Scientists claim to have found the secret to that magical quality, charisma, and they say it can be learnt. But before you enrol for classes, don't think it will get you the job of your dreams.
Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is deluded in believing that charisma, or being "well-liked" as he calls it, is more important than ability in making a person a success.
His philosophy is exposed as flawed but he did have half a point. After all, most of the greatest leaders in history possessed a star quality that drew others to them.
Churchill, Napoleon and Martin Luther King had a magnetism which is often easier to identify than it is to explain.
Until now.
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
Researchers say having an infectious personality induces others to copy your body language and facial expressions.
The study, led by British Professor Richard Wiseman, involved more than 200 people taking part in FameLab, a national competition to find the new "faces of science". The ones who scored highest in a questionnaire about how much they seem to transmit their emotions to others also progressed the furthest in the competition, when they used their personalities to impress a panel of judges.
"When you see someone else who has charisma, without realising it, you're mimicking their posture and their facial expressions," says Professor Wiseman, a psychologist. "An obvious example is when someone smiles at you and you smile back. And how you hold yourself influences your emotions."
You're unaware you're mimicking this person, although you know they make you feel happy, he says.
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.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4579681.stm
Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is deluded in believing that charisma, or being "well-liked" as he calls it, is more important than ability in making a person a success.
His philosophy is exposed as flawed but he did have half a point. After all, most of the greatest leaders in history possessed a star quality that drew others to them.
Churchill, Napoleon and Martin Luther King had a magnetism which is often easier to identify than it is to explain.
Until now.
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
Researchers say having an infectious personality induces others to copy your body language and facial expressions.
The study, led by British Professor Richard Wiseman, involved more than 200 people taking part in FameLab, a national competition to find the new "faces of science". The ones who scored highest in a questionnaire about how much they seem to transmit their emotions to others also progressed the furthest in the competition, when they used their personalities to impress a panel of judges.
"When you see someone else who has charisma, without realising it, you're mimicking their posture and their facial expressions," says Professor Wiseman, a psychologist. "An obvious example is when someone smiles at you and you smile back. And how you hold yourself influences your emotions."
You're unaware you're mimicking this person, although you know they make you feel happy, he says.
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.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4579681.stm