Cultivating gravitas
While some lawyers and professionals just have gravitas, others struggle to find it, and a whole lot simply don’t realise they lack it.
Professionals who exude gravitas:
- speak with authority and have that authority accepted
- are quietly confident
- apparently naturally command
- are accorded high status in a room
- have others take notice of their views
- confidently operate at high levels within client organisations
- are widely regarded as having opinions with weight
- win clients’ confidence (and work).
If you don’t already have gravitas, there’s no magic pill you can take to gain it.
However, you can gradually cultivate gravitas and change from a professional perceived as lightweight or just one of many.
Work on these (many self-evident) elements which make up the gravitas mix:
- greet people warmly and confidently
- do your homework and go into meetings and other encounters properly prepared
- get body language, facial expression, and eye contact right and exude warmth
- think before you speak and always mean what you say
- modulate and lower your voice – a tougher call for women than men
- don’t make commitments or promises you aren’t going to deliver on – be ready to say “no” when necessary or “I don’t know” when something is outside your field
- know your limitations – don’t proffer advice or opinions on matters about which you are inexpert or ill-informed
- speak forthrightly when you have advice, expertise or valuable commentary to offer
- show courage when your well-founded position or opinion is unpopular
- control your anger and emotions
- be openly supportive of others’ good ideas
- always be dignified and unfailingly courteous
- show respect for other experts
- keep your ego in check.
No one of these items will work alone. But, do enough of these, in combination, for long enough and you’ll find that you will have gone a long way to cultivating gravitas.
For workshops and coaching to help you do better, please get in touch.
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