One of my favorite activities to work on with speakers is developing their persona.  Speakers rarely get to that point on their own.  It’s hard to have enough distance from how you are coming across to analyze it clearly, to decide what’s optimal and what’s not, and to embrace a particular set of characteristics.

So, our conversation begins by asking the speaker how they would like to be perceived by the audience.  An adjective-rich discussion ensues.  Funny?  Strong? Relatable?  Engaging?  Knowledgeable? Energetic? Smart? Did I mention funny?  How does the speaker want his or her audiences to talk about them when the speech is over?

When you get past the initial adjective exploration, most speakers say they want to evince some mixture of competence, or expertise, on the one hand, and warmth, or trustworthiness, on the other.  Various measures of executive presence also suggest that this polarity of credibility and trust, or competence and warmth, adds up to charisma to the extent that this somewhat mysterious quality can be measured.  At the simplest level, this polarity means that you seem to know what you’re talking about, and you do so in a relatable, not boring, way.

But charisma still remains a bit elusive — it is that certain something that makes a person magnetic.  A charismatic politician or movie star walks into a room and draws all eyes – the center of attention.  I’ve met several of the recent presidents and each of them demonstrates this ability in slightly different ways.  How do they do that?

Developing that kind of charisma takes two steps that most people, speakers included, never get very far on.  First, knowing as objectively as possible how you come across now, so you know where you start.  Second, giving yourself permission to change that to a more desired outcome.  Here’s where that polarity helps get you started.  Are you an academic with deep subject knowledge?  Do you demonstrate plenty of expertise, but perhaps come across a little lacking in the warmth category?  Or are you a happy extrovert, delighted to talk to anyone, but with less of an ability to convey your expertise?

Once you decide what your desired outcome is, then you can begin to work on either end of the polarity to develop your persona further.  Let’s say you want to warm up your presence, because people have told you that your speeches are a little dry.  Plenty of expertise – you really know your stuff – but not enough pep to bring the audience through to the other side.

If that’s the story about you, then you need to warm up your facial expressions in particular, and body language in general, to come across as more open, welcoming, and engaging.  It starts as simply as smiling more, and continues with using your eyes, your eyebrows, your face, and your hands more expressively.

If, on the other hand, you understand that you’re already personable enough, you just need to add an element of seriousness, in order to be more appreciated for your expertise, then you want to reverse the process, smiling less and working to become a little less expressive, instead adding a bit more gravitas.

Of course, it’s not a simple either/or, and there are many shades of charisma and many successful styles.  This initial schema is simply a way to begin thinking about what is otherwise a rather elusive topic to grapple with, especially in attempting to apply it to yourself.

What do you want your persona to be?  If it’s not something you’ve thought about before, it’s time to start now.  Knowing how you come across and optimizing your presence are essential steps on the road to becoming a successful speaker.