Gravitas - What Is It?

I just ran into someone the other day that hadn’t ever heard the word gravitas. 

So I wanted to take a moment to ask you if you have heard of it and if you know what it is? 

5 Ways You Can Improve Your Gravitas

Wikipedia says “Gravitas was one of the ancient Roman virtues that denoted "seriousness". It is also translated variously as weight, dignity, and importance and connotes restraint and moral rigor. It also conveys a sense of responsibility and commitment to the task.”

First, let’s think about the positive outcome of having gravitas. After all, if you are going to work on it, it’s worth thinking about why having gravitas is beneficial. Let’s look at it without using the word gravitas and rather the benefits of it.

Which of these positives would benefit you?

1. Increasing your personal confidence – something we all need in our professional lives.

2. You’ll get people’s attention quicker and keep it.

3. You’re more likely to get the answer you want from your audience, whether that be a group or an individual.

4. You’ll feel happier in your work life as you spend time working on what you do and why (what you enjoy about it).

5. You’ll be more memorable and be the ‘go to’ person when someone needs an expert in your field.

We now know why you would want more gravitas but how do you get it? 

1. Listen and respond to others. When talking, if something comes up you are unsure about, be honest. 

2. Use your choice of words and tonality to win the attention of others.

3. Use body language to alternate between authority and approachability. 

4. Remember to pause. Not everything requires an immediate response and thinking about something before you speak is good.

5. Be willing to ask questions of others and listen intently to what they have to say. 

Start watching the gravitas of others and you’ll begin to see it in yourself as well.

Best,

Manal