ITN #6 - A step-by-step guide to charisma

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.

Lucky ones

But don't despair if you haven't got these qualities because you can learn them. Professor Wiseman estimates charisma is 50% innate and 50% trained. His tips include keeping an open body posture and communicating your ideas clearly.

Broadcaster and confidence tutor Jeremy Milnes agrees that techniques can make a huge transformation, and says nearly all the people he's worked with have improved. Key areas are listening, asking questions and not trying too hard to be the centre of attention.

"There are some people who are just lucky buggers and are just naturally charismatic, like Johnny Depp, David Bowie and Marilyn Monroe," he says. "But I honestly believe that these are techniques and skills which can be learnt and practised and can be made part of your own behaviour.

"I don't deny there's a bit of magic there, but these are things which can be worked on. They're not out of people's reach. You might not learn them all but you may be comfortable with some of them."


It's not about sex appeal....
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.

"Whatever skills and techniques you have are routed from your own personality, so you don't come across as fake or insincere. There's nothing worse than that."

Michael Mallows, an author and personal development coach, says whether the group he addresses is five, 50 or 500, he usually has their full attention within 10 minutes. Although he teaches people to keep their integrity and avoid over-selling themselves in interviews, it can happen.

"A lot of work I do is with people who did fabulous interviews but are then not up to the job," he says. "There could have been some rapport in the interview between you and one key person on the panel, but then in the job the people don't like your style and you can't understand why your natural charm isn't enough."

But recruitment consultants say charisma is not enough to con a good interviewer.

"Interviewing has progressed in recent years and competencies are used to find out what the person has done," says Alison Burgin of Badenoch & Clark. "This means getting down to specifics, so it doesn't matter how much you buy into a wonderful personality if there's no justification for taking that person on."

Coaching interviewees in personal skills enables them to overcome nerves and be more themselves, she says.

"Without coaching, a good person could be missed, but it won't make a bad person good."