Have you ever met someone who just oozes charm and charisma? In the professional world, you’re bound to come across someone who seems like they just have the natural knack for working with people. Deals fall in their favor, everyone seems to gravitate towards them, and they command respect and attention.
When they enter a room, they have a presence.
While not everyone is born with natural charisma and charm, it’s something you can learn to have more of. So much of charisma is not just an innate part of one’s character, but it is learned and cultivated. As professionals, no matter what field you happen to be in or what role you play, it’s a valuable quality to nurture—especially if you have aspirations for your future.
6 Ways to Instantly Increase Your Charisma
1) Practice Good Posture
One of the best ways to instantly increase your charisma is just to improve how you carry yourself! Straighten your shoulders and feet, and move yourself with confidence. If you improve your posture, whether you’re sitting, standing, or moving across the room, you’ll immediately move yourself from unassuming to a position that demands notice. Position yourself powerfully—others will feel it, and so will you.
2) Remove the Focus From Yourself
One of the worst things for charm is to put too much focus and energy on you. If you really want to work a room, you have to remove focus from yourself. Instead, focus on others: asking after them, investing in their success and well-being, and stopping yourself from turning conversations back to your own interests in favor of the interests of others. You’ll find that the more focused you are on others—with just enough on yourself to keep you from fading into the background—the more favorably others will think of you.
3) Use Rhetorical Questions
Rhetorical questions can be annoying and passe, but they can also be inspiring when used correctly. Simply entering a room and inviting the question of “who’s having a great time?” or “isn’t this event great?” can bring up the desired emotions, building affinity until you ask a question that demands an answer. Rhetorical questions, for a charismatic leader, let you encourage engagement. They don’t put the pressure on anyone in a crowd to respond, but they mentally prime them to be receptive of you and your leadership.
4) Use Nonverbal Communication Strategically
For a leader, nonverbal communication is paramount to not just increasing your charisma, but to your overall success. You can’t rely on words alone to get your message across. Gestures, expressions, tone, and again, posture, all play a role in communication. They can either confuse your messaging or emphasize it.
Learn to be more intentional with your nonverbal communication—both to underscore your communication and to control any unintentional or unwanted messages.
5) Share More Stories
People relate to stories more than they will ever relate to facts. When you share stories and anecdotes, they create connections between the teller and the listener. Stories, unlike facts, engage with two things: people and feelings. We see ourselves in stories, we relate, and remember. People can’t help but be charmed by a good story and, in turn, by the people who tell them. As professionals, we have to weave a good narrative into our businesses. That’s how we engage others with our vision at a higher level!
6) Reach High
Do you have ambition? Do you want to do great and beautiful things in the world? Selfish ambitions aren’t charismatic, but setting your expectations and standards high for yourself and others are. Expect good and wonderful things from the people around you. Praise good efforts and achievements. For your own goals, aim high and work hard and always, always keep pushing forward. Others will be attracted to your drive and dedication.
Too often we think of charisma as being wound up in a person’s looks, or voice, or even their position of power and experience. But in all honesty, anyone and everyone can learn how to be charismatic. All it takes is learning how to be a great communicator.
