A few years ago, I was interviewed immediately after delivering a keynote at Southern SaaS.
We were talking about knowledge, influence and what separates someone who knows their subject from someone who can actually move a room.
I said something I’ve become even more convinced of since:
Charisma is a learnable skill.
But I think we need to start by clearing up what charisma actually is.
Because when people hear the word “charismatic”, they often picture the biggest personality in the room.
Loud.
Extroverted.
Funny.
Confident.
The person who walks into a party and somehow has 15 people gathered around them five minutes later.
That’s one expression of charisma.
But it’s not what I’ve spent years studying, teaching and practising.
In fact, I think there’s a much more useful way to think about it.
Charisma isn’t primarily about getting people to pay attention to you.
It’s about paying enough attention to other people that you change the way they experience you.
And there’s some fascinating research behind that.
The 12 Charismatic Leadership Tactics
Researchers John Antonakis, Marika Fenley and Sue Liechti from the University of Lausanne identified 12 communication behaviours they called Charismatic Leadership Tactics.
Nine are verbal:
- Metaphors, similes and analogies.
- Stories and anecdotes.
- Contrasts.
- Rhetorical questions.
- Expressions of moral conviction.
- Reflections of the group’s sentiments.
- Three-part lists.
- Setting high goals.
- And communicating confidence that those goals can be achieved.
Only three are nonverbal:
- Animated voice.
- Facial expressions.
- Gestures.
Read those first nine again.
Because there’s something I find fascinating about them.
Most require you to think about other people.
If I’m going to use a metaphor to explain something, I have to consider how I can make this idea easier for you to understand.
If I’m going to tell a story, I need to consider what will make the idea meaningful and memorable for you.
If I’m going to reflect a group’s sentiments, I need to have thought about what you’re experiencing.
What are you worried about?
What are you excited about?
How might this change affect you?
If I’m going to set a high goal and genuinely convince you that we can achieve it, I have to understand what will make that future believable to you.
Even something as simple as a three-part list is audience-focused.
Why organise something into three clear points instead of wandering through seven loosely connected thoughts?
Because it’s easier for you to follow.
That’s what I find so interesting about charismatic leadership.
At its best, charisma isn’t:
Look at me.
It’s:
I’ve thought about you.
They actually tested whether charisma could be taught
The University of Lausanne researchers didn’t simply create a list and declare that these behaviours looked charismatic.
They tested them.
In one of their studies, 41 MBA students were recorded delivering a short speech.
They were then trained to use charismatic leadership behaviours and, six weeks later, delivered the speech again.
Independent observers assessed the performances.
The result?
The training significantly increased perceptions of charisma and leadership.
In related work, the researchers reported leadership ratings increasing by around 60% after people practised these tactics.
Perhaps even more importantly, greater use of the tactics was associated with stronger perceptions of leadership.
In other words:
Charisma wasn’t fixed.
Behaviour changed.
Perception changed.
That’s an incredibly powerful idea.
Because it means charisma isn’t reserved for the naturally gifted, the ridiculously good-looking or the person who has always been comfortable commanding attention.
There are behaviours involved.
Behaviours can be identified.
Behaviours can be practised.
And practised behaviours can become skills.
I’m an ambivert
This is where personality becomes interesting.
I can happily walk onto a stage in front of hundreds of people, become bigger, more expressive, move around, tell stories, make people laugh and absolutely love it.
Then I can go home and want everyone to leave me alone.
Both are me.
I’ve described myself as an ambivert because I can draw on both ends of that spectrum.
And for me, the important thing isn’t the label.
It’s the range.
There’s a concept called requisite variety that I love.
Put simply, the more appropriate responses you have available to you, the greater your ability to respond effectively to different situations.
Communication works the same way.
If the only version of me available is quiet, reserved Michael, I’m limited.
If the only version available is keynote-stage Michael bouncing around at full volume, I’m also limited.
Imagine me bringing keynote-stage Michael into a quiet one-to-one coaching conversation.
It would be exhausting.
The goal isn’t extroversion.
The goal is range.
Can you become bigger when the room needs energy?
Can you become quieter when somebody needs to feel heard?
Can you project certainty when people need direction?
Can you show vulnerability when people need to know you understand?
Can you tell a story?
Can you use silence?
Can you lift the energy?
Can you lower it?
The more choices you have, the more likely you are to find the behaviour that serves the people in front of you.
Charisma isn’t volume
This is why I resist the idea that charismatic people are simply loud, confident personalities.
Walking into a room determined to make everyone notice you isn’t necessarily charisma.
Sometimes it’s just walking into a room determined to make everyone notice you.
There’s an enormous difference.
If your communication is primarily designed around:
How do I make myself look impressive?
You’re starting in the wrong place.
A charismatic leader should be asking:
What do these people need from me right now?
Maybe they need energy.
Maybe they need reassurance.
Maybe they need absolute clarity.
Maybe they need hope.
Maybe they need you to acknowledge that something is genuinely difficult rather than pretending everything is wonderful.
Maybe they need a story that helps them see themselves succeeding.
Maybe they need you to stop talking.
Charisma isn’t one behaviour.
It’s having enough behavioural range to choose what the moment requires.
This changed how I think about keynote speaking
The stage makes all of this incredibly visible.
When I stand in front of an audience, I’m conscious of my words.
But I’m also conscious of my voice.
My face.
My gestures.
My movement.
My stories.
My metaphors.
The questions I ask.
The emotional journey I’m creating.
None of that is accidental.
But importantly, none of it is really about me.
I’m doing it because there are people sitting in front of me and I have a responsibility to make the ideas I’m sharing as clear, useful, memorable and emotionally engaging as I can.
That’s performance.
But it’s performance in service of an audience.
And that’s a distinction I think matters.
Expertise isn’t enough
I’ve worked with extraordinarily intelligent executives, academics, founders and technical experts.
People with enormous knowledge.
But knowledge and influence aren’t the same thing.
You can know more than anybody else in the room and still struggle to bring people with you.
The answer isn’t to become louder.
It’s not to manufacture a giant personality.
And it’s definitely not to impersonate somebody you think is charismatic.
It’s to expand your range.
Learn to tell a better story.
Use metaphors that make complicated ideas easier to understand.
Think about how your audience feels.
Organise your ideas so they’re easier to remember.
Set ambitious goals.
Show people why you believe those goals are achievable.
Use your voice.
Use your face.
Use your hands.
And, above all, pay attention to the experience you’re creating for the people receiving your message.
Because maybe we’ve had charisma backwards.
Maybe the most charismatic person in the room isn’t the person thinking:
How do I get everyone to notice me?
Maybe it’s the person thinking:
How do I make everyone in this room feel like I’ve noticed them?
That’s something we can learn.
And that’s something worth practising.
