Charisma, a gift or power of leadership or authority

... Charisma plays a huge part in bringing success because it goes hand-in-hand with self-confidence, he says. But although it can be learnt, it can't be faked.

“Charisma is a thing that you either have it or you don't”

First, charisma is entirely subjective: one man’s Martin Luther King is another man’s Iain Duncan Smith.

Secondly, context is everything with charisma: Jack Welch pontificating on the subject of Six Sigma may have been a sight to behold within GE, but would be less impressive on a Friday night at the Wolverhampton branch of Nandos.

Thirdly, the line between charismatic and creepy is a fine one. If you tried to implement all of the aforementioned tips at a champagne reception – especially the “simple touching” and the smiling “through cheekbones” – you could probably clear out the room in seconds.

Source: The Times
Some discoveries ...

charisma is all about “integrity” and being “restless”

charismatic person has three traits:
- they feel emotions strongly,
- they induce these emotions in others,
- they themselves are immune to the influence of other charismatic people.

a major contributing factor to charisma is a broken childhood

your smile should be “pleasant but noncommittal” – it should make you “look like you have a wonderful secret that you will tell or not tell”

And here's some ways on
HOW TO BE MORE CHARISMATIC

General: Open body posture, hands away from face when talking, stand up straight, relax, hands apart with palms forwards or upwards

To an individual: Let people know they matter and you enjoy being around them, develop a genuine smile, nod when they talk, briefly touch them on the upper arm, and maintain eye contact

To a group: Be comfortable as leader, move around to appear enthusiastic, lean slightly forward and look at all parts of the group

Message: Move beyond status quo and make a difference, be controversial, new, simple to understand, counter-intuitive

Speech: Be clear, fluent, forceful and articulate, evoke imagery, use an upbeat tempo, occasionally slow for tension or emphasis

Source: Prof Richard Wiseman


A charismatic person has three attributes, says the professor:

* they feel emotions themselves quite strongly;
* they induce them in others;
* and they are impervious to the influences of other charismatic people.