TJ Walker argues charisma isn't innate but a learned skill: public speaking ability. Reagan and Clinton won re-election as strong speakers; Ford, Carter, and George H.W. Bush lost as weak ones. Speaking can be taught, which means leadership potential isn't locked behind personality.
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Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin has allegedly discovered charisma. So, folks, the governor of Wisconsin has impressed a lot of conservatives and Republicans around the country the last few years. Now, he's similarly enraged a lot of liberals and Democrats, but that's put him on the short list of presidential contenders, the Republican ticket for 2016. Now, the rap on Walker, and by the way, no relation to me. I do have relatives from Wisconsin. But if he is a relative, and I don't have any reason to believe he is, it's a very distant relative. So the rap on Walker has been that he has no charisma, good record, good instincts, good values, but no charisma. What does this really mean? Now, I have a contrarian view when it comes to charisma. I actually happen to believe that there is no such thing as charisma. When you describe someone as having charisma, all you're really doing is describing their public speaking skills. Now, this annoys some people when I say this, but hear me out. Let's test this theory. Think of the people that most would consider charismatic. Reagan, Clinton. You want to go back in history. And I'm not, obviously not endorsing this person, Hitler. What do they all have in common? They're great public speakers. Now, let's also look at political figures who are not perceived as being great political leaders. Look at the last three presidential incumbents who lost reelection in the United States. Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. bush. What do they all have in common beyond the fact that they lost re election bids? A, they were all poor public speakers. B, they were all perceived to not have charisma. So my challenge to you is try to think of somebody that you feel has just tremendous charisma. I don't mean in your own office or among friends, but I mean on the larger national, international scale, the political scale. Try to think of that person who has tremendous charisma and who is a poor public speaker. I'm willing to bet you can't do that. And that's why I contend that there really is no such thing as charisma. It's about public speaking skills. Now, why is this significant? Because people think of charisma as something you're simply born with. You either got it or you don't. And if you don't got it, that's it. You can never be a great leader. And the real problem, of course, is if it's actually about public speaking. Well, public speaking is a skill. It's a skill like learning how to ride a bicycle. It's a skill like learning how to type an email. In fact, anybody can do it. The more society realizes that, the more we can open up a whole pool of potential political talent in all political parties. And that's what I think is important. So that's my challenge to you. Don't just if you aspire to leadership, whether it's in public office or anything else, don't just say, well, I don't have charisma. Baloney. You might not yet have public speaking skills, but. But those you can develop. If you want help with public speaking skills, give us a call here at media Training Worldwide, 212-764-4955. We have public workshops, we have private intensive training seminars, we have Skype training, and we have online course training. So we have something for every budget, every need. Please contact us today.
