“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” - Barack Obama

With the news today that Barack Obama may have defeated Hilary Clinton in the race for the leadership I felt inspired to talk about a few of Mr. Obama’s better qualities. In this post I want to look at some things we can learn from Obama about developing charisma.

How to develop charisma like Barack Obama

Charisma is hard to define. It comes from the Greek word “karisma” and means divine or blessed quality. It is difficult to define because it means different things to different people. Some people will perceive a person as charismatic while others will not. However, people who are widely accepted as charismatic often share similar behavioral traits.

Obama has a lot of them. Let’s take a look and see if we can learn a few things.

1. Charasmatic leaders empower people

“I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington… I’m asking you to believe in yours.” - Barack Obama

Barack Obama has the makings of a truly great leader. Take a look at the quote above. It is typical of his style and is reminiscent of every great leader. Why? Because he leads by empowering people.

We all know the manager in the workplace who attempts to hold on to his power by taking away and demoting everyone else. It is counterproductive and it doesn’t work very well. A good leader, on the other hand, will empower his/her people and make them feel like they are an important part of the process. Obama does this extremely well.

Charismatic people empower those around them. Take a look at how Obama kicks of this Q and A session and how he empowers the first South Korean speaker:

2. Charismatic people inspire confidence

“There’s not a liberal America and a conservative America - there’s the United States of America.” - Barack Obama

One of the main traits of a charismatic person is that they inspire confidence. When you talk to a person with great charisma you will often feel protected and re-assured because they know exactly what to do and how to do it. You leave thinking that everything is going to be okay because this person knows what they are doing.

Obama does this all the time. Take a look at this video of Obama on 60 minutes. Calm, collected and very confidence inspiring.

3. Charismatic people use people’s names and physically interact
One thing that most charismatic people do is engage people by asking their names, remembering those names and physically interacting with them.

Asking a person their name (or remembering it when you reconnect) is the single best way you can show that you are interested and care about what they are feeling/have to say. The next thing you can do is physically interact with them by shaking hands or touching their shoulders in a friendly way. Take a look at Obama at this meet and greet:

4. Charismatic people speak well

“A good compromise, a good piece of legislation, is like a good sentence; or a good piece of music. Everybody can recognize it. They say, ‘Huh. It works. It makes sense.” - Barack Obama

The final thing I am going to talk about today in regards to charismatic people is their ability to speak extremely well. Their words are carefully thought out and always meaningful. It is very unlikely that a charismatic person will waste his/her time talking about unimportant issues. The words they speak somehow carry a great weight.

Think about some of the greats: Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Lincoln, Gandhi… every word they spoke had a purpose.

Take a look at this speech Obama gives where he talks about “Just words”. The first one and half minutes of this speech are the most inspiring and charismatic moments I have seen come out of a presidential hopeful in a long time.

Conclusion on developing charisma like Obama

Many people believe that it is impossible to develop charisma. Those who have studied it think that it is an innate quality that people are born with. However, by studying people who are considered charismatic we can pick up some tips and tricks. Keep in mind, however, having charisma is utterly useless unless you use it to make a difference.

top image: photo credit: Barack Obama

Last week we showed you some of history’s greatest speakers and the techniques they used to deliver their marvelous oral discourses. In this post I want to quickly show you some things NOT to do in a speech.

1. George Bush - Don’t take questions if you don’t know your material
George Bush is renowned for being a very poor public speaker. Quite often he is put on the spot with a penetrating question and he struggles to formulate a good response. Take a look at this video where Bush is asked a pretty simple question.

It is really important to know your industry top to bottom if you want to look professional. If you don’t know your material then don’t put yourself in a position where you will be put on the spot.

2. Don McMillan - What NOT to do on Powerpoint
We all know those corporate Powerpoint presentations that make you go to sleep. Comedian Don McMillan takes a look at what NOT to do with Powerpoint. Take special notice of the first point he raises - it is hilarious!

3. George Bush - Pick your occasion
On Veteran’s Day George Bush gave an angry, partisan and very inappropriate speech. It is important to make sure the occasion is right for your message. Do not isolate people in the audience with your speech - instead try to appeal to everyone.

Any others?

Can anyone think of any other speeches that just made you cringe?

Mrs Daily Minder has a dilemma. She is currently being offered two jobs and doesn’t know which one to take. We have been talking about it for days and still haven’t come to a solution so I thought I would write about it and see if we can come up with a clear process for figuring out when to change jobs.

I would love your suggestions, help and words of wisdom too.

How do you know when to change jobs?

Here is the scenario: A competitor firm is offering her a new job with some nice little bonuses. Her current job found out about this and is offering her more hours and a better deal to encourage her to stay. She has no idea which one to take. Here are some issues we have looked at:

1. Are you happy at your current workplace?
If you are not happy at your workplace and you have tried making friends, meditating at work, becoming more mindful, de-stressing and so on and still haven’t had any luck then perhaps it is time to change jobs. Regardless of how much money you are being paid, if you are not happy your life will be miserable. This is the most important question to ask yourself when deciding if you should change jobs.

2. What are your short and long term goals?
It is important to sit down and establish what your short and long term goals are. If you do not have any goals it will be too easy to float around with no real direction. However, once you write down some concrete goals you will have more of a “guide” as to which option will be better for you.

For example, if you long term goal is to earn enough money to buy a house then you should go with the job offering more money. On the other hand, if your long term goal is in a completely different area then you should take the job that offers the best deal in the short term.

Make sure your goals are in your mind when you make a job changing decision.

3. What is your gut telling you?

photo credit: Paladin27

A dear friend of mine told me that the best piece of advice he had was to always trust your gut. I think this is very good advice. Sometimes we might be seduced by a financial incentive or we might be tempted by the allure of a new and exciting job. However, take some time to listen to what your gut is telling you. 90% of the time you know what is best for you - despite what the money is whispering in your ear.

4. Have you done a PRO and CON list?
Something my father always used to do before a big business decision was write down a PRO and CON list or a cost-benefit analysis. Sometimes this would be two manila folders, sometimes it would be a napkin on the kitchen bench. I quite like this approach as it is very systematic and allows you to look at the options visually. We are very visual creatures and writing things down on paper in two neat columns labeled GOOD and BAD is a great way to gain some perspective.

The problem with this (according to my father) is that it is very difficult to assign some “weight” to each PRO or CON. For example, job no.1 might offer you a great car park while job no.2 might offer you a great desk and a Christmas bonus. How do you establish which option is better? Do you do it financially by working out how much a year the car park saves you in parking costs and whether that is equal to the Christmas bonus the other guys are offering? Or, do you just go with the quantity of PROs in the column?

This is tricky.

5. Have you talked to other people?
Sometimes talking to people who already work at the place you might be going is a good idea. I just got a phone call from the Missus and she told me that she went to talk to someone who used to work at the place. They went out for a coffee and talked about all the good and bad elements of the firm. This seems to have given her some new perspective.

However, the downside to talking to other people is that you often get a lot of emotional opinion instead of facts. People’s views are swayed by their experiences and if the person had a bad experience with a manager or another staff member they might paint the firm in a bad light. Be careful of who you talk to and how much import you attach to their opinion.

6. Have you looked at the “external” factors?
Something that you need to look at are the factors that aren’t directly related to the job but will be affected if you change workplaces. For example, if you change from a 9 to 5 job to one that includes night shifts will you still be able to take the kids to work the next morning? These kinds of factors are affected when you change jobs and as such you should make sure you address them before you make the move.

Other tips and advice for changing jobs?

Now I would like to open up the comments to you all. Please share with us your experiences and stories about changing jobs. What made you leave? What did you regret? What advice do you have? Let’s see if we can compile a list of tips in the comments that might really help someone who encounters this post.

top image: photo credit: mringlein

Giving a speech or presentation can be scary. You have a few moments to convince a room of strangers to buy your product or get them to trust what you are pitching. But there is hope! History has shown us many ways to give a truly great speech - a speech that goes “bang” in people’s hearts and minds.

In this article I want to look at a few of those great speeches and talk about how you can give a work presentation that hits the point and makes an impression.

1. Martin Luther King Junior: I Have a Dream

Connect with the audience’s emotions and repeat the message

In 1963 Martin Luther King Junior gave what is probably the most recognized and famous speech of all time. It is a speech that changed the nation forever and burned its way into the memory of millions of Americans. How did he do this? He connected with the emotions of the audience. Take a look:

Martin Luther King uses the phrase “I have a dream” to rip his way into the hearts of his listeners. The dream he speaks of is, in fact, the same dream of everyone listening - this is why the speech is so emotionally powerful. I challenge anyone to watch this clip and not shed a tear. He is speaking directly to the innermost sanctum of the human heart. He is speaking about human experience, love, parenthood, freedom - these things evoke emotion.

If you want to make a great speech you need to connect to the emotions of those listening.

The second thing King Jr. did was repeat a key phrase. “I have a dream” was said at important points throughout the speech and it was this key phrase that made the speech so memorable. By repeating “I have a dream” at important junctions he was able to associate certain emotions with that phrase. Now, whenever anyone hears “I have a dream” they think of equality, freedom, brotherhood and so on.

Make sure you have some repetition in your speech. If you say something once people will forget. Say it twice, people will remember.

2. John F. Kennedy: Inaugural Address (Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You)

Increase volume at the right time, evoke people’s imagination and ask questions

Volume is a very important part of a great speech. If you use volume correctly you can draw your audience’s attention in or you can emphasize a point. A whisper can be just as powerful as a shout. Kennedy increases his volume at the key points of this speech and as such forces people to pay attention. Keep reading →