To get ahead at work and in life, you need to cultivate a magnetic appeal. Some people innately come across as charming, charismatic and likable, while others lack these qualities, which can adversely impact their careers.
By incorporating the following 10 techniques into your daily interactions with co-workers, managers and clients, you can enhance your charisma, charm, likability and success in both professional environments and personal relationships. By practicing these habits on a consistent basis, you will start developing an irresistible presence that attracts others and fosters positive, career-building connections.
1. Manage Your Emotions
You must manage your nerves. No one likes working with someone who is always anxious, worried or nervous. These negative traits disrupt the colleagues who are trying their best to be positive and motivated. They don’t have the time or patience to deal with other people’s distracting neurotic behaviors.
Charismatic individuals display a completely different persona. They exude confidence and composure. When a person is able to control their emotions and refrain from impulsive reactionary behaviors, even when they are angry, it’s viewed as an attractive attribute. This quality is especially important in today’s society, as we often see people flying off the handle and losing their temper on seemingly insignificant matters. Managing nerves will make you stand out in a positive way as a level-headed, even-keeled, unruffled leader.
2. Remember Names
After meeting someone, ensure to remember the person’s name. There is almost nothing more off-putting than when a person forgets the name of someone with whom they recently met. The person feels insulted and belittled, believing that the person couldn’t care less about them. It will make them feel as if they were not worth you remembering their name.
Conversely, by recalling a person’s name and sprinkling it into the conversation, it will make the other person believe that you care about them, hear and understand what they are saying. Dropping their name in the conversation instantly increases their attention and makes them feel valued, thereby enhancing your likability factor.
3. Actively Listen To People
Listen intently to what people say. Nod your head as the person is speaking, which shows you are paying attention and understand what they’re saying. Also, in conversation, reframe what they say. For instance, after your boss gives you a laundry list of tasks, you can repeat back a summary of what they said, showing you’ve been paying attention and are ready to accomplish and smash your goals.
An interesting hack is to mirror the cadence of the client or manager you’re interacting with. If the person has a slow Midwestern speech pattern and you are a fast-talking New Yorker, slow down your speech to make the other person feel more comfortable.
4. Demonstrate Shared Passions And Commonality
Sharing mutual passions and interests draws people in, energizes your conversations, makes you come across as more engaging and helps form bonds. These can serve as excellent icebreakers. By having varied interests, you will come across as a multi-dimensional and well-rounded person who has a lot to offer. When people talk about what excites them, they naturally light up and smile, which will allow your personality to shine through.
5. Don’t Just Be A Taker
Always try to offer more than you take. Charismatic people enrich the lives of those around them by providing extra help, support and encouragement without expectations of reciprocity. When a person offers generosity and good will for the sake of just making a person’s work life a little better, it means a lot and burnishes your reputation as a good, trustworthy and generous person.
6. Exhibit A Sense Of Humor
It’s key to have a good sense of humor. This doesn’t mean you are the class clown at work or always telling jokes, as there is a time and place for everything. However, humor plays a significant role in charisma. By being able to make customers laugh and smile, uplift the mood and reduce tension, you will be perceived as a wonderful person to be around, and people will always choose to work with you.
7. Adaptability
You need to be adaptable to quickly changing circumstances. In today’s society and workplace, things are moving quickly. It seems that out of nowhere AI has taken over, and now you need to understand how you can leverage this new technology. It’s mission critical to keep abreast of industry trends, do research into new platforms, tech, rules, regulations and changes in your field.
8-10. Ask Questions, Show Vulnerability And Be Approachable
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Be willing to learn from younger workers who may be more versatile with the emerging technologies. It’s an interesting phenomenon that by asking questions and being willing to learn from others, it makes people like you better because you’re showing vulnerability. Embracing vulnerability by sharing personal details or admitting imperfections helps grow relationships and makes you more relatable and real, further improving your ability to build connections and long-term relationships.
Moreover, be open and approachable, as opposed to aloof and standoffish. You can build relationships with relatable conversations and stories that you know will resonate with your clients and co-workers. Look for common ground that can provide ways to bond with people.
Ask genuine and authentic questions. People love talking about themselves. Oftentimes, your family, friends and colleagues are tired of your stories. Place the spotlight on the other person and ask about their job, responsibilities, why they decided on this particular career path and company and other similar types of inquiries. The listener will be ecstatic that someone actually wants to know more about them.
Doing this in a true and honest way will win over people, as they feel that you truly care about them, elevating your stature as a terrific person. Word spreads and others will feel the same way, increasing your likability, charisma and charm, which can lead to success in your career endeavors.
Source: Forbes
