Charisma: A Business Skill That Is Not Given Enough Importance

“Charisma” is a business skill that I think is not given enough importance. I don’t mean being the funniest at the table or having an overwhelming personality. I mean knowing how to generate relationships.

To enter a meeting with a smile. To transmit energy. To be eager to meet the one in front of you. To be able to talk to a buyer, a supplier, someone from your team or a person you have just met and find common ground.

When I walk into a meeting with people I don’t know, I immediately try to break the ice. I make a comment, tell something or try to make the other person laugh. And I feel that this not only relaxes the other person, it also relaxes me. The meeting stops feeling so formal and starts to become a conversation between people. For me, that is also something that can be trained.

In the end, behind any business there are always people.

In business, there is a lot of talk about strategy, negotiation, numbers, leadership, product, etc. And obviously, all of that matters. But then much more human things happen. Someone more or less wants to attend to you. They reply to a message. They remember you. They introduce you to someone else. They give you a second meeting. Or think, “I want to do business with this person.”

Many times, the difference is in how you made the other person feel. I believe a lot in generating bonds. In smiling, asking, listening, telling, getting excited and spreading the passion I have for what I do. Not to please everyone. That is impossible.

In the end, behind any business there are always people. You can have a spectacular product and an impeccable presentation. But if you also get the other side to want to sit down with you again, you have a huge advantage.

That’s why, for me, charisma is also a business tool. And like any other skill, it can be trained.

Many times, they will not remember exactly what you said in a meeting. The important thing is that they still want to be in touch with you.