Communication Coach Lee Bonvissuto has been featured in Harvard Business Review and gave a TEDx talk on what it actually takes to help people feel seen, safe, and supported enough to speak up.
Over the past decade, Lee has coached executives, physicians, engineers, product leaders, and C-suite clients across industries through the exact moment their voice disappears under pressure, not by teaching them to perform confidence, but by helping them access the confidence they already have.
I was unable to speak, but only in certain settings.
I was confident doing the work itself. But the moment I had to talk about the work—especially to people in positions of authority—I'd lose my personality (and my train of thought).
I spent years thinking something was wrong with me. That I needed to fix myself.
Hi, I’m Lee Bonvissuto.
So I spent the last 10+ years collecting and developing tools to consolidate focus under pressure.
Pulling from my backgrounds in theater production and assisting a neuropschologist for over a decade, I created tools to work WITH my nervous system instead of fighting it. To use my empathy strategically instead of letting it scatter my attention.
But here's what I learned: My voice wasn't the problem. My focus was.
When my attention splintered between what I wanted to say, how I was being perceived, and whether I sounded professional enough—I lost access to everything I knew.
I wasn't broken. The rooms were set up to reward dominance over depth. And my empathy—the thing that made me great at my work—was being weaponized against me in high-stakes moments.
I call it Empathetic Presence, the alternative to traditional "executive presence" training that asks you to perform confidence and dominate rooms.
This isn't about becoming someone you're not. It's about accessing who you already are, even when your attention wants to splinter.
Watch my TEDx talk about this work
The Approach
Anti-oppressive, not aspirational
I'm not here to teach you how to fit into toxic systems.
I'm here to help you access your authority despite those systems.
Your speaking challenges aren't personal failings.
They're rational responses to hierarchical power structures that reward dominance over depth.
Structure, not scripts
Over-preparing perpetuates the problem.
I don’t tell you what to say or how to say it.
I give you frameworks to organize your thinking on the go—so you can adapt them for your voice, your situations, your expertise.
Together, we find your WHY. The Framework gives you the HOW. You bring the WHAT.
Presence, not perfection
You can't build speaking confidence in your head.
I put you on the spot in supportive spaces so you can strengthen the muscle of being yourself under pressure.
We strengthen it in supportive environments before you take it to your most important moments.
"I stopped over-preparing for presentations and everything feels easier now. This work is strengthening the muscle of being myself."
—VP in Financial Services
Who I Work With
You have deep subject matter expertise, wisdom, and you know how to lead (in your own way).
You want more authority, responsibility, influence—and to express yourself fully and freely in every room.
You've been told you need "more confidence" or "better executive presence." But dominant alpha workplaces make you feel like something's wrong with you.
Mid-career professionals at a fulcrum point:
You're transitioning:
From individual contributor → people leader
From execution → executive
From deferential to authority → creating the clarity and strategy
From thorough and detailed → concise and visionary
From forceful → magnetic
The unpredictability is the worst part.
You're confident with your team but lose your voice with executives. You're fine one-on-one but freeze in groups.
You never know which version of yourself will show up.
What changes when you do this work
94.3%
feel more confident speaking
92.5%
speak up more in meetings
89.6%
feel more at ease on video calls
89.9%
feel fewer nerves
From hundreds of PresentVoices client surveys over 13 years
"'How do I say more with less, whilst retaining empathy'. This became a question that was at the heart of my coaching journey with Lee. I now communicate with more intention and less noise."
— Mark, HR Leader
"My work with Lee has been life changing, as a result of our sessions together I feel more confident publicly speaking, poised to take on any conversation topic, and in touch with the inner strength that I bring to the table."
— Jamal, VP of Operations
"Within just a few weeks, my speaking nerves dramatically diminished and I felt more confident presenting to clients and speaking off the cuff."
— Alex Honeysett, CEO Human at the Helm
"This work was about committing to my own voice, being present in my life and preserving my ability to value my perspective while taking up space in the world. I learned how to ground myself and to be comfortable being seen by people."
— Director, Systems Improvement
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