I can’t believe it’s already February – the month of LOVE!
Despite my best intentions to have a ‘Slowanuary,’ it turned out to be an unusually busy month. I took a whistlestop business trip to Europe, stopping in Maastricht, Luxembourg, and Amsterdam.
I was also a panellist at the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) Parent & Carer Network’s sold-out webinar on building an online presence and I beta-tested my new mentoring programme for interpreters – more on that later in this newsletter.
One common theme in my conversations about building businesses has been the importance of cultivating new relationships. Beyond skills and expertise, what truly sets successful professionals apart is their ability to connect with others. Charisma plays a crucial role in fostering strong relationships, building trust, and inspiring confidence.
One of the most charismatic individuals I’ve worked with was the late Betty Williams, who won the Nobel Peace Prize after she co-founded a movement to end violent conflict in Northern Ireland, and later campaigned for peace across the world.
It’s more than a decade since I met Betty and her daughter Deborah during a UNICEF conference in Florence, but I can still vividly remember our conversation. She was articulate, intelligent and the epitome of kindness. We formed an immediate bond and kept in touch for several years afterwards through her daughter, Deborah.
So what was Betty’s secret?
In her book The Charisma Myth, Olivia Fox Cabane identifies three behaviours which combine to produce charisma: warmth, presence and power. These are largely communicated through body language and the way we deliver our words.
When I think back to our meeting, Betty embodied all three of these qualities. She asked me questions about my life, and then listened to my answers with genuine interest (presence). She was very confident (power) but also radiated warmth. She smiled as she spoke, gently touched my arm and looked at me intently with her sparkling blue eyes.
It was easy to see how she’d been so successful at inspiring people to join her peace movement.
Most people assume that charisma is innate – a natural magnetism that you’re either blessed with or not. But as Fox Cabane explains in her book, charisma is a set of skills which can be acquired with practice. She provides lots of tips and techniques for doing just that in this video. You can also find some of my own suggestions here.