The
ideas for the following 10-items to enhancing your charisma appeared in MoneyWatch (March 14, 2012 edition),
authored by Tom Searcy. The article credits Cynthia Burnham, author of The Charisma Edge. Burnham coaches
Fortune 500 executives being groomed for senior-level management.
I
have borrowed some of Burnham’s suggestions and applied them to job-interviewing
situations. Once you review them, it is easy to envision how and why a hot career
opening can easily go south. Rarely do we see ourselves as others see us.
Nonetheless, these are invaluable recommendations when you want to connect to
others.
Stand and sit-up straight:
It is inconceivable to imagine
that anyone would walk into a job interview looking downtrodden and stoop-shouldered,
but it happens. When you want to portray self-confidence, you have to stand and
sit tall. A slumped over image projects a lack of confidence.
Practice handshaking:
Ever shake hands with someone as if he
or she were handing you a dirty rag? Research shows that employers prefer those
with a better handshake. A good handshake consists of an appropriate grip and a
measure of pressure. Pretend you are on a campaign trail.
Hold eye contact—without staring:
Staring usually makes others uncomfortable,
yet if you avoid making eye contact, you project the image of not being trustworthy.
Somewhere in between there is a happy balance. Upon initial meeting, making and
briefly holding eye contact is highly important.
Lower your voice—not volume:
Do not confuse lowering your
voice with speaking softly or whispering. Lowering one’s voice just a decibel or
one notch will make a tremendous difference for those with a squeaky or
high-pitched voice. A lower voice implies credibility.
Avoid chopping gestures:
Everyone has a few annoying tics. TV character, Adrian Monk, comes to mind. If you have a tendency toward
waving your arms, over-gesturing or perhaps fidgeting, you may need to tone it
down during job interviews.
Pause before responding:
Even if you are armed and ready with
your response to an interviewing question, do not be in a hurry to blurt it
out. Pretend the question caught you off guard, or take a breath before
answering. This will help you appear thoughtful, rather than rehearsed.
Reduce extraneous nodding:
Avoid undermining yourself with
too much head nodding. It is supposed to signal others that you either
understand or agree. That say, however, excessive head nodding can make you
appear as a bobble-head. After the interview and once out of earshot, too much
nodding may make you the subject of comment.
Speak and enunciate properly:
Nothing will kill a job interview
faster than sloppy speech habits. Furthermore, poor enunciation often leads to
miscommunications. There is a famous old saying to keep in mind: Speak so that I may see you.
Flash smile:
Smiling signals others that you
are pleased to see them. This also helps reduce your interviewer’s stress
level. They are just as nervous as you are, but for other reasons: They worry
about making hiring mistakes. Smile, even if your interviewer fails to do so.
Laugh:
While job interviewing is serious
business, you should avoid taking yourself so seriously you inhibit your ability
to laugh. It is okay to laugh at yourself. The key is to appear genuine.
Naturally, if you are afflicted with a nervous laugh, that is a separate
issue.
While you may not be able to address all these issues, consider selecting two or three of the ones posing the greatest challenge. Focus on those, and the less important ones will standout less. From the big-picture prospective, you want to avoid unwittingly setting yourself up for failure.
While you may not be able to address all these issues, consider selecting two or three of the ones posing the greatest challenge. Focus on those, and the less important ones will standout less. From the big-picture prospective, you want to avoid unwittingly setting yourself up for failure.