When some people talk everyone listens. Why is that?
Do they talk more loudly? Interrupt more? Talk for longer? Use longer words? No, quite the opposite.
What they have is gravitas.
That gravitas, plus the relationships they build, make them influential.
A client recently told me the meeting listened to her when she was giving a presentation, but that she was largely ignored during other meetings.
That’s why presentation training has a limited effect on gravitas.
We may not understand how important it is to be influential. Influence = effectiveness. Here’s why.
In order to make a difference to the bottom line, we need to have our work acted upon. Putting knowledge into the business won’t make any difference unless others act on it.
And that takes influence, not just good information.
And that is why gravitas makes us more effective.
Gravitas comprises 3 main skills:
- Positioning – what is your purpose and how that impacts others
- Communication – including listening, what you say and how you say it
- Behaviour – how you behave inside and outside of meetings.
All subject-experts don’t have gravitas, because that expertise is only a small part of what displays gravitas.
If you have subject expertise, don’t waste it. Help others act on it by becoming an expert with gravitas.
