This is an excerpt from a Vanessa Van Edwards YouTube talk explaining that charisma is composed of two teachable social cues—warmth and competence. She frames 'cues' as the social signals people send, argues that charismatic people simultaneously signal trust/friendliness (warmth) and capability/power (competence), and notes that these signals can be cataloged and taught rather than innate.
If you want confidence and to be taken seriously. What are those cues? Cue is a social signals humans send to each other. Charismatic people are signaling constantly warmth and competence. You can catalog them and then teach them to others. I'm a recovering awkward person, so I always thought that charisma was an innate trait. You either were born with it or you weren't. But luckily, it can be cultivated with the right cues. And it's only the two. What's special about charismatic people? The reason why we're so drawn to them is because they signal two things at the same time. They have warmth cues, collaborative, trusting, open, friendly. But at the very same time, they're competent, capable, powerful. They get things done. That's why they're so special. They have that secret sauce.
