Maggie's Farm

It's not necessarily about being convincing. I also stress sincerity and honesty, without which authority has no meaning.

The point I was making when I made that quote is based on a simple premise I've learned from being in a sales role for over 26 years. That premise is that people who don't speak clearly or with authority are overlooked and marginalized.

I agree that it's unconvincing to just speak with authority and have nothing to back it up. But if you can't even do that, it won't matter how much experience you have - you're going to be marginalized.

In college, I had a friend getting a "Communications" degree. I used to gently rib him about how vague this was, probably useless as degrees go.

His reply took me off guard, and I attribute this to being well schooled in his specialty. It went something like this:
"I can use Communications to do whatever I choose. If need be, I can always sell. Because the key is I've learned to communicate, and part of communicating is learning what you are trying to communicate to others."

He was on the Debate team, and I noticed that he spent inordinate amounts of time reading and preparing for his 'tests' - which were almost all oral and written exams on a variety of topics.

He's a successful real estate developer now. Hurt by the crash, but not substantially.

Shortly after this conversation, I took a course on comparative politics, in which 3 personalities were discussed. Churchill, DeGaulle, and Mohatma Gandhi. All very different.
The one thing they all had in common - the ability to communicate effectively and with authority.