Gravitas Masterclass In The Oval Office 🎓
How Mark Carney delivered a masterclass in composure, control & quiet power.
In the theatre of the Oval Office Mark Carney this week delivered a masterclass in composure, control and quiet power.
From the moment he entered, Carney was measured, deliberate and present. While many would have braced for confrontation, he found common ground. He deployed what F. Scott Fitzgerald famously described as the hallmark of a first-rate intelligence: "the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind and still retain the ability to function."
So what can we learn?
Stillness = Power
In theatre the rule is stillness is power - everyone else moves around power. Power can be still.
Something in Carney’s stillness demanded attention. As Carney spoke, Donald Trump leaned back—more than he typically does with European leaders. This wasn’t the usual dominance display. Trump was less performative, more observant.
Carney, meanwhile, kept his counsel. His gravitas came not from what he said, but from what he chose not to say. In diplomacy this speaks volumes. It says you are in control.
Agree to differ.
Carney understands that rapport (a state of mutual understanding, trust and connection or “being on the same wavelength”) can work for you even when you don’t agree with someone. If you are attentive, empathetic, respectful you create a resonant frequency which allows you to disagree harmoniously.
Carney created rapport by mirroring gesture and language patterns, even while staying very firm in his boundaries - literally and metaphorically.
Carney knew exactly when to mirror body language. At the Oval Office threshold, when Trump offered a fist bump, Carney mirrored it.
When Trump floated the provocative idea of Canada as the “51st state,” You could see Carney’s breath was held. But then, he executed a masterful rhetorical manoeuvre: the political “claptrap” technique.
By using a metaphor (real estate) really resonant for Trump and by then gaining agreement on two shared values, he laid a bridge toward the third, more contentious point:
“CARNEY: Well, if I may. As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale.
TRUMP: That’s true.
CARNEY: We’re sitting in one right now (the Oval Office). And you know, Buckingham Palace that you visited as well.
TRUMP: That’s true.
CARNEY: And having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign last several months, it’s not for sale. Won’t be for sale, ever. But the opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together. And we have done that in the past.”
With this clever layering of consensus Carney built bridges.
And even in disagreement he was able to mirror language. When Trump said “Never say never,” Carney echoed with: “Canada will never, never be for sale.” It was linguistic aikido, using the energy and making it yours.
And it worked. The real test of rapport is whether when you lead, do they follow. At one point, Carney raised his palms: “This is a bigger discussion.” And Trump mirrored the palms up gesture: “This is a very friendly conversation.” The body language confirmed their rapport, Carney led and Trump followed.
Know Your Audience/s
Carney’s eye contact was also carefully calibrated. When addressing Trump, his eyes signalled deference to the office. But he also broke the “fourth wall” (like an actor making eye contact with the audience deliberately) with brief glances to camera that reminded viewers: this conversation was as much for public decoding as private diplomacy.
What a relief to see that in a room often defined by theatrical bluster, Carney brought gravitas. He brought a pilot of the plane, calm and focus designed to reassure his audience in Canada.
This kind of leadership—measured, steady and quietly commanding—feels more valuable than ever.
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Have a great week.
Caroline. x
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