8 Science-Based Ways You Can Increase Your Charisma

Charisma is the compelling attractiveness or charm in a person, which can inspire devotion in others. Whether you’re involved in sales, negotiation, or even just basic business interactions, people are naturally going to be attracted to the charismatic people. That can translate into more sales, better negotiations, and phenomenal relationships between your clients and your co-workers.

Most of us have a charismatic friend or a co-worker that everyone enjoys talking with. When this person speaks, people just sit there, hanging on to every word that’s spoken. Don’t we wish that we can be like that person?

So many of us don’t even try to be charismatic. We simply don’t believe that we can actually develop such a personality.

But what if you were told that you can be that person, and someone showed you how….

John Antonakis, Marika Fenley and Sue Liechti from University of Lausanne, performed a study where they tested whether they could train people to act more charismatically, and whether the changes would affect their performance. They designated 34 middle-level managers to a control or an experimental group. Then, three months later, they reevaluated the managers using their coworkers’ ratings.

They wrote: “The results of our studies suggest that charisma can be taught….These results have important industrial and educational implications because they demonstrate that charisma is learnable. The effects were significant, as are their practical consequences.”

If charisma can be taught, then shouldn’t we all be learning?

So here are some recommendations as to how you can develop charisma:

Verbal techniques:

• Metaphors – When you are relaying information and you’re trying to persuade someone, then try using metaphors to explain your idea. Metaphors are useful in stirring the other persons emotions and invoking meaning into what you’re talking about.
• Anecdotes – Use stories and anecdotes when speaking with others. It will help others easily understand what you’re saying and it will be easy for them to remember what you talked about.
• Empathy – When talking with another person, give them recognition by trying to understand and share their feelings, showing them that you care about them.
• Curiosity – When you’re speaking with someone, ask them to share their ideas, find out what their opinion is, and what their needs are. Even if you know the answers to all the questions that you’re asking them, be patient, hear them out, and help them feel comfortable to discuss their thoughts with you in the future.
• Feeling – Put yourself into what you’re doing. If you’re speaking with a team, make them feel like you are one of them by working alongside them and showing them that you believe in what they’re doing. Soon enough the leader will merely be seen as a representative of the team instead of as a superior officer handing out commands.
• Rhetoric – When giving a speech and even if you’re just talking with someone, use contrasts to bring out your point. Create mental lists in the other people’s minds by speaking out a specific number and then going through it one-by-one. It’ll give them a feeling of completion and a simple list in their minds eye. Also, try using rhetorical questions to get the other people to think about your points and create anticipation.

Non-Verbal techniques:

• Physical Appearance – Dress nicely, keep yourself well groomed, and always make sure that you look good. Dress to impress. People want to associate, talk, and connect with attractive people.
• Expression – Don’t sit at a meeting with a stone-cold face. Show others that you’re alive. Smile and use hand gestures when you speak. Also, try and maintain eye-contact when you’re speaking with others.

Use both the verbal and the non-verbal techniques techniques to develop your charisma and you’ll succeed in making the message you're portraying more memorable.

Through all of this, we can see that charisma plays an integral role in leadership and persuasion, and that we can actually develop a charismatic personality. Now, all that we need to do is make a move and begin developing our own charismatic personality.

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