The Little Book of Charisma

David Hodgson, Ian Gilbert, Ian Gilbert

• Publisher: Crown House Publishing
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781845904180
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Educación general

Charisma=C, Art=A, Science=S, Practice=P The most skillful performers and communicators understand and apply the best of art and science. You can either use this knowledge to enhance your own communication skills (to Jedi Master standard) or to be more aware of the techniques deployed by those seeking to influence you. The book is a breathless, informative and funny journey through factors contributing to excellence in communication, from the six rules of influence, creating a powerful performance, constructing speeches, how to avoid being manipulated by advertisers, steering clear of the arrogance trap, which emotions to build in an audience (and in which order).

Chapter 1

Identity

When a person’s energy coalesces into an authentic life theme consciousness achieves harmony.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

While watching TV at college in 1989, Erin Gruwell, a young student, was inspired by the footage of a young man halting the advance of tanks in Tiananmen Square. She was intrigued and amazed that the actions of one person could make such a huge impact. The young man believed in something. She questioned her own beliefs and wondered what impact she could make. She decided to become a lawyer, which pleased her father.

Later, she saw footage of rioting less than an hour from her home. She watched a little boy follow his father into a building and emerge with stolen electrical goods. She decided to become a teacher, which didn’t please her father.

Most teachers remember the moment when they decided to become a teacher. Do not forget this moment. The strong emotion associated with this moment is incredibly powerful. It guides the charismatic teacher through the challenges they face, sometimes twenty times a term, sometimes twenty times a lesson. In Leadership with a Moral Purpose, Will Ryan suggests that if you scratch a good head teacher you’ll find a moral purpose. If we lose sight of our positive purpose we become the shadow of the teacher and person we strive to be. Darth Vader or Luke Sky Walker, who are you?

Why do you want to be a teacher? Why do you want to communicate with others? Charisma is rooted in a deep sense of positive purpose. This cannot be faked. It seeps out and people see it. They know whether we are genuine. In this chapter we explore identity. Only when we’ve discovered our authentic self can we can begin to reveal and release our charisma.

Sir John Jones, a head teacher for many years on Merseyside, suggests that people want to become teachers to change the world because they remember either a great teacher – or a terrible teacher – they had. Where are you along this continuum? When Sir John Jones recruited teachers he looked into their eyes to see if he could find the passion that shines in authentic people. If he saw it they were offered a job.

Pattern 1: Authenticity

Who are you? What kind of life were you destined to have? Think of yourself as the main character of a movie which is going to have a happy, rather than tragic ending. It really is important to identify this as it is the cornerstone of charisma. The impact of living with authenticity spreads further than charismatic communication. It is also the way we can ensure we live our best life.

If we’re not walking our talk we will have little credibility with those we seek to influence. Could you employ and respect a personal trainer who is unfit and lazy or a financial adviser who is overdrawn and living off credit cards? Of course not. This chapter includes a number of charisma activities to explore and uncover authenticity. Once we identify our identity and attach a purpose to it we become authentic and congruent. People will be attracted to us and they will respect us even if they don’t agree with all our views. We can respect politicians with differing views and allegiances to our own if they are authentic. Similarly those politicians least liked are those demonstrating the opposite of authenticity (described by words such as sly, liar, two-faced, slippery, disingenuous).

A recent item on TV featured a woman who had set up a hedgehog hospital in her house to rehabilitate injured animals. Her house was full of animals at various stages of recovery, some with little bandages on their legs, one even wore an eyepatch. Aahh. As she talked about hedgehogs you couldn’t help but admire her enthusiasm and passion. You could tell she really liked hedgehogs. She’d even converted her garden into a hedgehog play area. Her life had a purpose, and even if we wouldn’t personally choose her lifestyle we can respect her unreservedly. In this chapter you’re invited to discover your passion and purpose in life.

What’s the point of developing our charisma if we’re not able to use it for good?

The concept can apply at the level of a society as well as to individuals. If a country has an identity and a purpose it can achieve more. During the Second World War Britain rallied together, united by a clear common purpose. Churchill, Gandhi and the Black Eyed Peas summarise this wisdom.

We shall fight them on the beaches …

Winston Churchill

Be your message.

Gandhi

Find your path and stay on your path. That’s it.

Black Eyed Peas

This next activity is based on the idea that to access our best ideas we need to let them flow out, rather than cram in information from the outside. You are taught early in karate training not to absorb the blow of an opponent but to divert the energy away from you. Learning works better this way. Use the energy and ideas of a group or individual, harness it and divert it to new places. Simply blocking the creativity of an individual or group is as difficult as it is stifling. The purpose of this game is personal – to start the process of identifying our deepest beliefs and values and allowing them to flow out without being blocked by conscious thinking.

CHARISMA ACTIVITY 1: INSIDE OUT

a. Write down the answers to the following questions – answer quickly, your spontaneous answers are best.

Which actor/actress would play you in a film of your life?

Summarise the plot of the movie of your life (is it a romcom, musical, scary movie, adventure?).

Why are you a teacher?

If your life were a TV programme what would it be and why?

If you were an animal what would you be and why?

If you were a holiday destination where would you be and why?

What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

What’s the best way you could live the rest of your life?

Take a moment to reflect on your answers.

b. Describe the best three teachers you’ve ever had. What is it that made these people so memorable? Which of their qualities would you like to develop?

Take a moment to reflect on your thoughts. Discuss with a friend or colleague to unearth the real meaning.

Pattern 2: Plus Purpose

I’m not afraid of death but I’m in no hurry to die. I’ve got too much to do. My next ambition is to go into space.

Stephen Hawking

This section is designed to get us thinking about ourselves, who we really are and what we’d like to do with our lives. When I worked as a careers adviser I met a number of people who’d had near-death experiences. They’d survived accident or illness and then decided to make changes in their lives. They tend to say very similar things. They say they now realise how precious life is. They decide to make the most of their life. They vow to be kinder to themselves, those they love and, sometimes, to everybody else too. Near-death experiences can provide us with a new perspective. We can often see ourselves as we really are. Many coaching and NLP activities are based on this concep...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Praise for The Little Book of Charisma
• Title Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Identity
• Chapter 2: Beliefs
• Chapter 3: Communication Skills
• Chapter 4: Emotion in Motion
• Chapter 5: Space and Place
• Chapter 6: The Charisma Matrix
• Bibliography
• Also by David Hodgson
• Copyright
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