Charisma. It's good for business. Some people have it naturally, but anyone can develop charisma. The value of your charisma in terms of a business asset has to do with how well you influence others by connecting with them.

Charisma as defined by Webster's Dictionary: "A personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthusiasm." Makes sense, doesn't it, that inspiring loyalty and enthusiasm in your clients and colleagues is good for business?

These components of charisma can be learned and improved:
1. Silent messages
2. Communication skills
3. Persuasiveness
4. Adaptability

1. Silent Messages: when someone meets you for the first time, most of their reception of you has to do with non-verbal aspects of you that include and go beyond mere body language.

There is also your energy level or your vibe, your body fitness, the tone of voice more than the actual words you say, etc. These transmit information about your level of caring. The person you're meeting gets an impression of whether and how you value them.

To increase your charisma (magnetic personality), be aware of your silent messages and practice and attitude of service. Treat others as important, and you will attract and empower your clients and colleagues.

2. Communications skills: while this component includes speaking, an equally important part of communication is listening - a fact which many people forget when they are "communicating."

To increase your charisma, practice the art of speaking succinctly and clearly. Since people would generally rather talk than listen, most of your business contacts will appreciate you for being direct and to the point.

Spend plenty of focused attention on developing your listening skills. Here are some behaviors to remember: make eye contact, smile, nod your head or make uh-huh sounds, lean toward rather than away. These seem like simple things, but if you look around you might notice that many people fail to do them.

Also, ask yourself, are you really listening, or just waiting for your turn to talk? When you really pay attention, you can learn valuable things about the person with whom you're dealing. So, if you're tempted to interrupt, take a deep breath. Always seek to understand the other person's point of view.

3. Persuasiveness. Surprisingly, this is best accomplished by shifting the focus to the other person. Explore the problems you could help them solve or the opportunities you could help them seize. Ask questions that allow the other person to come up with the answers.

To increase your charisma, keep this in mind regarding persuasiveness: you get what you want by helping others get what they want.

4. Adaptability. Appreciate diversity rather than merely tolerating that others don't always do or want things the same way you do. The more you can get into the flow of someone else's agenda (while remaining authentic), the more appeal you have to them.

To increase your charisma, forget the golden rule, "Treat others the way you would like to be treated." Instead, figure out how to treat them the way *they* would like to be treated.

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