What Is Charisma?

Charisma is one of the most commanding traits one can have. The very first step to developing such a personality trait is defining and understanding it precisely.

The term �charisma� is a slippery one. Many people, scientists in various fields in particular, have tried to answer the question �What is charisma?� and there are as many definitions of charisma as there are people who have defined it.

The good news is that as different as the definitions may be, there is a common thread running through most of them which can help us better understand this trait.

Thus, most frequently, charisma is defined as a powerful magnetism that enables a person to connect to and influence others with ease. Words such as charm, aura and appeal are often used as approximate synonyms to charisma.

Many people in the world of politics, spirituality, corporate leadership and entertainment are considered as having a lot of charisma: from John F. Kennedy to Mahatma Gandhi, from Jack Welsh to Oprah Winfrey.

Their charisma is probably one of the key traits that enabled them to achieve their high status and to use it with high impact. Such examples of charismatic people are solid proof of the benefits this personality trait can provide.

This being said, the definition provided above is still only a vague description of personal charm which gives little clue to how it can be developed. The next essential step is understanding the specific skills, attitudes and behaviors that compose charisma, so one might try to consciously build them.

In the field of psychology, there have been such attempts is the past years. One of them describes personal charisma as the result of a constellation of social and emotional skills such as: emotional expressiveness, emotional control, social expressiveness and social control.

Whatever makes up charm, the clearer we understand it the more it becomes obvious that to a great extent, it can be developed. Most often, acquiring charisma in a conscious way does take a lot of consistent work, but if one desires to do so, the good news is that it is possible.

Eduard provides communication coaching and teaches people how to be charismatic. He also works with men with the nice guy syndrome and writes on his People Skills Decoded blog.