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It was a sunny afternoon in 1955 and people of New York City were busy minding their own work, moving around the sidewalks of the city. Marilyn Monroe and her photographer friend were walking down the same busy lane in the midst of the commoners in the city. No one recognized THE Marilyn Monroe as she made herself look as normal as the others. For the people around her thought Marilyn to be another woman from town and passed her casually.
Breaking her mysterious look, Marilyn asked her photographer “Do you want to see her?” Without saying another word, she flipped her hair and struck a pose for the photographer. Just in a second, from a usual female, she turned to be the magnificent Marilyn Monroe.
From a normal attitude she carried, now she changed into a legend. Everyone around her was surprised to see that star Marilyn Monroe, whom they had failed to recognize a few minutes back, was standing in their midst.
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Charisma has always been a complicated and an integrating topic to talk about. A person who has a charismatic attitude blends in when they are in a casual or a home location. It is something that no one is born with but with time, you inherit it in yourself. One also develops it as a skill, not only because people are fascinated by charismatic personality but also sees several advantages related to it.
Charisma is one that makes people get attracted towards you, makes others fond of you and makes you the person who people would want to get inspired from. It is something that will also make people believe in you.
Moreover, when you are a leader, the charismatic personality that you will carry will make you a different human from the rest of the crowd where you will be the leader they want.
Whether or not your followers like your useful ideas or your leadership ways, with that charisma in you, it will make people want to do what you as a leader ask them to do!
Charisma is entirely on the way a person behaves. It isn’t some magical quality. if you are a leader or you intend to be one, you can develop some specific habits to become a charismatic leader.
Talking about business leaders and all the professionals in general, Charisma really makes a difference. Be it the way you speak, walk, your gestures and most importantly the attitude with which you strike a deal. All of these do make a difference if you have a charming personality and a charismatic attitude.
Having charisma in your professional behavior will help you handle your clients and the team you work with and eventually help you grow in your career perspective. I recently sat down with international life
coach Jasmin Waldmann to get the low-down on how to be more charismatic. She told me that people with self-discipline can train to become more charismatic. Our personalities are malleable; we can learn skills and adopt a mindset. Similarly, charisma is learnable.
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Type os Charism
Focus Charisma: Being fully present and aware in the moment. Think about the person you open up to about your worries. You like them and open up to them because they are truly interested in you and fully attentive when you talk. They make you feel understood and respected.
Kindness Charisma: People with Kindness Charisma are kindness ambassadors. They emit positive energy and spread love in every room they walk into. This makes them have a magnetic personality.
Visionary Charisma: Waldmann’s favorite example for some visionarian charismatic person is Steve Jobs. The ability to draft and deliver a vision with passion is a very attractive quality.
Authority Charisma: Powerful people command authority and influence in any setting. As the bestselling American author Robert Greene says,”Your own level of excitement and self-belief will convince people that you know where you are going and should be followed. People follow those who know where they are going, so cultivate an air of certainty and boldness.”
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Openness
Be it a business meeting or a networking meetup – you should always have an open mind to learn and take inputs from everyone around you.
Being a leader does not make your availability to limit people – you should interact and strike a conversation with all age groups and cultures on any topic they would want to.
Maintain Human Touch
It is often seen that people especially the business leaders maintain a distance from its employees and followers. They talk little and want no human contact as such. But this should not be the case as it is not helpful at all for anybody.
When a charismatic person talks – he or she has to be open with a human touch and gestures. Like shaking hands or patting your employees back or even when discussing a point—with physical hand movements—one builds a stronger professional.
Enhance Your Presence
It is true we all judge people without knowing them much. Just because they are leaders or renowned professions, people, in general, might not be like them! For you as a charismatic person, you have to make your presence count. When you meet someone in person, you have to be at the moment. Be warm, happy and loving. As a leader, you have to enhance your presence in such a way that people change their thoughts from “I hate that man” to “What a man he is!”
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Now that you know, what makes a person more charismatic, start working towards being the most charismatic professional you know. It is not that easy without professional help. You can take courses, hire a coach or take workshops. No legends of today got the charismatic attitude when they were born. They learnt. They developed. They transformed. You will not become Steve Jobs or Bill Clinton the next day, but you become a better version of yourself to whom people can look up to as a leader, as a professional and as a better human being. With time, you will be no less than them, it all depends on having a growth mindset.
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Photo credit: Getty Images