Tannia Suárez - How International Leaders Build Executive Presence and Command the Room

This is the beyond the Story podcast, a show that goes way beyond the story. And now, Sebastian Ross. Tanya, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to talk with you. I'm excited that you're here. Thanks for taking some time out of your busy day to hang out with me for a few minutes. I know that we met at Summit at Sea. The thing about meeting people at Summit at Seas, you don't really know if you met them in person or not, or you connected in a WhatsApp group or an introduction or where, but somehow we landed in each other's dms and we're here for a. For a conversation. So I'm excited for that, and it's so great to be connected with you. It was a. Was a good time at sea for a few days with a bunch of incredible humans. Wasn't. Was so re. Energizing, just meeting so many different personalities, and I don't think I'll. I'll ever forget that experience. For sure. Yeah, I look forward to doing it again. I just. I. It could have been a. Like a day longer. Like one more day, actually. I got a cold the last day, so. Not this last time. One more day. And I know it's like one of those. I never get sick. I don't. And then I just. My throat was a little scratchy on Saturday morning, and I was like, well, let's get off the ship. Little coconut. Nothing a little coconut water and tequila won't help. And it did for a little bit. And then, you know, once you're down for the count, you're down for the count. I woke up on Sunday and I'm like, get me off this ship. So. But I got seasick on the second day, so I also wish maybe one more day to. I missed, like, half a day of programming from that, but I rallied once. Patches. Where. Where were you when it started to get. When you started to get seasick? The rest of the boat was great. Where my room was. Seem to be getting hit with waves, and I'm sensitive to seasickness, and I forgot my patches. So when I woke up, I was like, oh, the world is spinning. Yeah. And then it's hard to stop. You got to look at the horizon. I heard. I went to their sanctuary room. I'm like, help make me burn so I can fly far, far away in tears. I'm like, I think I need help. And they're like, yes, sweetie, you do. Come on. Oh, yeah. Did they give you something then to like. Yeah, they Gave me these patches. They helped me calm down, do some breathing exercises. So it was really helpful. Oh, cool. Yeah, you would think that's pretty good. My daughter. My daughter, motion sickness in the car. So similar thing, but we. We've been on a bunch of cruises and I think, no, what are the pills you take? Dramamine. There we go. I pump her up with a bunch of Dramamine and I'm like, you're good to go. I tried. I was be. I was beyond the Dramamine. Yeah, I bet. Well, I'm glad you get. They got you back in the game, so. Yeah, it was great. Well, Tanya, I love telling people stories on this show. I always. For some context for our listeners. I love going back to the beginning of the story. That's different for everybody. So you decide where the beginning is for you. But let's spend a few minutes, bring us back to the beginning of the story, where it all started and what really brought you to present day with. With what you're doing. I would say the beginning for me would be, first of all, I'm Mexican American. So I've grown up with non native English speakers my whole life. But it was in high school when I thought I wanted to go into journalism. I've always thought communications would be my path. But then with journalism, I, through my studies and research, found out that to go national at that time, you couldn't have an accent. And I was born and raised in New Orleans. And so I started. Yes, and it's a beautiful city. You've got that Southern Southern flavor. And flavor was not appreciated in national journalism. So I got really obsessed in accent reduction and really understanding phonetics. And so that led to studying communications at college. And I actually went into public relations and did like local New Orleans City council fell into education and then, which was for a language acquisition and esl. And then actually the next beginning would be I really wanted to be a digital nomad. So I told my wife, I'm like, if I can figure out how to make money on, like this crazy thing called the Internet, because it was kind of new back then. I was like, would you do it? She's like, yeah. So we sold everything. And the only thing I could figure out to do then with my skillset was to teach English online. That industry was just starting, but it was before Zoom, before Skype. So it was just audio Skype. Haven't heard that in more than a minute. Yes, Skype. That's how back, back it goes. And so that led to eight years of starting with a company and then realizing, oh, I want to do this on my own. And I kept getting adults in business like, oh, I love this. It takes me back to my business training, and then a few, like, maybe five years ago, pivoting into just working with executives. And that's where leadership communication came into play. And it has been just the best pivot of my life. So you help people speak better English. Yeah. So as a leadership communication coach for executives, they already speak English well enough to be in those positions. So typically I work with companies like Apple, aws, Google, so mostly tech executives, but I do other industries as well. Their English is good. They think their English is not good. Typically they'll come to me or companies will come to me saying, oh, the accent needs work, the English needs work. But the reason I'm so passionate about what I do is because the gap is not the English. It's the storytelling, processing, it's the confidence, it's the fluidity of thought. And so that's where I can come in, work my magic and really help unlock them so they can be the executive and the leader that they know they could be because they are in their own language and do that in English better. And how long you been doing this? Over 15 years. Wow. And where do a majority of your. Of your. Of your new business and new clients come from? Referral. I would say half referral, half through my podcast. And I have a big social media presence, so YouTube and Instagram. Love that, Love that. That's amazing. So. And you're based in dc, so you're no longer a digital nomad, or you are. No, we gave up the digital nomad life because of COVID So that. That cut that journey. And then we stayed in New Orleans for a bit, randomly came to dc, fell in love with it, moved here four years ago. But actually, my business is completely virtual. Right. Oh, D.C. is fantastic. I love it. It's giving me the opportunity to be more involved, take my communication and social media skills and work with politicians. And so that's been a nice addition to the work. Oh, lucky you. I do. I love it. Look, politics and comms and everything to do with it is. Is anything I can provide for clarity. That's my jam. Let's talk about the podcast. How'd that come about? So that came about with Spotify when they launched their Spotify for podcasters. I was too intimidated to try it before. I didn't have the technical expertise to do it how they used to have to do it. And when they launched their platform, it was so user friendly. They send it everywhere. I was like, okay, so I just started putting my YouTube videos as audio and it just had a really interesting reach. And then as I started doing more leadership content on the podcast, I mean, now it's listened to in over 120 countries. It's where I find most of my clients, or rather where they find me. And it's been, oh, it's been such a fascinating way to connect with people. Yeah, I bet. I mean, I'm kind of biased because I help people start podcasting. You're the podcast guy. Absolutely. But I firmly believe podcasts are amazing. Yes. I firmly believe that starting a podcast will. And that's a talk I often give, is how starting a podcast can radically change your life and your business if you let it. And you're, you're, you're a living example of, of that on the impact I'm sure it's made on you professionally and personally as well. Who do we get to become as a podcaster? And a better. Speaking of communication, there's not a better way to improve your communication than starting a podcast. Actually, I literally just posted a video this morning about that that said, you're already a good communicator. A podcast will make you a pro. Yeah. So time. The timing with that, that was. There was no association there, but that's just how it ended up happening. I had the communications expert on the podcast today and I had posted a clip about communicating this morning. So love when that happens. What's the worst part about your job? The worst part about my job, I would say as a solopreneur wearing so many hats. And the worst part is I think sometimes I'm a really toxic boss to myself. And so I have to like, okay, calm down. It's okay. I can't do everything all at once. And I'm very impatient when it comes to that. So I would say the patience for growth. Yeah. And being kind to myself through that growth. And how do you find yourself navigating through that? I've gotten really into breathwork. Oh, yeah. So breath work is something. Yes. Like, it's something I got into. It's amazing. And I actually got into it because I was doing research on breath work for my clients because it's part of linguistics, it's part of phonetics, and then falling into the rabbit hole and then realizing how helpful it is for anxiety. Helpful it is for lowering cortisol. And then I have a technique I do with my clients to that was born out of that where I Can recenter myself. And I feel like that helps me when I get a little in my perfectionist mode of like, okay, calm down. Good is good enough. Do the box Breathing. All of that has been really helpful. It really is. I mean, breathing is the first thing we do and the last thing we do in life. Morbid but great. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Good luck. But that's the last thing we forget. Yeah, we forget to do it on a daily basis or when life shows up. It can really help us navigate through, through. Through a bunch of stuff. What, what's the best part about what you do? The people I love, my clients and, and the further I get into my career, the further develop my business, the more I go through a screening process, through applications. You know, the beginning was rough. I'm also obviously a woman and queer and I would get misogynists and homophobes and. And that really was a struggle of how badly do I need the money? Put myself through that also, why would you hire me if you were that? But anyway, that's a separate journey. So now it's been wonderful to, to be. To curate my clients more so. And I'm, I'm. Oh, I'm just their biggest cheerleader. Even after we have the coaching, I love staying in touch, seeing them grow. It. They're just beautiful, brilliant human beings. So what we're in the middle of 2026. The time we're recording this, this, this episode. What are you excited about right now? What are you working on? What's the rest of 2026 look like for you? Actually, the podcast. So after Summit, I realized how much I enjoy the connection, but typically before would be episodes I kind of would either throw together, it wasn't as prioritized, or I would interview past clients. But I realized there were so many interesting people and so many more deep dive conversations I wanted to have. I'm like, let me record this. So this summer I'm recording a bunch of episodes of people I met at Summit and other leaders I've met throughout the way and just experimenting with the craft of podcasting, which I know you, you can appreciate, and the craft of interviewing and making that more conversational. And I just want to explore people's brains, but also I want the visibility. I want other non native English speakers who are professionals and executives to see themselves and to think, oh, I'm not alone. Or like, wow, look at what that person did. Even though the accent is really thick. And so that to me means a lot. Yeah, absolutely. Well, I guess that's so is that kind of like a, a milestone for the work that you do when you're like, I, when I, when I first get the client, this is how they're communicating. When I'm done with them, this is how they're communicating. And it's almost like, hey, video A and video B beginning and before, like a before and after. There we go. Is that how you're really gauging the success of the client, is how their communication is improved? That's an interesting question, because there are several facets I take a look at. I record all of our calls, so I'm always analyzing their growth and making sure that there's a fluency aspect to it. My best gauge is there are two things. One, when they tell me they've received a compliment or somebody told them, like, wow, you're so much better, like, what are you doing? And two, when they tell me I got on stage and it was like, I was just talking, like, no nerves, nothing. Or I spoke up at that meeting, you know, at the United nations, and I, I said what I wanted to say and I didn't overthink it. So those moments are the big, big breakthroughs for me that I gauge because, well, they're, they're arriving there so that they're, they're, they're seeing the progress that they're making on there. So I'm sure that that's, it's a win, win scenario. Because they're like, hey, wait a second. I wasn't doing this before and now I am. And you're like, well, that's what I'm here for. Well, yes and no. Which is interesting because the people that I work with are much like myself, very type A, very perfectionist. So they improve so much, but they're so ambitious. It's like, okay, I did this and now next and what next and what next? So to take them through the journey and to say, hey, this is the moment that you have wanted for 10, 20 years. Sit with it, enjoy it, and the growth will continue. But to create those moments of mindfulness so that they can. I mean, there's just something so special when you realize, wow, I'm not afraid anymore. Yeah, yeah, I'm not scared anymore. Reminds me of Kevin McAllister in Home Alone. I'm not scared anymore. Whenever he goes outside, I'm not scared anymore, you big horse's ass. Yeah, Kevin McAllister moment. That's what I love, the Kevin McAllister moment. Write that down. That's a good one. Right? So you're clearly living, as I often like to say, in your purpose, on purpose. And I love to see humans that are doing work out there doing work that matters. And there's a lot of us that are. But are deeply passionate about it. And. And when we're doing work like, this doesn't feel like work. Am I the only one that feel like, no? I love Mondays, for example. Like, Mondays, I'm like, yes, I get to get on calls again. So to me, that's the best sign. Fridays, I'm like, ooh, do I wanna stop? Do I wanna do something on Saturday or Sunday? So it's a privilege, for sure. Yeah. I always. You're. You're right about that. I always say every day's Friday if you're doing it right. Yes. I feel like every day for me, I try to start it like a Monday energy in a good way, and then end it in a Friday energy. So then it's not like I'm working towards the weekend. It's just every hour. Especially being a solopreneur, every hour is like, okay, I'm my marketing department this hour. I'm my finance department this hour. What hat do I have on? Right. Right. Yeah, it's always interesting. My boy Gary Vee says, if you're working for the weekend, your shit is broken. I know. And it's. And it's. And it's a habit. Even working virtually because I'm in such a structured city where everyone has, like, you know, very set hours, it's hard not to fall back into that. That, okay, Monday through Friday and then live on the weekend, I'm like, no, I can live every day. And I try to infuse that in my leaders too. I'm like, hey, no, no, no. You need to breathe and rest because when you're rested, you communicate better. When you communicate better, your company and your team has more clarity and everything runs smoother. But it comes from a place of rest and kindness. Yeah. Love that. Love that. Tanya, so great to get to know you. I appreciate your time being on the show, having this conversation. I really enjoyed it. Any final thoughts for our listeners? Be afraid and do it anyway, and eventually the fear will. Will subside. Do it anyway. Couldn't agree more with those final thoughts. Thanks. Thanks again, Tanya. I really appreciate your time. So stoked to know that I know you now and call you a friend next time I'm in D.C. we'll have to go grab some oysters over at Old Ebbets. Yes, please hit me up when you come here. And I'll do the same when I go to Miami. Frickin love old Abbott's Grill. I want to eat there every day. That place is fantastic. Oh, my gosh, I love it. That's how I feel about every restaurant in Miami. Like here, I'm like, okay, food scenes, good. But when I go to Miami, I'm like, yes, that's good Cuban food. And yeah, very, very peoplely here now. Very peoplely. Yeah, that's one way to describe it. Someone call it crowded. I call it people. Y. Hey, thanks again, Tanya. I'll see you soon. All right. Thank you so much. You got it. Until next time, friends, thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of the beyond the Story podcast. Be sure to appreciate appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. We sure do appreciate it. Signing off from the podcast launch lab.com studios. We'll talk to you next time.