Communication and Authority
Written by: Kendra Wormald / Professional Communication / February 08, 2023 / 7 minutes read
Authority in communication can be seen in two ways, speaking with the quality of authority and speaking to an authoritative figure. Both focus on bolstering confidence and demonstrating clear, crisp and succinct communication. But how do we acquire these skills and put them into practice? Being authoritative isn’t a natural skill and requires intentional practice and time to develop.
Speaking WITH Authority
Recognize what you have to say is valuable. If you are having a hard time recognizing your communication strengths and don’t believe that you can take up space in conversation, it’ll likely show through what you say and how you say it. Consider investigating more about The Role Emotion Plays on Communication .
Authoritative not aggressive. Although there’s often a fine line between these two communication styles, you will likely receive a different response for each. Listen to others with an open perspective, acknowledge others’ viewpoints while ensuring you make your intentions and needs clear. What separates authoritative and aggressive communication is the presence of respect. Learn more about optimal communication styles in our Assertive Communication Masterclass
Be concise. Avoid filler words such as “umm, so, ya know, like”. This terminology demonstrates nervousness and disrupts the forward flow of communication. Get to your point while avoiding unnecessary information. Wordiness will lose your audience’s attention and may make you lose track of your main idea.
Use all avenues and resources available to you. Bring in tangible evidence to support your recommendations and perspective. Focus on how you move your body, do you appear ‘closed in’ with your arms crossed, looking down, hunched over? Your nonverbal communication can be just as impactful as verbal so it’s important to be mindful of posture, the stance and direction of your body and the use of appropriate hand gestures. Facial expressions are also impactful and may lead to a communication breakdown if not aligned with your verbal output. More on The Power Of Mindful Nonverbal Communication can be found here.
Be in tune with the quality of your voice and breath use. Evaluate the presence of glottal fry or whether you end your sentences in a higher pitch, coined ‘uptalk’. Is your volume consistent throughout your utterances? Do you feel out of breath or a tightness in your chest, shoulders or throat while you are speaking? Ensuring you take an appropriate deep supportive breath is crucial in ensuring a higher quality voice. Misuse of your voice apparatuses (throat and shoulder muscles, diaphragm, abdominal muscles and lungs), can possibly lead to voice disorders and decreased vocal performance. More on vocal disorders and how to prevent them can be found here.
Bring authenticity to authority. Often workers have the temptation to leave their character and uniqueness “at the door” when tuned into work. However, your unique qualities don’t make you less authoritative especially when used effectively.
“This environment [leaving your whole selves behind in the workspace] promotes lower levels of creative thinking, performance, and social connection. When we bring our whole selves to work, we bring our unique perspective and experience to our work, and can develop sustainable behaviors that help us thrive personally and professionally” (Kupferberg, 2021).
Practice. Practice. Practice. You’ve heard it before, but there’s truly nothing like practice. Try to make the practice more engaging by using a mirror, recording yourself or practicing with a partner or friend. Practicing a new skill like being authoritative means being clumsy and making mistakes initially, self-correcting, then trying again. So, practicing will help you move through these steps and show up at a higher level when ready to have these authoritative conversations.
Authority in communication can be seen in two ways, speaking with the quality of authority and speaking to an authoritative figure.
Speaking TO Authority
Be confident, even if you have to fake it a bit. There will be people in senior positions that are intimidating to speak with and no matter how hard you try you may still feel nervous, and that’s okay. Acknowledge your emotions and consider how they impact your thoughts and actions. Are you feeling nervous and thinking you don’t deserve to ask to take the lead on this project? If you are ruminating on these kinds of thoughts before and during the meeting, it is likely that you will speak quieter, stumble over your words, talk around the subject and use filler words. Now, if you recognize that you had the emotion of nervousness, and thought “even though I feel nervous, I have prepared for this presentation and have been focused on developing skills to take this position”, then you will likely walk in the meeting with maybe a more upright posture, crisp enunciation, control of your breath quantity and quality and be able to answer questions succinctly and with sound rationale. How you speak to yourself and about yourself matters. Consider including the practice of speaking positive affirmations each day, particularly before these kinds of interactions.
Use what you know about the authoritative figure to your advantage. Does this person enjoy small chat or likes to get to the point? Do they often give direct feedback or should you specifically request it? Do they like hearing everything you have to say then contributing or having a back and forth conversation? The better you can direct your communication style and content that is in line with this figure, the easier it will likely be for them to resonate with you and what you have to say.
Have a Plan. Preparing what to say and knowing your objectives will make you appear controlled, prepared and knowledgeable. How will you express these objectives? Do you need any visual/statistical support? How clear are you, are you sharing unnecessary information? Have you identified the common goal? Consider possible questions they may ask, or questions you have for them and don’t be afraid to set a specific timeline request for feedback or action.
Focus on what you can, leave the rest. If you approach conversations worrying about what they may think of you, you will likely have a hard time controlling feelings of anxiety, panic, building anticipation and negative hypotheticals. You won’t be able to reduce these emotions and fears because you have absolutely no control over the root cause. Bring your focus to the work you put behind a proposal, how much you researched to support a raise inquiry, and how exciting and positive the result/response could be. Also, focus on the person, not the authority. Just like you, these people will likely go home after work and partake in similar routines as you, they’re human too.
“Removing focus from the uncontrollable, and placing it on those elements you are in complete control of, allows you the opportunity to ground your physical presence, and connect with the passion and creativity that fuels your ideas” (Peck, 2017).
When it comes to using or speaking to authority, it’s important to focus on what’s in your power, prepare, optimize on your resources and skills, and be reflective and intentional with your thoughts and actions.
To speak with a psychotherapist or one of the speech-language pathologists at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, schedule an initial consultation by clicking the link below or calling (647) 795-5277.
