, regulating your nervous system, using empathy strategically, and trusting what you know in the moment—not memorizing scripts or "faking confidence."
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Public speaking anxiety isn't just nerves. It's often status anxiety. You're confident in your expertise, but around senior leaders or dominant personalities, you get quiet.
The physical symptoms are real: heart racing, chest tightness, difficulty breathing. Your body responds to the threat of dominance in the room.
The struggle isn't your voice. It's situational, systemic. You need personal, practical tools to help you regulate your nervous system and anchor your attention in the present moment.
Have more questions? Email me at Lee@presentvoices.com
Choose where to start
start with understanding
Free Confidence Assessment
Discover why your confidence disappears in certain rooms (and the specific tools that help your confidence style).
2-minute quiz • Instant results
learn the framework
The Empathetic Presence Framework
Get the complete 3-part framework (EMBODY → EXPERT → EMPATHY) you can customize for how you actually lead.
11-page PDF • Step-by-step tools
practice with support
Express Yourself Everywhere
8-week program with live practice sessions where you build the muscle of being yourself before high-stakes moments.
Group program • Unlimited weekly labs
work 1:1 with Lee
Private Coaching
Personalized thought partnership with custom frameworks for your specific situations, leadership style, and biggest moments.
3 or 6 months • Bi-weekly sessions
