Martin Luther King had it, Princess Diana too: charisma. The ancient Greeks believed that charisma was a gift from God. But you can also learn to be charismatic! mbw editor Janina Singer spoke to presenter and media trainer Michael Harles about how to do this. He has been passing on his knowledge of successful media presence as a coach for 25 years.
Janina Singer: Charisma building is an important aspect of your media training - what do you mean by charisma?
Michael Harles: Charisma is originally a religious concept. It is a gift from God that people receive. At least particularly gifted, particularly successful, happy people. But that is only one side of charisma as we understand it today. The historical, the religious side.
You spoke earlier about a gift from God. The term charisma actually comes from the Greek and means something like gift or endowment. But is it just an innate gift or can charisma also be learnt?
I differentiate between three elements. The first is the charisma of being. That would be a gift from the gods. A person comes into the world and is lucky.
The second is the charisma of having. It arises when someone holds an office. Then the charisma of the office is also transferred to the person. A king, for example. He automatically has charisma because he is king. Or a federal president.
And we should talk about the third form! That is the charisma of action! In other words, I can do a lot myself to develop charisma. It has to do with my personality, but also with the way I present myself, with the presence with which I approach other people. And you can really train that.
So, even if I'm not Queen or Chancellor, can I still become charismatic?
Of course you can. Anyone can become charismatic if the inner and outer impression match. There are many things we can do through our actions.
That interests me, of course, because we all want to be charismatic. How do you go about your training programmes? How can I learn this?
Let's start with what we hear. I started as an announcer at Bayerischer Rundfunk. And before I was allowed to go there, we were trained. And not for three weeks, but for a year. Training, training, training every week. How do I speak in such a way that I reach and touch other people?
And there's a lot to it: pitch, tone of voice and, most importantly, pauses! They are probably the strongest dramaturgical moment when speaking.
But also the most difficult!
Yes, the most difficult. Because we are used to talking all the time. We are constantly communicating. Taking the break and enduring the break is the great art. And it's a win-win situation: because when I take a break, I also have the opportunity to think. And the other side, you Janina, are captivated.
Another secret is that we should lower our voice at the end of a sentence. Because if I don't do that, my messages become irrelevant. I'll give you an example: How does Her Majesty's most famous secret agent introduce himself?
He says: Bond... Pause... James Bond
Yes, and he lowers his voice at the end. When you hear great politicians speak, they drop their voice at the end. For example, John F. Kennedy in his famous Berlin speech: ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ - the voice drops at the end like an anchor. And with this anchor, I remain directly in the brain.
If I learn to speak like this, it automatically becomes meaningful. And that has to do with charisma. Charismatic people speak meaningfully.
But taking breaks requires a certain amount of courage, doesn't it? You have to trust that people will continue to listen to you or signal that you're not finished yet, but are just taking a break. How do you do that?
Quite simply: by knowing what I want. There is a famous English sociologist, Simon Sinek, who says: ‘tell me why’. Why should you listen to me? If I know that, then I can't get lost in the language. I know what I want to say. I know my message. And at that moment, a pause is exciting and not boring. So first clarify your inner self and prepare yourself. Then I can also take breaks.
But language is only one part. It's also about your demeanour.
Body language is an important point, isn't it?
Absolutely. If I walk onto a stage with my shoulders slumped and give a speech, people will hardly follow me. In other words, posture and presence on stage are crucial. But posture and presence don't just mean having straight shoulders, they mean having an inner compass: What do I want here, why am I going on stage?
You often see on television that politicians walk through the picture once when they are introduced before an interview. This is called ante-teasing. You can immediately see that they walk through the picture with a blank stare. They have no idea where they want to go. And that's the big problem: at that moment, I no longer believe the person.
So you have to have an idea in your head. Where do I want to go? What do I want to say to people? And at that moment I have a great chance of coming across as charismatic.
Speech and posture are things you can learn. But doesn't charisma also have to come from within? Does it involve something like inner strength or empathy?
Inner strength is definitely part of it. If you don't know what you want to convey, where you want to go, you can't convey charisma. Impossible.
Even without empathy, it is difficult to appear charismatic. There are a few counter-examples: Trump or Hitler, for example. They also have a charismatic aura, but that is based on completely different things.
But empathy is the principle for charismatic people so that they can rally other people around them. And I would like to see more empathetic charismatic people.
Strength has a lot to do with self-confidence and I ask myself: what is the chicken and what is the egg? Do you have to be confident to be charismatic? Or is charisma a prerequisite for becoming self-confident?
There's a nice saying: ‘Fake it till you make it’. There's something to it. If I practise certain behaviours, then it carries over and becomes normal. That can take a bit of time. But it helps enormously to develop your own charisma.
You have to show yourself the way you want to be perceived. You can let yourself go at home on the sofa, but not in public.
So how do you do this in your training sessions? What do you do with people so that they learn all these things?
There are wonderful exercises. For example: speaking a very emotional text in a very boring way. Because you realise for yourself what the difference is. You have to practise expanding your own range. Because the decisive factor for charismatic speaking is that you have variations and dynamics and don't speak monotonously.
But that's also a bit of acting.
Yes, but not in the sense that you embody a character. It has to come from within.
I'm playing myself, so to speak? I play a better me?
I show other people something from my inner self. I open my own book. That convinces people.
But appearance also has something to do with outward appearance, with clothing. Having your own style is important, of course. But to what extent should you follow your own style and when is it better to dress for the occasion?
My advice is always to dress the way you want to be perceived. One example is Angela Merkel, our former German Chancellor. She didn't seek advice for a long time, but wanted to be who she was, with her hairstyle and her clothes. She wanted to be authentic. That's also true. But she would never have become Chancellor that way.
It was only when she had a hairstyle that was suitable for the masses and the costumes she always wore that she was suitable for the masses and could be elected by very many people.
So: if I have the goal of being chosen by many, then I should also adapt to a generally accepted taste. If I want to preserve my individuality, that's worthy of honour, but then I'm just a special interest.
Nevertheless: dress the way you want, the way you think you look, then it's always best. And nothing should pinch. You have to feel comfortable in your own skin, because you can tell whether someone feels comfortable or not.
