What charisma. What is charisma and what does it give us?

What is charisma and male charisma in particular? These words themselves hypnotize, enchant, and draw in the subconscious an image of a person with a certain gait, demeanor, unusual voice, and gaze. Women dream of meeting a charismatic man, and the stronger sex themselves want to become one. The most interesting thing is that there is no clearly defined definition of what a charismatic man looks like. Everyone puts their own ideas, experience, etc. into this concept. However, let’s still try to determine what kind of man can be called charismatic, consider some examples of such personalities and learn how to become a person who literally attracts you.

Charisma - what is it?

In the scientific community there are not one or two definitions of this concept, but more than 60! This is why we talk about ambiguity and breadth. The very concept of “charisma” appeared in Ancient Greece and it means “gift”. This is the usual meaning of the word “charismatic.” A man who can be described in this way has magnetism. In Christianity, it was believed that such a person is endowed with great power, he has been given a gift from God, he has a special spark. If we talk about the Russian language, then a synonym for the word “charismatic” is “charming.”

Why is charisma needed?

A charismatic man is, as a rule, a person who is mentally strong, strong-willed, successful, it is easy for him to realize his goals, and he feels great in society. Surely, at least once in her life, every woman has met a representative of the stronger sex who, it would seem, doesn’t stand out in any way - neither in appearance, nor in his style of clothing, but he attracts you, puts you at ease, you want to be close to him, communicate, and so on. This is a charismatic man.

At all times there have been lucky and successful individuals for whom everything comes easy. They freely and easily lead both three people and thousands, they win them over, they listen to them and want to obey them. These include bosses, directors of all levels, and actors. Although there are many examples when a man does not lead either a country or a team, and is not a cool boss, the aura around him is simply magical. Women feel confident, warm and comfortable next to such representatives of the stronger sex. This is what a charismatic man is. Now it becomes clear why this trait is needed and why many people want to be just such individuals.

Max Weber about a charismatic person

Now let's look at who a charismatic man is from a psychological point of view. The German political scientist and social psychologist Weber was the first to describe this concept from a scientific position. He believed that charisma is a unique thing. It helps to look compared to others as an exceptional, extraordinary person who is endowed with a special power that is inaccessible to the majority.

According to Weber's theory, such a man (less often a woman) is able to influence huge masses of people, “charge” them with a certain energy. Today, this personality quality is a necessary tool for a successful leader, a leader who wants to influence the consciousness of the group and subjugate people. In order to know how to become a charismatic man, you need to determine what characteristics he should have. We'll talk about this further.

Qualities of a charismatic man

1. Individual and unique image. Such a person has his own external image, special facial expressions, gestures, gait, intonation.
2. Complete self-confidence. This is a fairly multifaceted quality, but its main components are courage, determination, clarity in decision-making; complete independence, that is, the developed habit of relying only on one’s own strengths and not relying on others; the ability to confidently and specifically make others understand your position.
3. Empathy and self-control. This is the ability to regulate, control your emotions and feelings. flexibility, the ability not only to listen, but also to hear, the ability to intuitively understand other people, to “feel” them.
4. Gallantry, politeness, absence of brutal behavior or harsh gestures.

Charismatic people are not born, they are made that way.

If the above qualities are not inherent to you, then it is never too late to start working on yourself. No one is born great or famous right away, but a person’s resources allow him to achieve a lot in life, the main thing is to want it. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He wasn’t born with 57 cm biceps! Everything we see today is the result of working on ourselves and exhausting training. Yes, this is physical strength. But thinking develops along with it. You can train everything, including charisma.

Remember also Winston Churchill. As a child, he had very poor health and studied poorly, so his parents decided to send their son to an army class. And what happened in the end? He graduated from this class as one of 12 students, began self-education, and became a writer, journalist, influential political figure, winner of many awards, and prime minister. This suggests that anyone can become charismatic. How to work on yourself? What do we have to do? How to become a charismatic man? Let's consider several methods.

"The image of a charismatic personality"

Create a relaxing environment for yourself without being disturbed by people or sounds. Close your eyes, concentrate and clearly imagine the image of a person who will cause you admiration. This is not a real person, but just your fantasy. Imagine clearly his appearance, ability to carry himself, conduct a conversation, style of clothing. Think through as many characteristics as possible. Next, endow this image with the necessary qualities, imagine them in action. Do not rush to finish the exercise; everything should be recorded in your mind as clearly and specifically as possible. Now try to translate everything into real life.

"Controlling emotions"

In this case, you will need a regular dice. Throw it, and subtract three from the number dropped. Depending on the number you get, you will have to control your emotions. If, for example, “-2”, then you need to get rid of two feelings that you are experiencing today (from despondency, laziness, hunger, etc.). If you receive the number “1,” on the contrary, come up with a feeling and develop it (inspiration, joy, happiness, etc.).

"Feeling"

Every day during a conversation with a person, try not just to speak, but to pay close attention to his intonation, voice, facial expressions, gestures, pauses. This way you will learn to feel and “see” the inner world of other people, to better understand their thoughts and actions.

Conclusion

The most charismatic men are speakers, scientists, leaders, politicians, and many others. For example, we all know such a person as Mahatma Gandhi. His main creed in life was the idea of ​​non-violence. His charisma contributed to the fact that the masses followed him, people believed in the possibility of resolving conflicts peacefully, and this in a society that is simply overflowing with violence!

Steve Jobs is another example of a charismatic person. His biography is read more than the most popular novels and detective stories. He became a successful entrepreneur only thanks to his strong personal qualities and inner strength. He believed that a person cannot become successful if he has not previously stumbled or failed. This strengthens the personality. If you make a mistake, change your strategy, not your course! Follow this rule, develop and become charismatic!

Charisma- this is the quality that everyone wants to have, but no one can fully explain this very charisma. Where to find her, what qualities does a charismatic person have? What is this property that has an almost mystical effect on people’s feelings? Charisma is a whole set of psychological, communicative and external parameters. Charisma is a certain corporate style, image, individual way of communication that attracts others. Such a set of communicative, psychological traits, as well as an attractive appearance, appears to others as fire, internal energy, forcing one to follow oneself. It is sometimes associated with high talent, but is also confused with posing, which is characteristic of demonstrative individuals.

To be charismatic is to be passionate. Indeed, if we remember those whom we can confidently call charismatic - they were all passionate about their chosen business, had excellent energy, with a sparkle in their eyes, as if they were floating in a special stream, different from the gray everyday life of the bulk of people. With equal efforts, seemingly identical actions, the results of the influence and work of a charismatic person and an unenthusiastic person differ impressively.

Charisma development

If you want to become stronger, you can join a gym. If you want to learn how to program, you can take a special course. But how can one gain the confidence of charisma? Is it possible to purposefully develop charisma? Here are some tips that can help you in different social situations and at the same time help you discover the meaning of the word charisma.

The first advice for those who quickly get lost in a conversation and cannot find what to say is to speak publicly, for example, in a stand-up club. First of all, it's worth doing it because it's scary. Speaking in front of an audience and trying to make them laugh is intimidating. And also because with such a performance you simply have nowhere to go, you are on stage, the audience falls silent, and you have to act! This is not an isolated case; all conversations require activity and resourcefulness. For example, if someone approaches you with a threat, you need to respond and continue the conversation, even if your state is close to stupor. Try performing on stage if you have a similar problem. This advice is important because anything that pushes you out of your comfort zone helps in social situations later.

The next tip is a little different from the previous ones. It is appropriate for cases when a conflict situation is brewing. It doesn’t have to be an outright fight, but someone suddenly starts behaving aggressively, your heart starts beating faster, you can’t decide how to react. This advice is to study martial arts. There is no need to start a fight, we are talking about mastering the experience that you will get in sparring. This experience will teach you how to breathe smoothly and come up with a plan for what to do in stressful social situations, rather than following the natural fight-or-flight response, which is accompanied by an increased heart rate and breathing, making you unstable. This method of remaining calm will help you in many conflict situations, even in non-obvious ones - when you want to ask for a raise or promotion, speak in public, or win over a group of friends.

The fourth tip is to use any social environment, be it a bar, club or event, to test the impression you make on others. After all, it’s no longer so important to be able to impress your friends, and if you tell a boring story, they’re unlikely to look for an excuse to leave. But in a bar or at an event, if you start telling a boring story, then people will try to run away from communication, pick up the phone or leave, even finding a good reason. And this way you will probably have feedback about which story is interesting and which is boring. If you do this kind of testing, you will learn which option makes a better impression, you will begin to notice that people, for example, are more engaged when you talk about music or about your work. And choose the right course of action to better connect with people. Be a researcher, and after the event, turn around different conversations in your mind and analyze, this will allow you to find those facts about you that are really fascinating. Over time, you will notice that you have become more interesting to people, it will become easier for you to communicate.

Another tip is to replace “I” with “we” and “you”. Try to keep track of pronouns in speech, because they indicate your position. It will always be more pleasant for your interlocutor to hear about yourself, and he will be more active and more willing to accept those proposals in which you talk about the benefits for him personally. For example, not “I want to show”, but “you will be able to see, and it will definitely be interesting to you.” By talking more about others and not about yourself, you seem to break down the wall of separation between you, because everyone wants to be understood, interested in him and paid attention to him. This is how you become closer to people. But you should not abuse this advice, because avoiding the “I” may look like its weakness and an attempt to share responsibility, which in the behavior of especially men will be perceived as a minus.

The next tip is to learn to ask open-ended questions, which allow the interlocutor to expand on his answer, while closed-ended ones involve only a few answer options, usually “yes” or “no.” Open questions will allow you to maintain the conversation, deepen it, learn more about the interlocutor, and allow him to express himself. Be interested in your subject, asking him open questions about his hobbies, events throughout the day, ask with liveliness and sincerity, and then you will be surprised how willingly they will make contact with you.

In connection with this advice, let’s say that it is extremely important to first find out in what area the interests of the interlocutor or audience lie, and prepare for communication. Ask leading questions, and then, based on the information you receive, build further communication, include in your speech what the interlocutor told you, emphasize points that correspond to his values, and he will listen to you with even more attention.

Another, perhaps most important, piece of advice is to make the person feel personally valued. And nothing helps to do this at the beginning of communication like calling by name. The more often you say a person’s name, the more often he responds and the better he perceives your message, addressed as specifically for him. All people are focused on themselves, and even if there is a war on the other side of the world, then, most likely, a person will be more worried about a pimple on his own face.

To develop charisma, you also need to pay attention to its non-verbal components, facial expressions, and voice. It is known that intonation depends on health, posture and general emotional state. There are special exercises for developing vocal power that you can resort to when developing charisma has become a goal. The main thing to know is that the voice should come as if from the chest, but not from the level of the throat. With a chesty voice, your timbre will become more pleasant, caressing the ear, which is especially important when communicating with the opposite sex.

There are also exercises for the development of facial movements - for example, facial gymnastics, aimed at feeling each muscle. You should resort to facial exercises, like exercises, in the morning to effectively express your feelings throughout the day. In addition to warming up and keeping fit, you should know how emotions are expressed in movements and intonations, which will provide you not only with more effective expression of yourself and a targeted influence on your interlocutors, but also with the correct reading of their emotions. This refers to the level that has now begun to receive special attention. A number of psychologists, based on studies of the components of intelligence and the impact on social success, argue that emotional literacy is no less important, and prevention or elimination of the inability to recognize emotions is simply necessary for a person who wants to become a charismatic interlocutor. Attention to non-verbal components is extremely important, because the first impression usually takes place even before the conversation, in the first few seconds, this happens unconsciously.

How to develop charisma for a man?

Women unanimously declare that they like charismatic men. But if you ask what male charisma means, you are unlikely to get a definite answer. As we said, charisma and its components are difficult to define unambiguously. Perhaps it is elusive precisely because it varies for each person, it is individual. But women feel it in men on an intuitive level, clearly identifying that representative of the stronger sex who is passionate about his work, has lively energy, and is something more than a simple man in the street. Relying on her feelings, a woman is drawn to such a man, almost unmistakably identifying an active, strong leader.

Can a man, realizing that he lacks charisma, specifically develop it? It is unlikely that the “Charisma in 7 Days” training and similar short courses with clear recommendations will help you here.

Charisma is a general consequence of what a person does, how passionate he is. Only by doing what he loves and being creatively involved in it, a man can gain the energy that is recognized as charisma.

Give compliments more often, take it as a practice or as an experiment to see how pleasant and, most importantly, sincere a compliment can endear your interlocutor. Try tomorrow to start complimenting your girlfriend more often - for example, you will see that she has acquired a new accessory, she has a new hairstyle, or maybe even a personal quality. Give a compliment and justify it. For example, don’t just notice out loud that the girl’s hairstyle suits her, but say that it harmoniously outlines the oval of her face. Make giving a compliment something natural, simple, and a daily practice, and you will notice that people will speak better about you, they will like you more, and you will be able to create a pleasant impression. Most men, even knowing about the almost magical power of compliments, neglect them. However, they should not be forgotten either at the time of acquaintance or when the relationship is already established.

Think about your charisma, which can manifest itself in appearance, speech and actions. Take care of yourself, be in good physical shape, be relaxed internally - this will be reflected in your movements, which, in turn, will be perceived by your audience. Maintain your posture, lower your voice, speak less, but more succinctly - let every word you say have weight. After all, male charisma is specific precisely in that it manifests itself not only in words, but also in deeds - hold the door for a woman, offer your hand in the right situation, then she will probably find you charming. With longer interactions, you will need to take care of more serious actions, each of which will add to your charisma much more significantly than good looks or promises.

How to develop charisma in a woman?

So much has already been said about women's ability to intuitively influence other people. In this fact, for the most part, lies female charisma, the mastery of which for representatives of the fair sex is almost never a problem, because it happens unconsciously. Historically, if a man’s survival has always depended more on the ability to perform very specific actions, then a woman’s success has always gone side by side with her ability to exert psychological influence. Even a little girl already understands well how she can be liked and get what she wants through communication - verbal or non-verbal. While boys are mastering specific skills that will allow them to become serious men in the future, girls manage to perfectly master the art of building relationships, what is called female charisma.

However, we can attribute not only purely feminine qualities to the charisma of the fair sex - people often find charismatic those women whose character also displays leadership, and partly masculine, traits to some extent. This combination of qualities allows a woman to become interesting, unconventional in her way of thinking and actions, and less predictable. It is enough to name a few famous personalities who demonstrate this complex, charismatic bouquet of traits: Joan of Arc, Margaret Thatcher, Irina Khakamada, Yulia Timoshenko, Yulia Chicherina. All of these women have a strong masculinity, which, however, does not mean that they necessarily wear a man’s haircut or clothes, like Joan of Arc. On the contrary, their femininity is not controversial. However, the leadership principle shows itself in the look, action, and some elusive things. It is interesting that such charismatic, active women often choose men with a manifested feminine principle as their husbands, who, thanks to the ambiguity of their image, thinking and lifestyle, can be examples of male charisma. In other words, charisma coexists with originality, flexibility of thinking and breadth of views, and also often with psychological.

The Art of Charisma

A person without charisma is often called a bore; in his speeches, and in himself, there is little energy. Whereas a charismatic person can even read out a telephone directory so that everyone listens to him!

Charisma - what is it? The meaning of the word charisma is best revealed through its ancient Greek root and means a gift from God, anointing. Isn't that something that's hard to get?

A charismatic leader is often considered by his followers to be an exceptional, unusual person, almost possessing supernatural qualities.

What is charisma in a person? The concept of charisma was often used even in church texts, where it was considered grace, a special spiritual gift that descended on a person. Today, in the theological tradition, the word charisma refers to the 9 gifts of the Spirit that the apostles received at Pentecost. These gifts are divided into 3 groups: the gifts of revelation, which include knowledge, wisdom and vision of spirits, the gifts of power, which include faith, the ability to heal and perform miracles, and the gifts of speech - prophecy, knowledge of tongues and their interpretation.

How to master charisma and start attracting success? After all, you will agree that there is a close connection between success and charisma. Much of our success and well-being depends on our relationships with others. The better our environment reacts to us, the easier it is for us to get what we want. Essentially, when discussing charisma, we come to the law of attraction. Over the centuries it has been interpreted in different ways. However, in general, this law leads to the fact that you inevitably attract into your life those people and those situations that are in harmony with your state and thoughts. You are like a living magnet, and your state is constantly sending out certain waves that are like sound waves from a radio station. They are the ones that are captured by people who perceive you.

Thoughts, amplified by your emotions, like radio waves amplified by electrical impulses, come out of you and are captured by those who are initially tuned to a common wave with you. And people, ideas, necessary opportunities, funds, interesting situations, money, and other things that correspond to your personal way of thinking and state are attracted to your life. This pattern explains exactly how you can increase your charisma in order to positively influence the people whose cooperation, whose support and love you crave. The most important thing to remember is that charisma is largely based on perception. What matters is not exactly who you are, but how people imagine you to be. It's not so much the reality of things as it is how others perceive you.

The famous French actress Sarah Bernhardt, whom her contemporaries consider the standard of acting, argued that to achieve success you need to have charisma, which manifests itself in everything and nothing at the same time: in special energy, voice intonation, gaze, gait, gestures.

The image of a charismatic person

In the scientific community There are more than 60 definitions of the concept of “charisma” , which is explained by its breadth and ambiguity. Interest in charisma first arose in the political arena as a means of influencing mass consciousness. Nowadays, charisma has received its “rebirth” in business as an effective tool for a successful leader, as well as an important feature on the path of personal development and achieving success.

A charismatic mature personality is not born like this, but each person has a number of characteristics and qualities, the development of which over time leads to the formation of charisma. You will learn about what a charismatic leadership nature is and how to become a charismatic person in this article.

What does the word “charisma” mean? Its roots go back to Ancient Greece, where the word “charisma” clearly meant “gift.” In Christianity, it was believed that a charismatic person is endowed with a gift from God, this is a special spark, great power. In Russian, the word “charismatic” has a synonym “charming”.

The first scientific substantiation of the concept was given by the German social psychologist and political scientist Max Weber, who spent his entire life studying the phenomenon of leadership and power. He believed that charisma means a special quality of a person that helps her look exceptional, extraordinary, endowed with a special and inaccessible to others power in the eyes of other people.

In Weber's theory, a charismatic, strong personality has the ability to influence large masses of people, to emotionally “charge” them with his inner strength. Later, charisma firmly entered the world of business as a necessary quality of a successful leader-manager, whose goal is to influence group consciousness and increase the efficiency of the team. In our time, this concept includes not only the sociological component of influencing mass and group consciousness. An important role is played by the psychological aspect, which is based on developing charm, magnetism and inner strength to improve relationships with other people. To know how to become a charismatic person, you should determine what characteristics and qualities she should have.

• Individual image. This is your own original external image, confident gait, gestures, facial expressions, intonation and timbre of voice, communication style.
• Self confidence. This is determination and courage in making decisions, independence as the ability to completely rely on oneself, the ability to convey one’s ideas to other people in an accessible and confident manner.
• Self-control and empathy. This is the ability to regulate one’s emotions and feelings, flexibility, tact, the ability to listen and hear, the ability to “feel” other people, to intuitively understand their inner world and needs.

By developing these qualities, over time you will notice how other people will begin to “reach out” to you, listen to your opinion, and strive to be like you.

Strength of Personality

To better understand the meaning of charisma, consider examples of famous charismatic people from different fields of activity who went down in history not only because of their talent, but also because of their special magnetism, which makes many people around the world admire their personalities.

And now you will learn how to develop charisma using special exercises. They are based on the development of the main components of charisma: self-confidence, self-control and empathy.

• "The image of a charismatic person." You should close your eyes, concentrate and clearly imagine the image of a person who can arouse your admiration. This is not a real person, but your fantasy. Imagine his appearance, clothing style, manner of speaking. Now give him the necessary qualities, imagine these qualities in action. Don’t rush to the end of the exercise, let this image remain in your memory and serve as an example to follow.
• “Regulating emotions.” Take a dice, throw it and look at the number that comes up. Subtract three from this value. Depending on the amount received, you will have to regulate your emotions. If the result is “-2”, then this means that you need to get rid of two real feelings that you are experiencing at the moment: hunger, despondency, laziness. If the number “1” comes up, you need to come up with a feeling and try to develop it: joy, inspiration or any other positive feelings.
• "Feeling." Try every day not just to talk with a person, but also to notice all his features: glance, pauses in a monologue, intonation of voice, specific words. This will help you develop the ability to better sense someone else's inner world, understand the thoughts and motives of different people. Every person wants to be significant, so he will definitely appreciate your sincere participation and strengthen his trust.

» About the essence of charisma

What is charisma?

Charisma- this is a special property due to which a person is assessed as gifted with special qualities and capable of exerting effective influence on others.

The concept of “charisma” originates from ancient Greek mythology - it means to attract attention to oneself. And the Charites are the ancient Greek goddesses of beauty, grace and grace.

The classic definition of charisma was given by the German sociologist M. Weber: “Charisma is the quality of a person that is recognized as extraordinary, thanks to which he is assessed as gifted with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically special powers and properties that are not available to other people.”

Among the charismatic personalities known to history are the founders of world religions - Buddha, Moses and Christ. Charismatics include the creators of trends within world religions - for example, Luther and Calvin. On the other hand, these are great statesmen and military leaders, such as Genghis Khan or Napoleon.

In the twentieth century, such figures included Hitler and Mussolini, Lenin and Trotsky, but also Gandhi and Martin Luther King. The property of charisma is relatively indifferent to the type of activity and its moral and ethical content: a charismatic leader can be a saint or a criminal with equal success.

The most important characteristic of any charismatic leader, regardless of the nature of his activities and intentions, is a catalytic energy that can excite followers. The expression “He has charisma” means that a person makes a strong impression on others, they succumb to his charm and are ready to follow him.

From a psychological point of view, charisma is a combination of internal psychological qualities and external behavioral skills that allows you to influence people. These include high self-confidence, will, perseverance, determination, communication skills, eloquence, the ability to inspire and motivate others, incl. by example, the ability to set the right goals for yourself and others and achieve them, and many others. etc.

“Charisma is a perfect storm of several ingredients: passion, resilience and drive” (W. Boggs)

True charismatics are very rare in the human population. But when they appear somewhere, their presence is immediately felt by those around them.

It is believed that charisma is given (or not) to a person by nature. However, some charismatic traits and skills can be developed through deliberate efforts (up to certain limits, determined by the innate set of qualities).

Are you wondering what charisma is? It seems that there are people who have the charisma of a leader, who sincerely, effortlessly win the affection and sympathy of other people, radiating magnetism, and whom both men and women strive to be around. Their presence evokes close attention and sometimes an inexplicable desire to be close.

I am attracted to such personalities. We listen to what they say, we believe them, we want to follow their plans, and all for some unknown reason.

What is charisma?

Charisma is a personality trait that has a strong personality that, when combined with excellent communication skills, creates attractiveness and a kind of “magnetism.”

A person with charisma is actually quite difficult to define. Some describe a charismatic person as being very charming, persuasive, and an excellent communicator. Others view charisma as a supernatural trait.

The concept of charisma is a little vague, but we will still try to explain it to you. More on this below.

When people associate themselves with someone who has leadership charisma and all these characteristics, they often experience a sense of well-being, satisfaction and security, which makes them happy. In this case, they are free to follow the charismatic person, recognizing him as a leader.

Charisma allows you to communicate and connect with many people on a personal level so that they feel more comfortable, thereby laying the foundation for future relationships. The formula for leadership charisma is simple: convince people that you see them better than they see themselves. If you make people feel like they are special—smarter, braver, and more beautiful than they think—they will latch onto you because they want to see themselves that way.

Charisma in a person often works in a subtle and very natural way. Charisma is like a secret, an immeasurable quality. It's more than just the sum of confidence, communication, energy, and a bunch of other things. Charisma is greater than the sum of its parts.

You can try to improve what you find attractive about a charismatic person or try to “copy” him. However, you are limited to some extent by your innate gifts and talents. You can practice and practice and never become great.

Charisma is what it is. Everyone has their own, and charisma can be very beneficial in this regard. Although you can try yourself in different areas, it is better to focus on where and what your strengths are.

Leader Charisma: Charismatic Personalities in Leadership

The word “charisma” was originally used by members of the Christian faith. It comes from a Greek word meaning “Divine favor” - that a certain person has been favored by God or a Saint. This in Greek refers to those gifts and talents that are freely given and that you do not necessarily have to earn or deserve.

The idea of ​​leader charisma as a personality trait was introduced in the early 20th century by Max Weber, a famous German sociologist who studied the sociology of government and leadership. He pointed to several examples of such leaders in various countries, and the term “charismatic” began to take on a life of its own. Today, leaders, government officials and religious figures are often described as charismatic because they are more prominent than ordinary people.

For politicians, this is a very useful trait because it allows them to connect with voters and other officials. Mark Oppenheimer, who teaches at Yale University, said: “Most voters ultimately don't vote on specific policy issues. They react to something, and it’s often charisma... It’s who they love.”

Presidents were elected not because of their ability, but because of their charisma. Anyone who wants to predict the outcome of a presidential election need only look at the way the candidate smiles. Invariably, the candidate with the “best” smile will win the election. Perhaps this, like nothing else, determines the charisma of a leader.

Many religious figures are also very charismatic, using their persuasive traits to spread the message of faith. Examples of such figures include Luther and, in our days, Billy Graham.

Charismatic leaders did the same for their people. Churchill convinced the British that they were strong and brave. Washington convinced his soldiers that they were a real army. Spartacus convinced his men that they could defeat the Roman Army.

If you shake hands with a charismatic leader, he can make you feel like the most important person in the world. This is charisma.

Who is charismatic?

It's not far from love, isn't it? When someone is in love with you, they see you as the most wonderful person in the world. This is an extremely strong feeling. If you can do the same for people you don't even like, you have charisma.

Charismatic is emotion-oriented. And that's why. We humans, from generation to generation, have learned to read each other's emotions quickly and unconsciously - regarding any issues, such as whether the person in front of us is safe or dangerous, friend or enemy. Do we fight or flee? When we see an “average” person with a mixed “emotional temperature”, we receive a signal to pass by and move on, because we did not find anything interesting in him.

On the other hand, when someone walks into a room with focused excitement - passion, energy, anger or joy - we immediately sense it and pay attention to it. Emotions attract us, first unconsciously and then consciously as we try to figure out what's going on.

Charisma isn't always what you think it is. It cannot be said that it either exists or it does not. Rather, it is something you can learn, discover within yourself, that you can turn on or off at will once you understand how it works.