Power often looks boring: on time, prepared, not easily rattled.

The dramatic version of strength is easy to picture and rare in practice. What actually gives somebody weight in a room is unexciting and cumulative. They turn up when they said they would, they have read the thing, they do not come apart when something goes wrong. None of that photographs well, and all of it is noticed.

Pick the least impressive of the three and do it reliably for a month. Be the person who is always on time, or always prepared. It is available to anybody, costs nothing but attention, and changes how a room treats you faster than talent does.