People Are Born with Charisma.  Right? WRONG!

Article Date: June 19, 2006

Psychologists have learned that charisma is a learned characteristic.  Here's how it works, and how you can become more charismatic too!

Believe it or not, John F. Kennedy wasn't always charismatic.  As a boy, he was sickly, skinny and a bit shy.  Oprah spent her formative years surviving, not inspiring.  And FDR, while engaging, was not considered magnetic until later in life as well.

None of these people--whom most of us would deem "charismatic"--were born that way.  They developed their charisma, often by first conquering adversity, and then by applying some common characteristics we can all develop.

• Tests show that charismatic people listen more, and with greater intensity, than most people.
• That's why a reaction to people like, say, Bill Clinton is, "He made me feel like I was the only person in the room."
• Charismatic people often laugh more and smile more than most people.  (Laughing and smiling is absolutely contagious and lifts the feelings of everyone nearby.)
• Charismatic people are extremely passionate about their interests and beliefs.  Also--and this is important--they usually focus great energy on a few key ideas, knowing that passion, when focused, is nearly irresistible.

Remember this...

Charisma is not as much about being personally charismatic as it is about making other people feel charismatic about themselves!

Initially, when we encounter someone we might later say was charismatic, it is because he/she made us feel smarter, bigger, inspired, passionate... in other words:  better about ourselves.

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