Executive Presence in Writing: What Your Slack Messages Reveal

(Ep 330) The perception of how senior you are gets built in rooms you are not in, using text you wrote in about forty seconds. A skip level reads three of your Slack messages. A peer forwards your email two levels up and never mentions it. None of those people hear your voice, catch the warmth you would bring in person, or hold the context you were carrying when you typed it. In writing you do not control the tone. The reader does, and they supply it from their own mood, their own week, and whatever they already assume about you. Most managers have never treated this as a skill worth learning. Ramona makes the case that it is one, and that the closer comparison is a consultant learning to write executive briefs or a lawyer learning to draft, not anything you picked up in school. In Episode 330, Ramona covers: The Cold Read: how to read your own message the way someone scrolling on a phone with eight seconds of attention and no preloaded goodwill will read it Four phrases to delete from your writing starting this week, and the one swap that gets you a better answer What to do when someone uses a public channel to call you out, and why the long reply is a trap A two-word signal anyone on your team can drop to end a thread that is going sideways, without either person conceding If you have ever written a careful, considerate message and then watched the decision get made without you, this episode is for you. Resources mentioned in this episode The Executive Presence Intensive: eight weeks in small groups for mid-level and senior leaders. Next cohort starts September 28. Priya Parker on The Daily, The New York Times, late August, on how Slack did not just change how we talk at work but turbocharged conflict. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/22/ma... Stop Overexplaining at Work: The Three-Beat Answer Email contact@archova.org to talk about facilitating a written norms conversation with your team. Links Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits 1-on-1 Meeting Mastery Course: learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at archova.org/1on1-course The Confident & Competent New Manager: grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book on how to rapidly rise to success in your first leadership role. amzn.to/3TuOdcP Other episodes you might like Episode 329: Stop Overexplaining at Work: The Three-Beat Answer Episode 328: The Update Trap: Why Good Status Updates Cost You Authority What's next? Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven't left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw