이 에피소드에 관해
By: Teri Arvesú González
Have you ever walked out of a meeting wondering how a weaker idea got more support than yours?
Midway through my career, something clicked—and it changed how I prepared, positioned ideas, and showed up in rooms.
Up until then, I believed hard work was the answer. Stay late. Build the best deck. Know your material better than anyone else. Deliver it flawlessly.
I did all of that. I was disciplined, prepared, and convinced the work would speak for itself.
But I kept seeing something I couldn’t explain.
There were people who walked into meetings less prepared than I was—and still walked out with full alignment. No friction. No resistance. Just momentum.
I remember thinking: what am I missing?
Because I was doing everything “right.” Or at least everything I had been taught was right.
I grew up believing that if you work hard enough, things will fall into place. That merit and effort would speak for themselves. And to be fair, that mindset builds discipline and credibility.
But it doesn’t automatically build influence.
What I eventually realized was this: I had been optimizing for the wrong moment.
I thought the meeting was the moment that mattered most.
It wasn’t.
The meeting is where decisions are validated—not made.
The people I admired weren’t winning in the room. They had already done the work before they ever walked into it.
They had conversations early. Asked for input. Built trust before the meeting ever began.
So when the idea showed up in the room, it didn’t feel new.
It felt familiar. It felt shared.
And familiarity reduces resistance.
Because people support what they help create.
When someone sees their thinking reflected in a plan, they don’t resist it—they advocate for it. It becomes theirs. And most people don’t argue against their own ideas.
That was the shift for me.
I stopped obsessing over the presentation and started managing the environment the idea was entering.
Who needs to be aligned before I speak?Where are the pressure points?Who has influence in the room—and what matters to them?
I started testing ideas earlier, listening more, and aligning one-on-one before the meeting.
And suddenly, the same rooms felt completely different.
From Execution to Influence
If you want your ideas to land, the work starts before the meeting.
Map the room before you enter it. Understand who makes decisions, who influences them, and where resistance might come from.
Have early conversations. Share rough thinking. Ask for input before anything is finalized.
Make people feel part of the process. When they see themselves in the idea, they’re far more likely to support it.
Test your thinking in smaller settings so you’re not discovering objections for the first time in the room.
Walk in aligned—not hopeful.
If you’re relying on the meeting to convince people, you’re already behind.
Where High Performers Get Stuck
High performers often optimize for being right.
Strategic leaders optimize for alignment.
That’s the difference between effort and positioning.
Effort says: let me prove this works.Positioning says: let me make sure this lands.
Execution gets you in the room.
Strategy determines what happens inside it.
The Leadership Lesson
This idea isn’t new. The Art of War has been teaching it for centuries: win before the battle begins. Understand the terrain. Know your allies. Position yourself so the outcome is already in motion.
We just don’t always recognize that this applies to conference rooms too.
Alignment is built before the meeting—not during it.
A Simple Framework
Influence = Preparation + Positioning + Pre-Alignment
Preparation builds credibility.
Positioning creates leverage.
Pre-alignment creates momentum.
Miss one, and your idea struggles.
Have all three, and the room moves with you.
About the Author
Teri Arvesu is a media executive, strategist, and thought leader exploring the intersection of psychology, leadership, and modern communication. With more than 25 years of experience in journalism, content strategy, and media leadership, she has built and led high-performing newsrooms in major U.S. markets and developed cross-platform initiatives that reach millions of audiences.
Through her platform, The TAG Collab, Teri writes and speaks about the forces shaping how people think, communicate, and make decisions in a rapidly changing information environment. Her work blends insights from neuroscience, behavioral science, and media strategy to help individuals and organizations strengthen critical thinking, agency, and leadership in an era of rapid technological and cultural change.
Fornerly served as Senior Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainability at TelevisaUnivision and as President of the Univision Foundation, where she led initiatives focused on community engagement, education, and empowering audiences through information.
Her writing explores topics such as leadership psychology, media influence, cultural identity, and the cognitive frameworks that shape modern public discourse.
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