There are lots of people who think that charisma is just clever tricks of the trade or the sham of the con men and women who can seduce you with their personality and charm. It all comes down to intention. If someone wants to trick you, they’ll no doubt turn on the charm. But that’s a problem with their intention not charisma. Atomic power can be used for good or ill. It depends on intention. People on my workshops often say “are you trying to make us into actors?” I say that you’re already actors – just BAD actors. “All the world’s a stage” says Shakespeare “and the men and women merely players”. We all play roles at work and in our private life – we might be the boss, accountant or secretary at work and the mother or father at home . These are just roles which we play in a given context. But how do we play them? If my life was secretly filmed on candid camera how proud or embarrassed or just plain bored would I be to sit in the audience and watch myself? Techniques that use video are startlingly effective because people have to see themselves as other see them. When I’m at work and I’m asked to make a presentation to the senior group, do the nerves kick in and make me stumble about? Or am I full of confidence and able to access all my capabilites? The great actor is not acting, he or she is being. It’s not our inadequacy that most frightens us said Nelson Mandela, its our greatness. We need to start being great before its too late. Greatness starts when we are willing to express the truth of who we are in the role we’re playing in order to make our contribution on the stage of life. This is genuine Charisma.
