PRISM Impact with Mari Geasair

08/08/2025

Recently, I met with a frustrated client. She sat across from me on Zoom, eyes bright but jaw tense, and voice flat and tired.
"Mari, I'm doing everything right on paper. Why am I still getting passed over?"
She had the wins. She had the trust of her peers. She could solve complex problems in her sleep.

But in those moments when the stakes jumped, such as big pitches, critical meetings, and media interviews, her impact slipped under the radar. She seemed to others like a worker-bee, not a leader, ready for the big opportunities.

What I knew was missing was Leadership (or Executive) Presence.
That mix of gravitas, clarity, and connection that makes people believe, deep in their bones, that you're the one to lead.

My client had tried to build her "poise" before, but she didn't really know what it meant or how to do it. So her results just flowed away- like trying to hold water in a pasta strainer. So she gave up and focused on "tangible" skills.

But, Presence and Posise are not nice-to-have skills. They are crucial. The Center for Talent Innovation found that more than a quarter of what it takes to get promoted is tied directly to executive presence. Deloitte's Global Leadership Trends shows that companies with leaders who have it enjoy 20 percent higher profitability. And MetrixGlobal discovered a 788 percent ROI from executive coaching, much of it fueled by improvements in presence, performance, and retention.

👉🏽This is why I am excited to invite you to the Alchemy of Influence. It's for female-identifying leaders who already possess the skills and experience, and who want to build the visible, undeniable Influence to match.

We work on the physical and the strategic at the same time. The way your voice lands in a room. The way your body signals poise under pressure. The way you organize your message so people remember it and repeat it.

We'll strip away those sneaky habits that signal "not ready" and replace them with behaviors that say, "I'm right where I belong."

Most importantly, we will help you stay genuine and authentic while also building habits that make people lean forward when you speak.

The work is not about being "on" all the time. It's about feeling grounded enough to show up fully yourself, and giving you the practical skills and training in building personal poise, managing people, and communicating with power that we often DON'T teach high performers. Somehow, being technically skilled is where we stop. But in Alchemy of Influence, we go farther.

The next Alchemy of Influence cohort begins in a few weeks, and applications are now open. It is a quine program with a small group, live sessions, and in-depth practice.

🎇🎇Learn more and apply here: https://www.more-impact-less-stress.com/alchemyofinfluence 🎇🎇

If you are a good fit, I would love to have you join us. Expertise is powerful, but presence can turn it into meaningful Influence.

08/04/2025

There is a missing conversation about AI. We can talk all we want about how to use AI better, if we SHOULD use AI for certain things, and how to recognize (for better or worse) if something is created by AI. All of them are worthy conversations, and they are all ones that make my brain itchy.

Because we are missing a different, BIG, conversation related to AI.

In the age of AI, how do we grow and protect our humanity? And what can we do to stop "optimizing" everything, and start connecting more?

Because, in case you missed the email, your team members’ brains are on fire. And if you are out of work, or a solopreneur without a team, your brain is doubly on fire.

Epidemic loneliness, a scary and divisive social-political landscape, layoffs, economic uncertainty, and bone-level burnout are challenging mental health and re-writing cultural norms for organizations and communities.

The distress is real, and I believe that mindset tools and productivity hacks are not enough to counteract what is happening.

✨✨But I am hopeful that there IS something that can make a tangible difference and do so quickly.✨✨

Playful community, and engaged community, can help put out the fires in our brains and help us work together to find better solutions.

Yes, we need all kinds of systematic changes, too, but we need to connect as humans more in order to be able to rethink and reimagine broken systems.

In a world where there WILL be more and more AI, we need to double down on PCI: People-Centered-Interactions.

We need to deepen our connections with our inner circle of loved ones, AND we also need to go out in the world and enhance our “2nd level” relationships: our relationships at work, at the coffee shop, at the gym. Everywhere we go.

🙋🏽‍♀️Because humans need humans. And humans need to feel that interacting with other humans can be fun and fruitful, not fraught and frustrating.

So if the weight of the world is on your shoulders, pay attention to the way you speak and listen, and try to make more respectful room for others. 🎈And, even more importantly, remember how to have fun with other people again. 🎈

Let’s stop seeking entertainment (usually digital entertainment) and start prioritizing interactive playfulness 🎇With Other People. 🎇The impact is powerful and well-documented.

I invite you to think about hosting a trivia night, do an office scavenger hunt, tell your barista a good joke, or think about hosting an improv-based playshop for your company (I can help you with that.)

🤣Just do something to prioritize play and fun connection.

It is a great way to use some of that time you are supposedly saving by offloading your tasks to AI.

(Video excerpt from In the Game: An Embodied Resilience and Emotional Awareness Improvisational Playshop. Hosted by Hope Tank, video produced by Costello Productions)

08/01/2025

Do you find yourself confused by those awkward moments when you keep getting the same question over and over in interviews or client conversations?

It happens, but it doesn't mean you are not sharing great insights and value. It may just be that you're just missing a beat. Or a "B".

When a question keeps coming back like a boomerang, it's often because your answer may be genuine and thoughtful, but it is missing one of three keys:

Benefit. Bite. Build.
🔹 Benefit – Make the final result of your idea or observation BLINDINGLY simple and obvious. Don't just talk about what you did in your last job or your process for supporting clients; talk about why it matters.
🔹 Bite – Make what you are saying easy to remember and easy to repeat. Trim the over-explaining. Give them a snackable soundbite they can remember and repeat.
🔹 Build – Make sure you are not accidentally closing the door on further exploration and connection. Give your conversation partner, client, or interviewer an easy opening to continue the conversation.

Sometimes, when someone is repeating a question, it is not because they don't understand the answer; it is because they need more FROM the answer to make it more useful.

This 3B Rule shifts the moment from awkward repetition to genuine connection.
And it puts you back in the driver's seat with clarity and poise.

Watch the video for more explanation and examples on how you can use the 3B rule to help you keep showing up with more presence in interviews or high-stakes conversations.

A repeated question doesn't mean you need to fog out or doubt your value; it just means you have an opportunity to explore a new level of skill and connection.

What do you think? Do you have a favorite "B."

07/31/2025

Ever had that moment when you found yourself uncomfortably speechless?

The potential client who questions your prices in a way that makes you feel disrespected? The person in a work meeting who shares a joke that’s just plain offensive? Or even when you yourself make a mistake or misstep and don’t know what to say to fix it?

If so, I invite you to my upcoming virtual workshop: What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say” you will learn a powerful but flexible four step framework to stay poised and powerful in tricky communication scenarios.

If you have a big job interview coming up, manage people, or work for yourself this workshop offers must have skills for your verbal toolbox.

The Live Learning webinar is pay what you can. Visit the link for details: https://www.more-impact-less-stress.com/offers/WAB9afpr/checkout

Author, speaker and course creator Mari Geasair helps motivated, high achieving subject matter experts and professionals to leverage the power of video and public speaking and create authentic impact with less stress.

05/30/2025

For fun and conversation... I am doing a "secret giveaway." The secret is what *exactly* I am giving away. Here is how to play…

You can get some ideas from the image in this post- and if you follow me on LI you probably have some ideas.

And that is where the fun comes in.

If I were (and I obviously am) creating something for you- what do you think it would be and what do you think would be included in it?

Or what do you *hope* would be included?

Two winners will get "it" for free. One with the answer that is closest to what I already am cooking up, and one with an answer that is most inspiring or intriquing to me.

Just leave a comment or DM me with your thoughts to be automatically entered into the secret giveaway!

I can't wait to hear what you think!

11/26/2024

Get Ready to Shine and Thrive in 2025

If it is time for you to step up and step out in the world in 2025, it may also be time to upgrade your confidence, presence, and communication skills. The more important the message, the more skill we need as a messenger to stay composed, authentic, and powerfully clear.

This is why I am happy to announce a new learning community for women leaders interested in developing the skills of Authentic Leadership Presence! You are invited to join the Prism Power Communication Cohort. And if you register before December 1st, you will receive my Gratitude Discount of $140.

The Prism Power Communication Cohort is a drop-in communications cohort. It is a membership program that allows high-impact professionals to join for a year and access twice-monthly learning meetings and a host of on-demand digital learning resources to be consumed at their own pace.

You can come to the meetings only occasionally or every time we meet. You can watch a single series of learning videos or treat yourself to a complete self-learning experience on a different communication topic each month. The choice is yours, and so is the opportunity to get practice, support, and practical tools so that the next time you say you are an excellent verbal communicator, you know you have the skills and practice to back it up with confidence and clarity!

Only 15 spots are currently available. Follow the link to grab your spot and get your discount!

08/10/2024

Before your next meeting or speech- take a moment to remember how you bake a cupcake! This is a simple technique that can significantly increase your audience engagement and how effectively they retain and remember your message. When it comes to leadership presence- the ORDER of what you say and when you say it is powerful.

07/10/2024

Most of my peeps don't do or view theatre in Wyoming. AND- I am still asking you to pitch in $5.00 to WYO Gives to support Relative Theatrics theatre. They are choosing amazing seasons and producing terrific work.

https://www.wyogives.org/p2p/382420/mari-geasair

And, like all theatres, they need our help to keep doing it and doing it well.

Particularly for those in my circles who are concerned about championing more women's voices and interesting female-identifying characters on the stage, you will want to support their work! They are producing powerful female playwrights and putting fascinating female characters center stage.

Please consider giving them a gift of $5 or $10. The Theatre Goddesses will smile down on you if you do!

https://www.wyogives.org/p2p/382420/mari-geasair

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