The Way to Sway: 5 Steps to Developing Charisma in Presentations

Being charismatic is a strange art. It’s a blend of passion and confidence that can be extremely powerful in many different ways. With strong charisma comes drastic change. A charismatic person can spark movements, break boundaries and alter the lives of the masses. Few have outstanding charisma, but it is within reach for each and every one of us.

Politicians, preachers and actors have the best charisma. Why?

Being charismatic isn’t about being clever or manipulative. It’s about becoming completely in tune with emotions: your own and your audience’s. All of the above examples are the types of people that (whether genuinely or not) have their audience in mind as they speak. True charisma comes from being absolutely committed to sensing emotion, responding to it and altering people’s perception of it. Although it is a deeply powerful skill, it can be learned, which is why we’ve compiled 5 steps to perfecting charisma.

1. Be confident

People won’t believe in you or anything you say if you appear shaky in your resolve. Knowing what you’re talking about is just as important as appearing to know what you’re talking about. For example, you could know everything there is to know about nuclear physics, but if you even seem to doubt yourself in front of a crowd, they will cease to believe that you know your topic. Your credibility goes out the window when your confidence goes down. However, if you are confident in your delivery, your audience is more likely to nod in agreement at your words because they trust you. By ou’ve given them a reason to follow you.

2. Be relaxed

Believe it or not, your audience can be just as nervous or more nervous than you at times. With that in mind, keeping yourself relaxed makes them more relaxed. If you’re up there sweating bullets and fidgeting, it’s not only distracting from your message, but it also puts your audience on edge. Like I said before, charisma is always about the emotions of your audience. Project yourself in a calm light, and your audience will also be calm. Also, by being relaxed, your audience is more receptive to your ideas because they have opened their minds to your conversational tone and eased mannerisms.

3. Think before you speak

This one usually goes without saying, but you’d be surprised how much more powerful preparation and carefully executed words are than just blabbering off the top of your head. Clear, concise wording and delivery are much more intriguing to an audience than a series of useless, clumsy mutterings and cliches. Try taking a few seconds before each sentence you say. Use “The Power of the Pause” to keep your audience focused on your words. Then, once you have their attention, your words mean more to them because the ideas don’t just fall from your mouth in a clustered way. Instead, they are distinct, calculated words and phrases packed with meaning.

4. Make eye contact

When you speak to your audience, don’t look down at your feet or at the ceiling. People respond to eye contact in a positive way because it is a sign of respect. When you give someone respect, they tend to give it back. The best way to use eye contact in large groups is to choose three people in your audience at the left, right and center of the crowd. As you make a statement, look into their eyes clearly and purposefully. A big part of being charismatic is showing that you are directly concerned or involved in the lives of your audience members. By making eye contact, you are briefly interacting with people in an almost direct way.

5. Be yourself

This one is simple. You can’t be charismatic by copying the style of other charismatic people. Charisma can’t be faked or mocked. You’ve got to develop your own style, rhythm and tactics in order to be a successfully charismatic speaker. People can easily spot a fake, so you’ve got to be genuinely interested in the emotions and thoughts of your audience if you are going to attempt to sway them in any way.

So, there you have it. These are merely guidelines in helping you to become a better, more charismatic speaker. These recommendations are meant to serve as the skeleton for your own, personal charismatic style. The most important thing to remember, like we said, is to be very emotionally aware of yourself and your audience. After all, people tend to act more on emotion than on logic. You feel much more powerfully and much more often than you think. Keep it simple, organized and intriguing, but don’t forget to respect the emotions of the people to whom you speak.

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