Gravitas Masterclass

In Roman society slaves were not seen or heard. They moved between the corridors between the walls of places like the Colosseum and did not walk into any of the rooms. They fed the fires and were deliberately hiding. They were not asked to speak and had no eye contact or gestures. If they were prompted to interact their engagement was muffled, complicated and indistinct. In today’s world they would be complaining that, "I never get asked to present." They miss out on opportunities and believe that their work should speaks for itself. After all, "Why should I get up and speak?"

Plebians needed few skills. The plebeian might have worked a fruit shop or provided goods. As a communicator they were part of a chorus. A chorus was a group of participants in the audience who provided ‘acclamations'. They responded to the speaker with claps, hums or short phrases. They had no individual voice. His gestures were more limited than the the Senator, his voice needed less volume and his eyes may have been out of control.

In today’s world plebeians are those in the audience. They would love to have the opportunity to speak but just haven’t learnt the skills.

Equestrians were bankers, miners, exporters and people who built roads.

They were very similar to aristocrats or nobles. They had control of the government and the majority of power in Rome. They could ride horses, because they needed them for transport, it meant that they had more height and therefore visibility and more status.

However as plebeians were often fighting them, they were often trying to influence downwards as well as to those who had greater authority. They struggled to get their message to feed up to the Senator and Emperor as they were being fought from below. They were middle management.

The Equestrian had a strong voice, but it may have tended to be aggressive and incongruent with its message and eye contact. His gestures and structure of his presentation were simple and repetitive. He needed pressure applied to his skills to elevate his gravitas.

The Senator had jurisdiction over religious, judicial, tax, war, peace, military, foreign policy. They controlled all areas, of public life. They made their message really clear, and listened to their audience. The Senators was today’s executives team.

They didn’t have ultimate power or the power that they would have liked. They were always having to battle with the patricians and it was a constant struggle and they sought political equality.

They might have the title, but they didn’t have the presence and charisma of the Emperor.

Emperors had total authority. They gestured boldly with congruent and well-understood gestures that became part of his set of patterns. He engaged with the audience and gave them direct eye contact. His presentation was structured and clear, moving the audience with pathos and showing immense knowledge.

The emperor’s voice carried and was strong. He knew how to reach his people and had total authority. He had strong self-belief, and people listened. They felt mastery an,d as a result, gained trust. They focused on keeping the right senators around them to continue creating influence and leading with conviction.