Charisma, an elusive yet powerful trait, often defines leaders and influencers. Unraveling its anatomy, we delve into the psychological, social, and emotional facets that construct this captivating quality. Prepare to explore the intricate world of charisma and its profound impact on human interactions.
What makes a person magnetic and why we should be wary
Charismatics can make us feel charmed and great about ourselves, but they can also be dangerous
- Individuals with charisma tap our unfettered emotions and can shut down our rational minds
- Studies show charisma is not just something a person alone possesses. It’s created by our own perceptions, particularly when we are feeling vulnerable in politically tense times.
- A magnetic preacher who spent decades wowing audiences in churches across America with the holy words of Jesus, then lost his faith and now preaches about how to live happily without God
- Bart Campolo believes charisma may be something you’re born with, but it’s not supernatural; you could employ it at will
- John Antonakis, a professor of organizational behavior, and the director of the doctoral program in management at the University of Lausanne, told me that charisma techniques can be taught
The final point Bart Campolo wanted to make about charisma: We could learn not to be taken in.
“You’re not going to stamp out charisma,” Campolo said. “The way to protect people from demagogues is to teach people how charisma works so they can recognize whether it’s being wielded responsibly or abused.”
- charisma is like fire – you can use it to heat your house or you can burn your house down.”
Jochen Menges, a lecturer in organizational behavior at the University of Cambridge, terms the emotional impact of charisma the “awestruck effect”
“We tend to hold back our emotions in an almost instinctive effort to show our deference to them, to acknowledge their superior status
- When we suppress the expression of our emotions, not only do those emotions increase their intensity, but we suffer a cognitive detriment
- Under the right circumstances, charismatics can induce a state akin to hypnotism
In 2011, a team of Danish researchers examined the brains of individuals experiencing one of the most extreme demonstrations of charismatic influence-charismatic healing.
To do so, the team recruited 18 devoted, young Christians from faiths with a tradition of intercessory prayer (mainly from the Pentecostal Movement), all of whom reported a strong belief in people with special healing powers, and 18 secular participants who did not believe in God and were not instructed to listen to 18 different prayers performed by three different speakers-and told the speakers were either non-Christian, Christian, or Christians known for having healing powers.
