New on Return of Kings, the second of my articles on charisma—this article deals with various “Tricks” on how you can “program” yourself into a state of confidence and charisma. And take it from me: they really work!

…To truly be charismatic, you have to utilize the charismatic trinity of conveying power, presence, and warmth. And the way to best do those is—the placebo effect! In other words, tricking yourself into feeling those emotions.

Yes, believe it or not, you can, for all intents and purposes, “Trick” yourself into being more charismatic, by tricking yourself into feeling any of those three emotions. The mind is often not capable of telling fantasy from reality—this is how the placebo effect works, so why not use it to your advantage? And not just in medicine but in your day-to-day dealings as well. However, realize that you can just as easily trick yourself with the “nocebo” effect—which is to say, you can talk yourself into a state of misery and low confidence. What you can do with your mind is a powerful weapon, so you might as well use it for good.

The first element of charisma is your presence—namely, that you are paying attention to the other person or people. If your eyes are glazing over in boredom and apathy, people will notice pretty quickly, and your charisma will suffer because of it. Being present means simply having a moment-to-moment awareness of what’s happening. It means paying attention to what’s going on rather than being caught up in your own thoughts.

If you need to “kickstart” your presence int he midst of a boring conversation, try wiggling your toes around for a bit. Really focus on the feeling of your toes. This forces your mind to sweep through your body, helping you to get into the physical sensations of the moment. Once you do this, immediately focus back on the person—avoid focusing too much on the sensations of your toes themselves. I find that this exercise helps me “anchor” myself in the moment.

Read it here