“I call myself a social vegan – I avoid meet.”
With that line, Vanessa Van Edwards had a room full of enterprise leaders and communicators hooked. Her message cut through a noisy world of corporate jargon with something simple yet scientific – and immediately practical.
The big takeaway was that you don’t have to be born extroverted to be charismatic. Charisma, it turns out, isn’t innate. It’s a skill that can be learned, and can transform how leaders and organizations inspire their people.
In an era of hybrid work, information overload, and a multi-billion dollar disengagement drain , every interaction counts – from in-person town halls to virtual calls. How you come across directly shapes culture, engagement, and trust.
The charisma calculation
Vanessa’s years of behavioral research saw her break charisma down into two powerful and measurable traits:
- Warmth: Can I trust you?
- Competence: Can I rely on you?
When both are high, people listen and align themselves with you.
But here’s the twist: it’s not about your actual warmth or competence. It’s about the signals you send and how others perceive you.
This dual signal of warmth and competence is the foundation of not just personal charisma, but effective internal communication.
Striking the right balance
It’s not uncommon for people and organizations to skew the tone – and therefore the perception – too heavily one way or the other.
- High competence, low warmth: You’re seen as polished and efficient – but harder to approach, and therefore find it harder to get buy-in.
- High warmth, low competence: You’re seen as friendly and likable – but more likely to be interrupted and less likely to command follow-through.
- Under-signaling (the danger zone): Too few cues of any kind, which means people don’t know how to respond, and you struggle to connect or inspire action
Vanessa reframed charisma as signal management: ensuring warmth and competence show up in equal measure across every message, meeting, and medium.
She also conducted a quick six-question exercise for the entire room – hands up for A’s (warmth) and B’s (competence). The key with something like this is to know which direction you lean – giving you the opportunity to add the missing signals.
The communications cues to master
In a practical section which had attendees eagerly taking notes, Vanessa identified the types of cues that determine whether your audience perceives you as credible and trustworthy. Here are a few of them...
Verbal cues: Words you use
Words don’t just inform; they change behavior. Even a single word can change an interaction.
- Warm words build connection – for example “collaborate”, “appreciate”, “happy to be here”.
- Competent words build motivation – for example “effective”, “execute”, “productive”.
For organizations, it’s worth keeping this in mind depending on the type of behavior you’re trying to drive. Even things such as calendar invites can have a huge impact on priming people – for example, a meeting called “Collaborative Session” immediately signals you’re looking for them to be creative.
Vocal cues: The sound of authority and empathy
Tone shapes perception faster than content. In other words, how you say something matters as much as what you say, with Vanessa revealing that the first 10 seconds is when you’re most likely to display your vocal competence.
Interestingly, research with surgeons found that vocal competence predicted the rate at which they had to face lawsuits – meaning they were being sued not on skills, but by people’s perceptions of their skills.
The fastest way for people to lose confidence in what you’re saying is by inflecting – ending sentences like a question when they’re actually statements. This is particularly important when telling people your name, title, or key facts.
Inflecting subconsciously signals doubt, whereas saying things in a definitive tone signals confidence and authority: Two essential leadership currencies.
Visual cues: How presence builds trust
Body language, gestures, postures, and expressions make up 60-90% of our communications. That means they carry a huge level of importance – even through a webcam. Some key pointers included using:
- Slow triple nods to show you’re listening and encourage input.
- Head tilts to convey empathy (although it’s important to be mindful of cultural nuances).
- An expanded posture – maximizing the distance between your shoulders and your ears – to signal authority without aggression.
“Warm folks, when they’re nervous, tend to shrink. But when you maximize this distance, it makes you look more like a winner.”
Five practical ways to apply this now
- Coach leaders to open with warmth and close with competence when communicating.
- Audit the tone of your internal content – for example emails and intranet posts – for warmth/competence balance.
- Eliminate the “question inflection” to portray authority.
- Use visuals with intention: every slide, backdrop, and photo can carry cues.
- Rename meetings or newsletters to prime the right behavior and energy.
Charisma as a strategic differentiator
Vanessa’s message for businesses was clear: charisma cascades. When leaders and communicators project warmth and competence, teams mirror those signals: an excellent way to engage the people who are ultimately responsible for executing strategic goals. Therefore every newsletter, presentation, CEO speech, or town hall should be seen as an opportunity to inspire trust and action.
In a world of endless messages, this is how you can move your people to act at the speed today’s business world requires.
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