A step-by-step guide to charisma

I came across this beautiful article and wanted to share it with you. The article is published by BBC and is written by Tom Geoghegan of BBC News Magazine. the actual link to article is given at the end.

The article discusses that charisma is no longer an elusive trait but can be measured and learnt. Some people had raised their concerns similar to this. The article also provides a few points to impove your charisma trait.

It is a good article. I hope more people would be convinced of the power that charisma can bring in you.

Article starts here
---------------------------


Scientists claim to have found the secret to that magical quality, charisma, and they say it can be learnt.
Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is deluded in believing that charisma, or being "well-liked" as he calls it, is more important than ability in making a person a success.
His philosophy is exposed as flawed but he did have half a point. After all, most of the greatest leaders in history possessed a star quality that drew others to them.
Churchill, Napoleon and Martin Luther King had a magnetism which is often easier to identify than it is to explain.
Until now.
Researchers say having an infectious personality induces others to copy your body language and facial expressions.
The study, led by British Professor Richard Wiseman, involved more than 200 people taking part in FameLab, a national competition to find the new "faces of science". The ones who scored highest in a questionnaire about how much they seem to transmit their emotions to others also progressed the furthest in the competition, when they used their personalities to impress a panel of judges.
"When you see someone else who has charisma, without realising it, you're mimicking their posture and their facial expressions," says Professor Wiseman, a psychologist. "An obvious example is when someone smiles at you and you smile back. And how you hold yourself influences your emotions."
You're unaware you're mimicking this person, although you know they make you feel happy, he says.
A charismatic person has three attributes, says the professor:
• they feel emotions themselves quite strongly;
• they induce them in others;
• and they are impervious to the influences of other charismatic people.
But don't despair if you haven't got these qualities because you can learn them. Professor Wiseman estimates charisma is 50% innate and 50% trained. His tips include keeping an open body posture and communicating your ideas clearly.
Broadcaster and confidence tutor Jeremy Milnes agrees that techniques can make a huge transformation, and says nearly all the people he's worked with have improved. Key areas are listening, asking questions and not trying too hard to be the centre of attention.
"There are some people who are just lucky buggers and are just naturally charismatic, like Johnny Depp, David Bowie and Marilyn Monroe," he says. "But I honestly believe that these are techniques and skills which can be learnt and practised and can be made part of your own behaviour.
"I don't deny there's a bit of magic there, but these are things which can be worked on. They're not out of people's reach. You might not learn them all but you may be comfortable with some of them."
Charisma plays a huge part in bringing success because it goes hand-in-hand with self-confidence, he says. But although it can be learnt, it can't be faked.
"Whatever skills and techniques you have are routed from your own personality, so you don't come across as fake or insincere. There's nothing worse than that."
Michael Mallows, an author and personal development coach, says whether the group he addresses is five, 50 or 500, he usually has their full attention within 10 minutes. Although he teaches people to keep their integrity and avoid over-selling themselves in interviews, it can happen.

Full Article can be found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4579681.stm
Get full revealations of Charisma and techniques which you can practice to become Charismatic and exude Power