Inspirational leaders often are shown in
research to be high on the “Charismatic Factors.” For example, in the US
the popular vote tends to go to the most Charismatic Candidate. The four first
impression factors are credibility likeability attractiveness and power and the
last three likeability attractiveness and power form Charisma. I discuss at
length in my book SNAP Making the Most of First Impressions Body Language and Charisma
that charismatic people are shown to have the ability to lead, motivate and
persuade people to action.
When you really look at charismatic people
those that inspire they often have the power/alpha characteristics tall and
broad, big gestures, and deep-voiced and an intense gaze just borderline of
staring, (but what charismatic people do has they put in not just the "power" the aspect of eye contact but the likability of smiling and nodding,) Interpersonally that gaze and intense focus make
the Charismatic person makes the person they are talking to feel mesmerized, as
if they are special an It’s interesting that it’s often how they make
the other person or other people feel that identifies them as charismatic,
which I think is one of the magical secrets about it.
If you act interested in others, they’ll have a better impression of you, which is why charismatic people also happen to be great listeners. Holding eye contact, leaning in, ignoring their phone, giving the person their total focus even if it's for a short handshake and a one-minute conversation.
They are also talented at drawing out information from others by being superior listeners (They can talk a lot but when they listen, they really listen) They ask questions and want to know about you. They often tend to be great at matching and mirroring the nonverbal cues of the person they are with so again the person feels valued and totally understood. They can often match the zeitgeist or the emotion of the room, client, audience, country. For example leaders like Hitler, used anger which has shown to be the strongest persuasive emotion, that mirrored a segment of the population to inspire them to follow him.
If you act interested in others, they’ll have a better impression of you, which is why charismatic people also happen to be great listeners. Holding eye contact, leaning in, ignoring their phone, giving the person their total focus even if it's for a short handshake and a one-minute conversation.
They are also talented at drawing out information from others by being superior listeners (They can talk a lot but when they listen, they really listen) They ask questions and want to know about you. They often tend to be great at matching and mirroring the nonverbal cues of the person they are with so again the person feels valued and totally understood. They can often match the zeitgeist or the emotion of the room, client, audience, country. For example leaders like Hitler, used anger which has shown to be the strongest persuasive emotion, that mirrored a segment of the population to inspire them to follow him.
Charismatic
inspirational leaders often have ‘Emotional contagion,” meaning very strong, very
clearly communicated emotions, and those emotions transfer to the listeners So,
we can’t stop watching them when they speak.
And inspirational leader’s ability to show and communicate a broad range
of emotions that translate into perceived power and charisma.
You will notice that charismatic leaders don’t
have to be credible. In fact, when someone
is highly charismatic, it overrides our brain's ability to detect whether or not
they are credible. We can’t tell if they are honest or not. So charismatic
people have superpowers they can use for good or evil. In a research
study on the effects of charisma on politics, the researchers found that people
with charisma are able to gracefully persuade us to buy from them, vote for
them and (as charismatic leaders like Kennedy and Clinton have shown) mate with
them. But authentic body language where the words and the nonverbal cues are
shown to communicated honesty. The limbic brain can decern when someone is
dishonest.
Take Care,
Patti
Patti Wood, MA - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com.
