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Upping your gravitas by silencing your inner critic and amplifying your inner coach
Key Takeaways
Gravitas makes all the difference in our working lives and personal relationships. It allows us to communicate with confidence, influence and authority.
People with gravitas speak in a low, resonant tone and listen fully. They are poised under pressure, confident in themselves and trust that who they are is enough. This makes us want to listen to them and act on what they say.
To project gravitas, we must cultivate inner confidence. That comes from silencing our inner critic (we all have one) and amplifying our inner coach.
It’s a lot easier to tune into our inner critic than to dial up our inner coach. Recognising that the nit-picky things we obsess about don’t really matter, and giving ourselves praise where it’s due, will improve our confidence and, in turn, boost gravitas.
Up with the coach, and down with the critic
First, shut your eyes and tune into your inner critic. Think about a time when you were under stress or a moment of pressure. Recognise when that negative voice creeps in.
Next, turn down the volume on that loud, negative voice. Remember: only you can control your inner critic, so you do have the power to dial it down.
Now, train it to say the right things. Instead of saying to yourself, “You’re going to mess this up again,” train your inner critic to say, “What if it actually did go well, and I really did have authority?” This will help you to refine and improve, turning your inner critic into your inner coach.