Ignite Your Confidence with Karen Laos

7 Ways Women Give Away Their Power (and how to take it back)

Episode Notes

Are you giving away your power without even realizing it?

From downplaying your accomplishments to over-apologizing and saying yes when you really want to say no, seemingly small habits can quietly undermine your confidence, credibility, and influence.

In this episode of Ignite Your Confidence, Karen Laos reveals seven common ways women give away their power and, more importantly, how to take it back.

In this episode, you'll discover how to:

• Trust your own voice: Stop undervaluing yourself and speak up for what you want and need.
• Own your accomplishments: Promote yourself without feeling like you're bragging.
• Speak with conviction: Use your voice, pauses, and vocal variety to project confidence and credibility.
• Get to the point: Eliminate unnecessary details and communicate with greater impact.
• Stop minimizing yourself: Remove words like "just," "little," and unnecessary apologies.
• Own who you are: Stop letting others define you and stand confidently in your identity.
• Set boundaries without guilt: Learn to say no so you can say yes to what matters most.

The biggest takeaway? Your habits don't define you, and you have the power to change them.

Choose one habit to shift this week. Small changes in how you communicate can make a powerful difference in how you show up, how others experience you, and the opportunities you create.

It's time to stop giving away your power and start owning it!

Some resources for you:

Have you taken the Powerhouse Profile yet? It measures the distance between how capable you are and how capable you come across. Click HERE to take the assessment.
 

Get 3 Strategies to Speak Up in Meetings here.
 

My book “Trust Your Own Voice”: https://karenlaos.com/book/ 

Connect with me:

Website: https://www.karenlaos.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenlaosofficial 
 

Episodes also available on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEwQoTGdJX5eME0ccBKiKng/videos

About me:
Many years ago I found myself tongue-tied in a boardroom, my colleagues and executives staring at me. My stomach in my throat, I was unable to get the words out (in spite of being in a senior leadership role). 

Then, I heard my boss shut down the meeting. My heart sank. I was mortified. She pulled me aside and said, "You didn't trust your gut. You could've tabled the meeting like I did."

Why didn’t that option occur to me in the moment? Why did I feel like I needed permission?

That was the day I set out to change. I began a journey of personal growth to discover the root of the problem. Once I did, I wanted every woman to experience that same freedom.

I’m now on a mission to silence self-doubt in 10 million women in 10 years by giving them simple strategies to speak up and ask for what they want in the boardroom and beyond, resulting in more clients, job promotions, and negotiation wins.

Companies like NASA, Netflix, Google, and Sephora have been propelled toward more effective communication skills through my signature framework, The Confidence Cocktail™.

This is your invitation to step into your most confident self so you can catapult your career!