Deri Llewellyn-Davies

Boardroom Strategist and Creator of Ultra States Examining How Humans Actually Perform Under Pressure

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Deri Llewellyn-Davies Podcast Episodes

Speak Up: Develop Your Executive Presence & Leadership Communication Style

588: How Elite Athletes and Great Leaders Build Unshakable Executive Presence Through State Management

June 17, 2026

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About this episode

Know Your Own Executive Presence Strengths & Opportunities:

Click here to pinpoint the specific area in your executive presence that’s keeping you invisible to senior leadership and guarantees you stay working hard as a pack mule who never gets promoted.

Do you ever walk into an important meeting fully prepared—only to freeze, ramble, or fail to show up as your best self?

Most professionals assume executive presence is about confidence, communication skills, or charisma. But what if the real issue is your mental and physiological state?

In this eye-opening conversation, Deri Llewellyn-Davis shares the science behind his Ultra State Framework and explains why modern technology, constant distractions, and dopamine overload are preventing leaders from accessing flow, focus, connection, recovery, and peak performance when they need them most.

After listening, you'll discover:

😱Why your phone and daily habits may be sabotaging your executive presence and leadership performance.

🚀How to intentionally access flow, focus, connection, recovery, and peak states to perform at your highest level.

🧩Practical techniques for staying calm, confident, and influential—even when everyone else in the room is stressed or emotional.

Listen now to learn how mastering your state—not just your skills—can transform your leadership, performance, and executive presence.

To learn more visit www.speakupwithlaura.com. New Speak Up podcast episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning.

Advising over 330 boards and testing performance in extreme environments, Deri Llewellyn-Davies reframes executive presence as a state-selection issue rather than a motivation problem. His Ultra States framework helps leaders understand why clarity, listening, and authority disappear under pressure.

From very humble beginnings Deri has worked his way up through the corporate ranks, built over 20 companies of his own and firmly established himself as one of the leading experts on business strategy and extreme performance.

Despite being told by experts that he would never complete several of his physical feats he has proved that you can do the impossible … if you simply use the right strategies.

He has helped his business clients produce an incredible 860% faster growth than the UK average.

As an adventurer and extreme sportsman, he has climbed 6 of the 7 tallest mountains in the world including an infamous feat on Mount Everest. He also completed the toughest footrace on earth, The Marathon Des Sables… a gruelling challenge that can make even the toughest men crumble, and this is just a small part of his many feats.

In Speak Up communication and executive presence coaching, high performing leaders and executives learn to enhance their influence and confidence, refining their communication style to increase visibility and effectiveness in promotion opportunities.

By honing communication skills and fostering a trusted advisor mindset, aspiring executives cultivate mastery in public speaking and beat imposter syndrome. Your leadership becomes more strategic and inspiring.