How to Develop Gravitas: The Essential Skill for Today’s Working Professional
In today’s fast-paced, hyper-connected world, the ability to command attention, influence decisions, and inspire action is more valuable than ever. Whether you’re leading a meeting, delivering a presentation, hosting a social media live session, or engaging in a one-on-one conversation, possessing Gravitas can make all the difference.
What is Gravitas?
According to Caroline Goyder in her book Gravitas: Communicate with Confidence, Influence and Authority, gravitas is the ability to communicate with confidence, influence, and authority. It is not about having a dominant or charismatic presence. Rather, it’s about combining deep knowledge, clear purpose, genuine passion, and calmness to convey messages that resonate and persuade.
The Gravitas Equation
Goyder presents a straightforward formula for understanding and developing Gravitas:
Knowledge + Purpose + Passion – Anxiety = Gravitas
When we communicate knowledge with a clear purpose, fueled by passion, and manage our anxiety, we create a powerful presence that others find compelling.
The Seven Key Principles of Gravitas
Goyder outlines seven foundational principles that empower individuals to develop and maintain gravitas in various professional settings:
1. Know Yourself: Developing gravitas starts with self-awareness. Understand your strengths, values, and areas for improvement. Align your communication style with your true self, much like an actor studies a character to bring it to life. When you speak from your true essence, your words carry authenticity and conviction.
2. Teach People How to Treat You: The way you communicate—your tone, posture, gestures, and eye contact—teaches others how to treat you. When you project confidence and authority, people respond accordingly. Develop the skill of balancing warmth with firmness to command respect while remaining approachable.
3. Find Your Voice: Everyone has an authentic voice. Goyder encourages you to speak from your head (logic), heart (emotion), and gut (instinct) to find your true voice. Speaking from these areas produces communication that is genuine, clear, and powerful.
4. Speak So Others Listen: Effective communication is about delivering messages with clarity and impact. Whether speaking to an individual or a large audience, your words should be engaging and purposeful. Practicing deliberate pauses, modulation of tone, and proper pacing can enhance your delivery.
5. Win Hearts and Minds: The most compelling messages are those that blend logic and emotion. To influence others, appeal to both their intellect and their feelings. Structure your messages to address rational concerns while also appealing to the desires and emotions of your audience.
6. Keep an Open Mind and a Level Head: In high-pressure situations, calmness and composure are crucial. Gravitas requires resilience and the ability to remain grounded, even when under scrutiny or facing criticism. Techniques such as breathing exercises, mindfulness, and preparation can help maintain your poise.
7. Get Results: Ultimately, gravitas is measured by outcomes. It’s about channeling your energy and intention to achieve tangible results, whether that means persuading others, closing deals, or inspiring action. Every interaction should be purposeful and results-oriented.
Applying Gravitas to Modern Work Challenges
Developing Gravitas is not just a theoretical exercise; it’s a practical skill that can transform your professional presence. Here’s how you can apply it:
• Transformational Meetings: Rather than conducting dull, directionless meetings, lead discussions that inspire collaboration, innovation, and action. Demonstrate your Gravitas by being clear about your objectives, engaging participants, and maintaining control of the discussion.
• Impactful Social Media Content: When creating content, speak from your authentic voice. Ensure your messaging is purposeful and resonates with your audience’s needs. Use storytelling to communicate ideas compellingly.
• Dynamic Presentations: When presenting to a group, combine your head (logic), heart (emotion), and gut (instinct) to convey messages that motivate and influence. Practice your delivery until it feels natural and powerful.
• Purposeful Conversations: Whether in person or over the phone, every conversation should be guided by purpose and passion. Listen attentively, respond thoughtfully, and ensure your words are intentional.
The Missing Link in Professional Training
Surprisingly, Gravitas is a skill rarely taught in conventional training programs, yet it is essential for those who desire to thrive in today’s workplace. It’s the difference between being heard and being ignored, between leading effectively and merely managing.
Want to Develop Your Gravitas?
At Coach B and Stewards, we understand the importance of Gravitas and have designed training programs to help you develop it. Whether you’re looking to enhance your leadership presence, communicate more effectively in meetings, or create content that resonates on social media, we can help you build your Gravitas.
If you’re ready to elevate your influence and communication skills, reach out to us at CoachB.io. Our expert training will equip you with the tools and techniques to communicate with Gravitas—whether in the boardroom, on camera, or during everyday conversations.
Because Gravitas is more than just speaking with authority. It’s about speaking with purpose, passion, and presence.
The Untold Truth About Value: Why Even Excellence Can Be Ignored
Imagine you’re rushing through a busy subway station. Your mind is preoccupied with work, meetings, or errands. Amid the chaos, you hear a violin playing—beautiful, but faint beneath the noise of the crowd. You barely notice it.
Now, consider this: You just walked past one of the greatest violinists in the world playing a $3.5 million Stradivarius violin.
This isn’t a hypothetical situation. It’s a real experiment conducted by The Washington Post in 2007.
What Really Happened?
On a chilly January morning, Joshua Bell, a Grammy Award-winning violinist, stood disguised as a street performer at the L’Enfant Plaza subway station in Washington, D.C. He played six classical masterpieces for 43 minutes—including the hauntingly beautiful Bach’s “Chaconne”, considered one of the most challenging and exquisite pieces ever composed.
Normally, Bell earns thousands of dollars per minute playing in the most prestigious concert halls, where tickets can cost over $100 per seat. But in the subway?
• 1,097 people passed by.
• Only 7 people stopped to listen for more than a minute.
• 27 people tossed coins totaling $32.17.
• No applause. No recognition.
• Just one person recognized him.
Joshua Bell was playing his heart out, delivering world-class performance for free, yet almost nobody cared.
Why? The Hidden Lessons About Value
This experiment teaches us something shocking yet incredibly powerful:
Value placed before the wrong audience generates no value at all. Here are the deeper lessons:
1. Value Without Context Is Ignored: Bell’s talent and the Stradivarius violin didn’t change. What changed was the context. Excellence placed before the wrong audience is easily dismissed.
2. Presentation Matters: In a concert hall, Bell’s performance is a complete experience—ambiance, acoustics, prestige. In the subway, he was just another busker. Packaging your value is just as important as the value itself.
3. People Are Influenced By Context: How something is presented affects how it’s perceived. In the subway, Bell lacked the visual signals of prestige. People value things differently based on environment and expectation.
4. Even the Best Can Be Overlooked: The world’s most talented people are sometimes ignored because their gifts are not properly presented or aligned with the right audience. Excellence alone is not enough.
5. Your Audience Matters: The subway crowd wasn’t there for classical music. They were rushing to work. A poor match between value and audience means even brilliance can go unnoticed. Always match your message to the right audience.
6. Price vs. Value: Bell’s performance at the subway was free, but that same performance in a concert hall costs hundreds of dollars. What you charge is often determined by how and where you present your value.
7. The Power of Branding and Environment: Brands are built on experience and perception. Bell’s talent remained the same, but his brand did not resonate in a busy subway. Your environment and audience determine how your value is perceived.
8. Excellence Needs Positioning: Bell’s performance was brilliant, but brilliance without proper positioning and marketing is often wasted.
It’s not enough to have value. It must be strategically positioned and presented.
The Big Takeaway
Many of us are like Joshua Bell playing his Stradivarius violin to the wrong audience. We have gifts, talents, ideas, and value to offer. But if we don’t package, present, and position that value before the right people, it will go unappreciated and under-rewarded.
Your value matters. But your audience and your presentation matter just as much.
Instead of trying harder, try smarter. Find your audience. Present your value in the right context. Package it with excellence.
What do you think? Could it be that you’re simply playing your masterpiece before the wrong audience?