What If Executive Presence Isn't About How You Look?
Executive presence has become one of the most common pieces of feedback in leadership, but what does it actually mean? Elena Arecco Bridgmon argues that the answer may have less to do with how polished you appear and much more to do with how well you connect, build trust, and move people to action.
What Makes Someone a Presence-Based Leader?
On this episode of Hold The Room, Cara Truitt sits down with Elena Arecco Bridgmon, Co-Founder and COO of LUMO Leadership, executive coach, former corporate talent and operations leader, and mom to two teenage girls.
After roughly two decades working inside large organizations, Elena now helps leaders and organizations create the conditions for people to do their best work. Her work sits at the intersection of leadership development, organizational culture, working-parent sustainability, and the human skills that are becoming increasingly valuable in the age of AI.
Elena shares some of the leadership lessons that shaped her, including what she learned from her father about organization, curiosity, asking difficult questions, and leading without needing a formal title. She also explains how she learned to practice leadership outside her job description by volunteering for a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee, building relationships and influence without direct reports.
How Can Leaders Build Trust When They Don't Know the Answer?
One of the most practical moments in the conversation comes when Cara asks what leaders should do when they're holding a room and someone asks a question they can't answer.
Elena's advice is simple: own where you are. Leaders don't build trust by making something up or trying to "tap dance" around a question. They can say what they know, acknowledge what they don't know, and explain the path forward. Authenticity creates more trust than pretending to have every answer.
The conversation then moves into one of the biggest themes of the episode: how organizations can better support people through major transitions. From becoming a working parent to stepping into a major leadership role or navigating a merger, these moments can create friction when people don't have the right support systems. Elena explains how LUMO works with organizations through these human moments using coaching, training, and assessments.
Why Should Leaders Ask the Next-Level Question?
Cara and Elena also explore what it really means to create a workplace where people feel welcome to bring their whole selves.
Instead of stopping at "How are you?", Elena encourages leaders to ask the next question when something feels off. That deeper curiosity can create the kind of relationship where employees feel safe asking for support. And when leaders worry that asking a personal question means they'll have to fix the problem, Elena offers another powerful reframe: care without trying to carry it.
Is Executive Presence Actually Leadership Presence?
The conversation takes a particularly important turn when Cara and Elena question the phrase executive presence itself.
Elena argues for replacing it with leadership presence, a more tangible, behavior-based concept centered on authentic connection, empathy, trust, and the ability to motivate people toward action. Instead of focusing on whether someone looks or sounds like a traditional executive, leadership presence asks what kind of experience you're creating for the people around you.
Elena also shares a deeply personal experience from her early career at Bank of America, when she was told she didn't have enough executive presence despite being qualified for an internal role. When she asked for specific feedback about what she needed to change, she received none. That experience became part of her motivation to understand what executive presence really means and how leaders can develop influence through relationships, practice, speaking, and connection.
For leaders who have ever been told to "work on your executive presence" without being given meaningful feedback, this conversation offers a much more useful question: What specific behavior would you like me to change?
And Elena leaves listeners with one final reminder: how you show up sets the temperature for every room you're in. Cara adds her own version of that idea: be the thermostat, not the thermometer.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Leadership doesn't require direct reports: You can build leadership experience by taking initiative, volunteering, asking questions, and influencing people outside your formal job description.
Presence-based leadership starts with connection: Strong leadership presence comes from authenticity, empathy, trust, and the ability to motivate people toward meaningful action.
You don't need every answer to lead a room: Saying what you know, acknowledging what you don't know, and explaining the path forward can build more trust than pretending to be certain.
Ask the next-level question: Moving beyond surface-level workplace conversations can help leaders notice when employees need support.
Care without trying to carry it: Human-centered leadership means listening and showing genuine care without assuming you have to personally solve every problem.
Leadership presence is more useful than vague executive presence: Specific, observable behaviors give leaders something concrete to practice and improve.
Feedback should describe behavior: Instead of telling someone to "improve their executive presence," leaders should identify the specific behavior that needs to change.
Human connection matters during workplace transitions: Working parenthood, promotions, mergers, and other major transitions become easier when organizations provide meaningful support.
Your presence affects the room: Leaders influence the emotional temperature of meetings, teams, organizations, and even their homes through how they show up.
Be the thermostat, not the thermometer: Effective leaders don't simply react to the energy around them; they take responsibility for the environment they're helping create.
GUEST BIO
Elena Arecco Bridgmon is the Co-Founder and COO of LUMO Leadership, a human-centered leadership development firm that helps leaders and organizations create the conditions for people to do their best work. An executive coach and former corporate talent and operations leader, Elena spent roughly two decades inside large organizations before building LUMO.
GUEST LINKS
LUMO Leadership: https://lumoleadership.com/
Elena on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenaareccobridgmon/
LUMO Leadership on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lumoleadership/
HOST LINKS
Cara Truitt: https://www.artofyouretreats.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caratruitt/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caratruitt/
 
If this conversation changed the way you think about executive presence, subscribe to Hold The Room for more conversations about leadership, human connection, and the presence that creates real influence.

What If Your Online Presence Could Change Someone's Life?
Social media isn't just about followers, impressions, or going viral. The most meaningful digital influence can be what happens offline when your platform helps a person, business, or community take its next step.
How Can Social Media Create Real-World Impact?
On this episode of Hold The Room, Cara Truitt welcomes Meredith Dean, also known as @Merenator, a former journalist turned full-time travel and lifestyle content creator, digital strategist, community builder, and founder of The Dean's List.
Meredith has generated more than 260 million social media impressions and collaborated with brands and organizations including Google Travel, the Charlotte Hornets, Bumble, Marriott Hotels, YouTube Shorts, and others. She has also helped more than 500 clients strengthen their personal brands through social media coaching, digital strategy, career consulting, and storytelling.
But Meredith's work isn't really about chasing bigger numbers. Her focus is on using online visibility to create offline impact, especially for women-owned and minority-owned businesses and the communities around them.
What Does It Mean to Be a Person of Influence?
Meredith shares powerful examples of what can happen when someone uses their platform intentionally. One post helped bring attention and customers to a struggling local restaurant. Another video transformed a violinist's social media presence, taking him from roughly 2,000 followers to 200,000 followers in just two weeks and generating more than 20 million impressions.
But Cara and Meredith make an important distinction: you don't need millions of followers to have influence. Everyone has a circle of influence, and what matters is how intentionally you use your relationships, voice, ideas, and community to help other people create impact.
Why Does Offline Connection Still Matter in a Digital World?
Meredith talks about why she believes in-person relationships can matter even more than online visibility. That philosophy shows up throughout her work, including her involvement with a nonprofit supporting girls' schools, wells, and clinics in western Kenya. She describes seeing how community support can create lasting change and how digital storytelling can help bring more people into that work.
The conversation also explores Meredith's experience in journalism, interviewing major public figures, building an online community, and learning what makes someone feel truly present. She shares a memorable lesson from interviewing Larry King: the people who make the greatest impression are often the ones who are exactly the same person in real life as they are on camera. Authenticity can be felt.
How Can You Use Your Influence for Good?
Meredith opens up about a difficult moment that helped shape her platform. After a Women's March post went viral, she received thousands of hateful messages and even death threats. Rather than allowing that experience to silence her, she used it as motivation to lift up other women online and build a more supportive community.
Cara and Meredith ultimately return to one of the biggest questions of the episode: If we have the ability to create change and change a life, do we also have the responsibility to use our voice?
Meredith's answer is a powerful one. Your story and your words matter more than you realize. You don't have to wait until you have a massive platform to start creating impact. You can become a creator instead of simply a consumer, share what you've learned, support someone else's work, and use whatever influence you already have to make a difference.
Whether you're building a personal brand, growing a business, creating content, leading a community, or simply wondering how your own voice can make a difference, this conversation is a reminder that everyone has influence. The question is what you choose to do with it.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
How to turn social media influence into real-world impact by using your online presence to support people and businesses offline.
Why you don't need a massive following to have influence because every person has a community and circle of people they can affect.
How intentional content creation can help small businesses grow by connecting their stories with audiences who are ready to support them.
Why in-person relationships still matter in a digital world and can create the foundation for stronger online communities.
How to build an authentic personal brand by showing up online with the same personality, energy, and values you bring to real-life relationships.
Why creators should focus on impact instead of follower counts and measure success by the people and communities their work helps.
How one social media post can change a business's trajectory when the right story reaches the right audience at the right moment.
Why women supporting women creates powerful community influence both online and through real-world relationships.
How to turn negative experiences into positive influence by using difficult moments as motivation to support others.
Why your story deserves to be shared because your words, experiences, and perspective may help someone else change the course of their life.
GUEST BIO
Meredith Dean, aka @Merenator, is a former journalist turned travel and lifestyle content creator, digital strategist, and community builder. She is the Founder and CEO of The Dean's List, where she helps mission-driven entrepreneurs, public figures, women-owned businesses, and minority-owned businesses strengthen their digital brands and create meaningful impact.
Named one of Axios' 10 Most Influential Women in Charlotte, Meredith has generated more than 260 million social media impressions and has collaborated with organizations including Google Travel, the Charlotte Hornets, Bumble, Marriott Hotels, and YouTube Shorts.
Connect with Meredith
The Dean's List: https://www.thedeanslist.com/
LinkedIn: Meredith Dean on LinkedIn
Instagram: @Merenator on Instagram
Connect with Cara
Website: www.CaraTruitt.com
LinkedIn: Cara Truitt on LinkedIn
Instagram: Cara Truitt on Instagram
Join The Collective: www.caratruitt.com/podcast
Subscribe to Hold The Room for more conversations about influence, presence, community, and using your voice to create meaningful impact.

What if the most transformative thing you could offer someone isn't a service, but your presence?
In this episode of Hold the Room, Cara sits down with Emma Dixon Desmond, master barber, cosmetology educator, yoga instructor, Reiki practitioner, and founder of Space Dixon. With more than 13 years of experience behind the chair, Emma shares how she intentionally creates a space where people feel safe, seen, and accepted exactly as they are. From serving neurodivergent and LGBTQ+ clients to incorporating mindfulness, yoga, and Reiki into her work, Emma reveals how true connection begins with presence.
Together, Cara and Emma explore what it means to hold space for others, why creating a welcoming environment matters, and how small moments of attention can create lasting transformation. In this episode, you'll discover: Why "holding space" is more powerful than providing a service How presence becomes a daily practice, not a destination The importance of creating environments where people can show up authentically.
Whether you're a service provider, business owner, leader, parent, or simply someone looking to connect more deeply with others, this conversation offers a beautiful reminder that being fully present is one of the greatest gifts we can give. Come as you are. You might leave feeling more like yourself than ever before.
 
Connect with Emma:
Website: https://espacedixon.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/espacedixon/
 
Special mentions:
Wigs for Kids: https://www.wigsforkids.org/
Dress Code Project: https://www.dresscodeproject.com/
 
Connect with Cara:
Website: www.caratruitt.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caratruitt/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caratruitt/
Join the Collective: https://holdtheroom.circle.so/checkout/hold-the-room-collective
 
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Trust isn't built when everything is going well. It's built in the moments when your words, actions, and values have to align under pressure. Strategic communication starts long before a crisis arrives.
In this episode of Hold The Room, Cara Truitt welcomes Eleni Gates, founder of Gatehouse Communication Strategies and a communications expert who helps leaders and organizations strengthen trust through clear, credible messaging. Drawing from years of experience advising hospitality brands, nonprofits, executives, and thought leaders, Eleni shares practical strategies for building visibility without sacrificing authenticity.
The conversation explores why executive presence extends far beyond confidence or charisma. Instead, Eleni argues that presence begins with knowing your values, communicating intentionally, and creating genuine human connection in every interaction.
Why Do Core Values Matter in Public Relations?
Cara and Eleni discuss how clearly defined core values become the foundation for leadership messaging, media interviews, crisis communication, and brand positioning. They also unpack why listening often matters more than speaking, how preparation reduces panic, and why organizations should prioritize internal communication before making public statements.
Whether you're preparing for podcast interviews, keynote stages, television appearances, or leadership opportunities, this episode offers actionable advice for communicating with clarity while earning long-term trust.
Key Takeaways
How defining three core values creates more authentic leadership communication.
Why executive presence starts with intentional listening instead of talking.
How strategic communication builds trust before a crisis ever happens.
Why every media interview should begin with a clear message you can summarize in ten words or fewer.
How the power of the pause helps leaders avoid reactive communication mistakes.
Why crisis communication plans should reflect organizational values as much as logistics.
How internal communication strengthens company culture and public credibility.
Why media training helps founders and thought leaders stay focused under pressure.
How hospitality as a mindset improves leadership, client relationships, and brand trust.
Why authentic visibility comes from consistency between your values and your messaging.
Guest Bio
Eleni Gates is the founder of Gatehouse Communications Strategies, a strategic communications consultancy that helps brands and leaders build trust through clear, credible communication. With a background leading communications for nationally recognized hospitality and restaurant brands, she brings deep expertise in executive visibility, brand positioning, and leadership messaging. Eleni speaks frequently on the intersection of hospitality, communication, and human connection in leadership.
 
Connect with Eleni:
GatehouseComms.com
LinkedIn
Instagram
Connect with Cara
CaraTruitt.com
LinkedIn
Instagram
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What if the secret to being fully present isn't doing more—it's carrying less? For millions of leaders, caregivers, and parents balancing competing responsibilities, the answer may be learning which roles to hold tightly and which ones can wait.
In this episode of Hold The Room, Cara Truitt sits down with TEDx speaker, executive leader, nonprofit founder, and self-proclaimed "Sandwich Generation It Girl," Lanaire Malone, for an honest conversation about presence, leadership, and navigating life's busiest seasons without losing yourself.
As someone caring for both growing children and aging parents while leading professionally, Lanaire introduces her powerful framework of "Stop Stacking Capes. Start Switching Them." Rather than trying to carry every responsibility at once, she explains how intentionally shifting between your roles creates more peace, greater impact, and stronger relationships.
What Does It Mean to Truly Hold the Room?
Cara and Lanaire explore how genuine presence begins long before stepping onto a stage. They discuss preparing your heart before speaking, creating meaningful moments of connection, embracing authenticity over perfection, and why making one person feel seen can change an entire room.
The conversation also dives into executive presence, public speaking, self-compassion, asking for help, caregiving, leadership, emotional resilience, and building connection through intentional attention.
Whether you're leading a company, raising a family, caring for loved ones, or simply trying to show up more fully in your everyday life, this episode offers practical encouragement for carrying what matters most.
Why Do Small Moments of Connection Matter?
Some of the most meaningful leadership moments don't happen on stages or in boardrooms. They happen in everyday conversations when someone feels seen, heard, and genuinely valued. Lanaire reminds us that presence isn't measured by how many people we reach. It's measured by how deeply we connect with the person right in front of us.
Key Takeaways
Why "stop stacking capes and start switching them" helps prevent burnout while balancing multiple responsibilities.
How executive presence begins with being fully present before trying to be impressive.
Why caregivers and working parents benefit from identifying which responsibilities are "glass balls" and which are "rubber balls."
How choosing one person to intentionally connect with creates stronger leadership and greater trust.
Why authentic speakers prepare through private "mirror moments" before stepping onto public stages.
How asking for help strengthens leadership rather than diminishing credibility.
Why self-compassion creates the foundation for meaningful human connection.
How intentional micro moments of connection can transform workplace culture and personal relationships.
Why event hosts and speakers should focus on serving the audience rather than performing for them.
How presence allows leaders to make every interaction count.
Guest Bio
Lanaire Malone is a TEDx speaker, executive leader, founder, nonprofit advocate, and speaker who helps leaders and caregivers navigate life's in-between seasons with resilience, clarity, and purpose. Known for her engaging storytelling and practical leadership frameworks, she inspires audiences to lead with presence while balancing the many roles life demands.
Connect with Lanaire
LanaireSpeaks.com
Instagram
Facebook
Hurdles In Heels
Watch Lanaire's TEDx Talk
Connect with Cara
CaraTruitt.com
LinkedIn
Instagram
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The most powerful speaker in the room isn't the loudest or the most polished. It's the person who's fully present.
In a world that rewards performance, many leaders, speakers, and professionals spend years perfecting what they say while overlooking the one thing people remember most: genuine human connection.
What Makes Someone Truly Memorable?
On this episode of Hold The Room, Cara Truitt welcomes keynote speaker, speaking coach, and professional actor Brian Lafontaine for a conversation about the difference between performing for an audience and connecting with one person.
After more than 30 years in film, television, theater, and voiceover, with credits including Ozark, Stranger Things, Homeland, and Outer Banks, Brian discovered that the greatest lesson acting taught him wasn't about performance. It was about presence. Whether standing in front of a camera, leading a keynote, or speaking in a boardroom, the people who create lasting impact aren't trying to impress anyone. They're fully engaged with the human being in front of them.
Why Does Presence Matter More Than Performance?
Brian shares how an unexpected shift in his acting career led him into speaking coaching, where he realized the same skills that create compelling performances also create authentic leadership. The conversation explores fear, vulnerability, storytelling, self-awareness, presence, and why so many accomplished professionals still struggle to let themselves be fully seen.
Cara and Brian also discuss the courage it takes to stop chasing perfection, trust your own story, and embrace the idea that every conversation is an opportunity to create meaningful connection.
Whether you're leading meetings, giving presentations, stepping onto a stage, or simply hoping to communicate more authentically, this conversation is a reminder that your greatest strength isn't becoming someone else. It's becoming more fully yourself.
Key Takeaways
Why authentic presence creates stronger connections than polished performance.
Why vulnerability builds trust faster than perfection.
How actors use presence to create genuine emotional connection that every speaker can learn from.
Why storytelling becomes more powerful when rooted in personal truth.
How fear of being seen holds back leaders, speakers, and entrepreneurs.
Why public speaking starts long before you step onto a stage.
How listening deeply creates more influence than trying to sound impressive.
Why every person's story has the power to change someone's life.
How choosing connection over performance helps people remember not just what you said, but how you made them feel.
Guest Bio
Brian Lafontaine is a keynote speaker, speaking coach, and professional actor with more than 30 years of experience in film, television, theater, and voiceover. His credits include Ozark, Stranger Things, Homeland, and Outer Banks. Through his coaching and Speak Easy events, Brian helps founders, executives, and professionals communicate with authenticity, confidence, and genuine presence.
Connect with Brian
BrianLafontaine.com
LinkedIn
Instagram
SPEAK EASY
Connect with Cara
CaraTruitt.com
LinkedIn
Instagram
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How do you make people feel truly seen in a distracted world? Entrepreneur, philanthropist, and global leader Najam Usmani believes the answer isn't status or success. It's choosing service, leading with kindness, and creating one meaningful connection at a time.
Why Does Presence Matter More Than Performance?
On this episode of Hold The Room, Cara Truitt sits down with entrepreneur and global leader Najam Usmani to explore what creates authentic influence. From arriving in America alone at 19 years old to building relationships with presidents, senators, executives, and students, Najam shares the mindset that transformed his life: impact matters more than achievement.
His stories reinforce a powerful truth that echoes Cara's Choose The One philosophy. Presence isn't about commanding attention. It's about intentionally connecting with the person in front of you.
How Can Service Create Opportunity?
Najam explains why networking is really about generosity, why listening beats trying to impress people, and how acts of service create ripple effects that change lives. He shares lessons from launching Champ Camp, mentoring students from different backgrounds, and helping young people discover purpose before making life-changing career decisions.
The conversation also explores leadership, belonging, immigration, mentorship, executive presence, emotional intelligence, and why kindness remains a universal language across cultures and industries.
Whether you're a leader, entrepreneur, speaker, educator, or simply someone who wants deeper relationships, this episode offers practical wisdom for creating trust through intentional connection.
Key Takeaways
Why choosing one person to focus on creates stronger human connection than trying to impress a room.
How intentional listening builds executive presence and authentic leadership.
Why service-first networking creates opportunities that transactional networking never will.
How mentorship programs can accelerate career clarity for young professionals.
Why celebrating failure helps build resilience and long-term success.
How curiosity and compassion strengthen business relationships across industries.
Why intangible qualities like trust and goodwill remain competitive advantages in leadership.
How daily acts of kindness create meaningful influence that compounds over time.
Why daydreaming with purpose can shape long-term personal and professional growth.
How focusing on helping the people closest to you creates lasting community impact.
Guest Bio
Najam Usmani is an entrepreneur, global leader, activist, philanthropist and speaker heading Full Bright Ventures; and ISM consulting dealing in international commodities helping businesses formulate impact business plans and raise capital both domestically and internationally. Najam moved to the US from Pakistan alone at 19 to pursue the American dream and found success through struggle, eventually leading events for renowned US senators, governors, and presidential candidates. He believes your network is your net worth and believes in the philosophy that our legacy is ahead NOT behind us.
 
Connect with Najam
FullBrightVentures.com
TheNextFactor
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
LinkedIn
 
Connect with Cara
CaraTruitt.com
LinkedIn
Instagram
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