Want to be charismatic? You can learn how, according to Richard Reid. While he does not claim he is able to transform a wet lettuce into Barack Obama, the psychologist and coach does believe he can ramp up charisma in everyone.
He is one of a new breed of executive coaches promising to step up your personal wow factor, holding workshops for business clients including EY and Sophos and one-to-one sessions with executives.
But what is charisma? You know it when you see it. It can take your breath away, spur you to action, and make you fall in love. Max Weber, a German sociologist, described it as “a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities”.