I had the pleasure of doing a BlogTalkRadio Show with Eva Kihlstrom. We talked about charisma, presence and communication. One of her great examples of “presence and charisma” was Nelson Mandela.
“When Nelson Mandela is meeting someone he does like this: he stretches out his hand. Even before he passes the threshold of the room he opens up his face by lifting up his eyebrows and he smiles. Then he walks toward the person that he is supposed to meet.
When someone comes to you like that: smiling with their hand stretched out and with an open, friendly face, you would feel happy. You would feel that this person looked forward to meeting you. Before even saying a word you feel good about yourself. You feel important.”
Some tips from Eva re speaking and presentations:
-Use metaphors to create pictures in people’s minds. They will remember more. For example; Bill Clinton said “The voters have put us in a boat. They have given us oars to row with. This is the direction I want to take.”
-In business, don’t just present with facts and figures—give comparisons. If you say something will take 50,000 hours–it’s hard to grasp. But you can say it will take more than 5 years around the clock. That statement makes it real.
- When presenting—pauses are important. Stop and make sure you are giving eye contact to different people.
-When you go to present in front of a large group, don’t think of them as a group of strangers. Picture them all as friends in your living room. It will relax you and help you connect.
For more tips and knowledge–listen to Eva’s interview by clicking here.
