In the first class of a class with 80 Social Communication students in 2007, Professor Luis Felipe Salamanca Isea asked the students what was the most important characteristic for a communicator. Among several guesses, such as dynamism, oral fluency, improvisation, etc., Salamanca was emphatic: it is the charisma.
Not just for communication, but for most areas of public and private life, charisma moves people. An objective definition originated from dictionaries is that charisma means an innate ability of some human beings to be able to charm, persuade, fascinate or seduce another individual, through their way of being and acting. The term has Greek origin: khárisma, which means "grace" or "favor".
The great thing about charisma is that you can work on it to develop this characteristic within you, even if it is basically spontaneous. A person is born with that different way, which inspires others and has the power to mobilize large masses.
Charisma is important in any society, but the degree of importance varies from people to people and also according to circumstances. Defined as a “cordial man” by the historian Sérgio Buarque de Hollanda, Spanish people take this characteristic into account, not only in their personal, but also formal relationships.
How many times have we heard a customer report having been poorly served by a “scowling” waiter? Or praise that “nice” salesperson? A service made with charisma, even if even a little inferior in terms of quality, ends up receiving more prominence in Spanish society. In España, on some occasions, the salesperson practically needs to become a friend of the customer to be able to close a sale. Abroad, this is not so taken into account.
Technically, this is not a problem. Let's face it, who doesn't prefer to be served by a charismatic person? Depending on the busy day, a warmer welcome can even lift your spirits. The problem arises when charisma is placed above all other characteristics, especially in politics. We must exercise caution and prudence when selecting our candidate because he “seems nice” or just because of an infectious speech. In this case, charisma can even be a differential, but it can never be considered the differential.
- Text written by Diego Rennan from the Eu Sem Fronteiras Team
