Charisma is something non-founder CEOs are simply born with...or is it? Most people believe CEOs rise to the top of their fields because of some innate quality that makes people follow them. But Olivia Cabane argues that charisma is learned; some may pick it up more naturally, but with the right tools anyone can learn it. In The Charisma Myth, she describes how.
Through both verbal and non-verbal communications, charismatic people convey the message that they are worth listening to. Cabane claims to have deciphered this code, and breaks it down into three pieces, all of which can be discussed: presence, power and warmth.
A few techniques to whet your appetite on becoming more charismatic:
- Avoid excessive nodding when someone else is speaking
- Pause 2 seconds before answering
- Finish your sentences in a low/baritone voice
The book does more than offer what would have to be an extremely comprehensive, exhaustive list of physical behaviours required to convey charisma, however. Such a list would be difficult to memorize, and impossible for one's brain to co-ordinate in real life situations where brainpower demands are already high. Instead, the focus is on controlling one's state of mind. Recognizing that body language responds to what's in one's mind, different states of mind are required to convey different attributes.
It's also a quick read; so if you would benefit from an increase in charisma, the investment required to determine whether this book would help you is low.
2 comments:
Saj, the link redirects the reader not to Amazon, but to an article that argues an opposing view.
Thanks for the review.
Thanks, Juan. I did want to link to that article, just no there! Fixed
Post a Comment