Charisma: “Let’s Make It Better”

Back in 1982, when VHS videocassettes were being sold in bulky boxed sets, you could have constructed a new Great Wall of China out of all the Jane Fonda home exercise videos sold that year. But though many millions sweated it out solo on the rug in front of the TV, many more opted to join a gym to get fit in company.

Lonely workout in front of the TV?

In just about any realm of human activity, “making it better” isn’t just a matter of working out what’s wrong and then finding the means to fix it individually. As social beings we have a deep hunger for interaction, feedback and approval. And nowhere more than in the field of communication, where ‘no man is an island.’ Some things you simply can’t fix with a selfie.

You can’t manufacture charisma without others to help out.

Which is why coming to terms with the ways we affect other people, so gaining the self-knowledge to boost our influence, simply can’t be done solo. You can only see what communication style is working and what isn’t, by understanding how other people really experience you.

If you want to find out whether you have Charisma – defined as “compelling attractiveness of charm that can inspire devotion in others” – then you need the feedback mechanism that only people can provide. They’ll tell you whether or not you’re generating that instant rapport that inspires trust, confidence or acceptance.

Better together: feedback and interaction takes us further.

Communicate Charisma acknowledges our social needs and collaborative nature by taking the group training route to “making it better.” First, our tools and techniques permit you to map, visualize and then enhance power we have to influence others, by making best use of each person’s authentic character assets.

We do this through an interactive workshop experience. This is a safe, confidential environment to help business leaders measure, become more conscious of, and test out new ways to let their communicative persona work its influence on other people.

The workshops are designed for:

• Business leaders and senior managers regularly interacting with audiences great and small, such as shareholders, media, clients, policymakers or opinion leaders.
• Developers, marketers and leaders of social enterprise seeking increased impact in their business negotiations with stakeholders and communities.
• All present and future thought leaders who value effective communication as a route to career enhancement.

The workshop is where we share a methodology that allows you to map, measure and manage your own charisma assets – and at the same time become more conscious of the ways other people try to influence you. Being able to visualize the matrix of energies at work whenever we communicate, calls for a clear methodology. But this not a ‘Method’ in the sense used by actors painstakingly building up their onstage charisma.

Workshop with World Presidents’ Organization

Our workshop experience is just one part of a simple, three-part process designed for busy business people who need to raise their game in the workplace, or wherever they interact with people. “Make it better” is a natural self-development goal, and this is how we can help:

1.     The Map: We first identify the ingredients that make up your communication style; both the way you project yourself in different types of encounter, and the inbuilt essence or energy that’s unique to you. You make a start at discovering this before you join the workshop, by completing an online self-assessment survey. This generates both a short summary and a detailed 18 page report of your charisma profile. The latter is only delivered to you at the workshop.

2.     The Matrix: During the workshop we walk participants through both parts of the Communicate Charisma conceptual matrix. First the Two-Dimensional Charisma Projection Profile composed of four sectors. Then the Seven-Dimensional Charisma Essence Profile resembling a circular clockface. Using structured role-play, participants gain direct experience of what it’s like both to try influencing others from each of these standpoints – and being on the receiving end. You’ll learn how to “inhabit” each of the behavioural zones in the two Profiles, as you and workshop colleagues give and receive constructive feedback.

3.     The Measurement: During the final part of the workshop participants begin completing their Personal Development Plan (PDP). This is a self-led, self-accountable programme to help you implement the insights gained both from workshop feedback and study of your Self-assessment Report. The PDP is a take-home guidebook for a 3 month personal journey defined by four questions: “Where am I now? Where do I want to get to? How do I get there? How will I know I’ve arrived?” The PDP helps you plan the route between “resolution” and “outcomes” by tracking how you get on at your selected upcoming events. It measures the changes you set yourself.

This approach is designed to improve communications effectiveness by harnessing your own unique qualities – rather than repeating a learned formula. We’ll show how your charisma can make things better by shaping a truly authentic communication style that fits you best.

We believe useful workshops need to be experiential. Busy people need to lean forward and try out new stuff – not just sit back and hear how it’s done. So participants are encouraged to dive right in.

Performance and feedback helps ‘make it better’

This training course will enable you to:

• Understand what’s needed for creating instant rapport with people, breaking down barriers and winning trust.
• Understand how to adapt your style of communication to situations and audience needs.
• Identify and optimise the character assets you can use for effective communication.
• Select the ‘communication terrain’ that best suits your personality type.
• Avoid communication styles outside your comfort zone that may trigger negative responses.
• Understand the hidden techniques others are using to try and influence you.
• Plan and develop strategies to ensure people understand your message and embrace your calls to action.
• Build a communication skills plan to ensure continuous personal improvement.

Specifically, we will practice what it’s like to “inhabit” each the zones or dimensions in the Charisma matrix from which both the projection profile and the essence profile are composed. As well as seeing and giving feedback to others when they consciously adopt these modes, workshop participants get a chance to try out them out for ourselves.

So in the two-dimensional projection map, participants experience the difference between communication styles based on persuasion, and those based on empathy. Similarly, the high-energy communication styles commonly adopted for large groups, are mostly quite different from more intimate behaviours we use with small groups.

Experiential learning to “inhabit” different charisma dimensions

In the circular seven-dimensional charisma essence map, we work around the separate dimensions: exploring Self-Assurance, Drive, Vision, Collaboration, Empathy, Beliefs, and Values.

Where does your charisma essence reside?

The Communicate Charisma Workshop also includes the following topic areas:

• Defining charisma and the way it is used all around you.
• The role of personal charisma in effective communication.
• How great communicators influence audiences great and small.
• How to adapt your behaviour to emphasize strengths and manage your challenges.
• Learning how people experience us directly, through interactive workshop activity.
• Understanding your personal Charisma profile and locking in continuous learning through Personal Development Plan.

At Communicate Charisma we teach people how to become more engaging and effective communicators. In our Charisma Dimensions workshops, we use practical exercises coupled with our bespoke self-awareness tools to allow participants to understand and experience the impact of individual personality traits on how we are perceived by others. Together, we use these insights to develop a more effective and authentic personal style, and so raise our power of influence and communications mastery.

Find out more about our workshops.