Charismatic Speaking

As a Fellow of the Professional Speaking Association I have just been enthralled for 2 days by a diverse range of breathtakingly charismatic speakers. Patricia Fripp is a sharp, powerful and dynamic speaker from the US who used to be a hairdresser. Today she entertains audiences across the globe teaching sales people, speakers and priests to create and deliver charismatic presentations or sermons in some cases. Fripp is tiny in stature yet her presence on stage is awesome. Every word she utters hits the spot and I felt I was in the presence of a true genius. It was also the first time I've see Deri Llewellyn-Davies known as The Strategy Man. After a rather startling entrance I found myself mesmerised by the artful way he built beautiful crafted links into his extreme challenges. From running marathons across the desert to climbing unclimbable mountains Deri's speech was packed with powerful tips to build a successful speaking career. And then onto the stage walked Alvin Law whose mother had in 1960 taken a pill for easing morning sickness. Alvin is a thalidomide baby and was born with no arms. He shows not an ounce of self pity - just sheer guts, wisdom and unbelievable resilience that moved over 400 professional speakers to tears. Watching Alvin use his feet to drink from a bottle, brush his hair and play the drums caused me to feel overwhelmed with the courage this man possesses.

Charisma is an authentic power that captivates the hearts and minds of others. When you are being you and you love what you do you shine. Audience engagement is a leading indicator of a speaker's success. Developing your charismatic potential in a way that is aligned with the essence of who you truly are at your core is the quickest way to enthral an audience. There are five pillars that impact upon your charisma: 1. Self-worth ( in the context of speaking) 2. Sensory awareness of you and your audience ( if you tune into your Emotional Guidance System you'll have continual feedback about your speech) 3. Compelling vision that creates an electro magnetic force field that your audience will feel and be affected by. 4. Driving force that determines your level of passion and enthusiasm. 5. Balanced energy so you can simultaneously transmit and receive energy that builds huge momentum during your speech. Everyone including you have an abundance of charisma yet when you experience knocks, obstacles and difficulties you trigger the erection of walls that disconnect you from your inner essence. Therefore, the quickest way to re-connect with your charisma is to identify, acknowledge and dismantle your walls. Here are my top tips for boosting your charisma when speaking or presenting to larger groups:

1. Be yourself. Speaking and presenting techniques that are not aligned with the essence of who you truly are inside will mean that you are perceived as not authentic and this automatically dilutes charisma.
2. Deliver your speeches/presentations/talks in peripheral vision. (Focus your attention on one spot then expand your awareness into the peripheral). This opens the doorway to your unconscious mind and enables you to connect to universal energy referred to as The Field. It is in this transcendental state that stimulates your natural charisma.
3. Start slowly and build the pace. This builds rapport with the kinaesthetics, auditories and visuals in your audience. You can then speak at your natural talking pace.
4. You cannot engage the heart of your audience unless you create an emotional response. If you struggle with the ability to access a wide range of emotions then book a session with an Emotional Freedom Techniques Therapist who will help you to release the energetic blockages that are preventing you from connecting emotionally.
5. Ego is the quickest way to drain your charisma. Showing humility, compassion and vulnerability creates a powerful intensity that builds a strong heart-orientated connection with your audience.
6. Charismatic speakers utilise more of their Limbic Brain. Limber up your Limbic Brain that controls your self awareness and your emotional responses by performing a Cross Crawl exercise daily. This is simply a cross-lateral walking in place exercise that involves touching the right elbow to the left knee and then the left elbow to the right knee.
7. Every living thing exudes an electro magnetic field referred to as an aura. The larger your aura the more charismatic you become. Emotions such as love and gratitude are the quickest way to expand your aura. This is why charismatic speakers only speak about the topics that they really care about.
8. Regularly meditation enables you to build a stronger connection with your authentic charisma because it enables you to slow down your brain wave frequencies to 'Theta' - the most powerful frequency for transformation. Accessing Theta when speaking enables you to work in a peak state of flow.