> you have to give it with authority and sound convincing.
I don't think there's anything special you have to do here. Dogs respond to rewards, not authority. To make a dog respond to your commands, he has to be trained to do so, using some kind of reward. Say "sit", he does the right thing, he gets a treat (or a hug, or to play, or whatever). Do this 50 times, and you have a dog that responds to the "sit" command.
No amount of gravitas in your voice is going to help him "sit" if he hasnt been trained.
I don't think there's anything special you have to do here. Dogs respond to rewards, not authority. To make a dog respond to your commands, he has to be trained to do so, using some kind of reward. Say "sit", he does the right thing, he gets a treat (or a hug, or to play, or whatever). Do this 50 times, and you have a dog that responds to the "sit" command.
No amount of gravitas in your voice is going to help him "sit" if he hasnt been trained.