There’s no better way to spend a lazy afternoon than with a jigsaw puzzle, sprawling the pieces out onto a big table and lining up the corner pieces.
People have different styles when assembling puzzles. Some sort pieces by colour, and others by shape. But I challenge you to complete the jigsaw without turning over the pieces to see them fully.
There are parallels here with working in and leading an organisation. Like the puzzle, if you can’t be seen, you cannot find your place in the scheme of things. More importantly, others don’t see your value either.
The Emperors and Leaders of Ancient Rome knew that.
Consider Julius Caesar, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius or Constantine the Great whose leadership shaped everything from engineering, architecture to our calendar and political systems. Their major focus was to ‘be seen’ by their people. Hence, their behaviours when delivering their message was critical.
Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin may have missed out on a few lessons during the November 2023 outage – an incident that brought the nation to a standstill.
When Bayer Rosmarin was questioned about addressing the public half a day after the outage occurred, she said that her role called for working alongside her team to investigate the outage.
False. Her role was to be the public face for Optus.
Maybe Bayer Rosmarin felt her priority was to be with the team. Perhaps, her decision was influenced by an aversion to face the public. It’s becoming evident that leaders and CEOs suffer from uncertainty and a lack of confidence in communication.
Instead, leaders and CEOs often rely on repetitive, pre-scripted messages delivered in a voice detached from the content. Think about the last time you were influenced by a leader’s words or presence. What made them compelling?
The essence lies in the age-old concept of ‘gravitas’.
We’ve lost our gravitas. We’ve forgotten how to speak well in public and communicate with excellence. Fortunately, we can build this confidence, trust, authority, and our own gravitas.
What is gravitas?
Gravitas originated in ancient Greece and Rome. It involved acting with sincerity and dignity by being temperate in manner and speech while carrying oneself with authority.
It was more than just about the spoken words. The ancients rehearsed their delivery. They infused their oratory with subtle cues, powerful pauses, and expansive gestures. They developed a voice that spoke with clarity and interest. It was about communicating to build trust and respect.
Gravitas can be broken down into five canons of rhetoric. These are: knowing your topic, the arrangement of your communication, the style with which you speak, the fact that you can have memory recall and, the delivery.
While modern education champions the first three, the importance of delivery and memory often gets overlooked.
I blame Aristotle.
He focused primarily on two canons: arrangement and style. His emphasis on logic in structuring arguments (arrangement) and using compelling language (style) became foundational in associating gravitas with these elements.
Fortunately, this oversight has been addressed by ancient Greek thinkers like Demosthenes and modern scholars like Mehrabian and Birtwistle. The great Greek orator Demosthenes once said that delivery is the first, second and third most important element in the art of oratory.
In other words, delivery was – and is – the single most important aspect of public speaking.
On delivery, Quintilian assures us:
“A poor speech accompanied by great delivery is better than a great speech accompanied by poor delivery.”
How do we rediscover our unique gravitas and a style of speaking that makes people sit up, listen, and trust?
To lead with gravitas, we need to refine our delivery skills.
It’s not just about the substance of our message but also about how we engage, persuade, and resonate with our audience through our delivery.
Delivery calls the human body and voice to the forefront with reinstating gestures, vocal tone, posture, and confidence – all the while, balancing authority and encouraging audience participation.
In a high-stakes environment of corporate leadership where all communication has far-reaching impacts, identifying the balance between content and delivery is essential.
The solution does not lie in mindset, it comes from action. The answers lie in skills used by the ancient Greeks and Romans who were devoted to gravitas.
Dr. Louise Mahler’s latest book, Gravitas: Timeless Skills to Communicate with Confidence and Build Trust is available now.
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