How to Improve Influence & Gravitas

By Anna Conrad

In leadership, having influence and gravitas is the difference between merely holding a title and leading others. Influence is about rallying others around an idea, while gravitas keeps people listening when you speak. This article explores practical insights and real-life examples to help you build your influence and gravitas.

Influence and Gravitas in Leadership

Gravitas is that intangible quality that commands respect, giving weight to your words and actions. Influence is the ability to move people towards a vision or action. While gravitas makes you compelling, influence is about connecting and persuading.

Rachel was a first-time executive at a tech firm. She had tremendous technical knowledge but worried others weren’t taking her ideas seriously. She was struggling to get buy-in for a new process. Rachel needed to find a balance between influence and gravitas. As we worked together, she discovered that influence starts with building connections, while gravitas requires showing confidence, certainty, and a sense of calm.

Ways to Create Gravitas and Influence

Align Your Body Language

Your presence speaks even before you say a word. Body language, posture, and eye contact are powerful components of influence and gravitas.

I began working with James, a CFO at a financial services company after his CEO told him he “needed to work on his executive presence.”  After observing James in several meetings, it became evident that his body language often undermined his message. James usually sat with his shoulders hunched and his hands fidgeting, making his statements appear hesitant.

James practiced power poses to build his gravitas, used a visualization technique to help him sit up straight, uncrossed his arms, and made deliberate eye contact. Gradually, people started perceiving him differently, and he began to feel more confident. His influence grew as his body language matched the strength of his words.

Speak with Intention and Clarity

It is true that what you say matters as a leader. However, how you say it can make or break your message. One of the quickest ways to diminish your influence is to speak without clarity.

Maria, a COO, had incredible technical expertise, but her presentations often fell flat.

Here are three of the things she practiced that improved her influence and gravitas:

1. Structuring her messages into three parts: the main point, two subpoints, and a reiteration of the main point.
2. Use of pauses that helped her command attention.
3. Elimination of filler words and qualifiers, such as “Like,” “I think,” and “I feel.”

After a few months, her presentations were clear, direct, and impactful. People started responding to her with more interest and enthusiasm.

Understand Emotional Intelligence and Empathy

People who understand and connect with others already have an essential element necessary for influence. Emotional intelligence means recognizing your emotions and those of others and using that awareness to strengthen relationships. Influence often begins with empathy—the ability to see things from another person’s perspective.

Aaron led a diverse team and struggled to gain their trust. His one-size-fits-all approach created disconnects. During our work, Aaron learned to adjust his communication style to meet the emotional needs of his team members. He began asking open-ended questions and actively listened, acknowledging perspectives even if he disagreed. This shift made his team feel heard, and they became more willing to follow his lead.

Develop Expertise Without Overwhelming Others

It’s easy to fall into the habit of overwhelming your audience when you have passion and knowledge.

Laura, a senior leader at a pharmaceutical company, often confused her audience by diving deep into data during presentations. We worked on simplifying her language and turning complex statistics into relatable stories. Her level of influence skyrocketed almost immediately as she became more accessible and influential when people could understand and relate to what she was saying.

Be Authentic and Vulnerable

Authenticity is a powerful connector, and connection lies at the heart of influence. Neil, a director at a consulting firm, used to believe that showing vulnerability was a sign of weakness. Neil always tried to appear stoic, even when his team needed to see his genuine emotions.

Neil started sharing his challenges and learned to view vulnerability as a bridge instead of a barrier when he didn’t have all the answers. Having the courage to be honest made Neil relatable, and people began to seek his advice and support more often.

Consistency

Consistency and reliability build trust, a critical component of gravitas. Leah had good intentions, but her credibility suffered because she often overpromised and underdelivered.

During coaching, Leah learned how to set realistic expectations and follow through. By keeping her commitments, people started to trust her work and leadership.

Seek Feedback and Adapt

Like all leadership skills, influence and gravitas require self-awareness. This is why it is critical to get feedback. David, a client in the healthcare sector, began holding quarterly feedback sessions with his team to get their honest input on his leadership style. I coached David on introducing this to his team as a “reverse mentoring” opportunity, which made the team feel comfortable offering constructive feedback. While it was initially challenging for David to hear some of the feedback, it opened his eyes to his blind spots.

Building gravitas and influence takes time, concerted effort, and practice. Use the techniques in this article to take small and deliberate steps. Influence will follow, and gravitas will naturally become part of your identity as a leader.