Status reorganizes attention. People orient toward the person who can reward, punish, include, or elevate — even subtly.
You may notice pitch, interruption rates, who finishes sentences, who starts performing competence. These are field signals, not mind-reading.
Some of this is adaptive: groups coordinate around leadership. Some of it is anxiety wearing a polite smile.
Noticing the shift helps you choose: join the performance, hold your earlier point, or observe who becomes smaller and why.