The definition of charisma is “compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others.”  The ability to formulate a speech or deliver a pitch is very valuable, but the ability to attain followers in the process requires introspection and skill.  There is a yin and yang in the achievement of influence.  Speakers want to feel confidence in front of an audience or a group and listeners want to feel a connection with the speaker and his/her content.  A previous blog post on Power Poses discusses the impact of striking a power pose for the benefit of the speaker.  The confidence that the speaker emulates will most likely also have an effect on the audience, but there is another approach called self monitoring which influences the listener as well.

Professor Mark Snyder of the University of Minnesota published a paper titled “Self Monitoring of Expressive Behavior” in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 1974 describing his research on self monitoring and its impact.  In the paper, he describes self monitoring as “self-observation and self control guided by situational cues to social appropriateness.”  Snyder notes that politicians and actors are more easily able to achieve a high degree of self monitoring, while individuals who are not as attuned to his/her environment exhibit more low self monitoring characteristics.

Much research regarding self monitoring has since been conducted since Dr. Mark Snyder’s initial research.  An interesting Stanford ECorner lecture given by Ori Brafman titled “How to Build Instant Connections” describes research defining high and low self monitors and their attributes.   This lecture was inspired by Brafman’s book titled Click: The Magic of Instant Connections.

The question that Brafman answers is: how do certain people form natural, instant connections?  Brafman found that high self monitors naturally meet the people around them where they are through a mirroring technique. When people mirror us, we naturally like them better.  Brafman reported that a Stanford team researched a group of college graduates and found that high self monitors changed jobs more frequently and were promoted more rapidly than their peers.  This accelerated promotion track was largely attributed to the fact that high self monitors were often found in the center of networks due to their ability to self monitor.  Another interesting observation that Brafman notes is that the average person takes 18 years to be in the center of a network while it only takes an average of 13 months for a high self monitor to elevate to the center of a network.

In the published articles, lectures, and book reviews the theme traits of high self monitors include the ability to read people and make them feel comfortable, the characteristic of “mirroring,” and the ability to be fluid in group situations.  It may take practice to become a natural high self monitor, but the increased influence that it affords makes the rewards worth the effort.  To take Dr. Mark Snyder’s self monitoring assessment test, click here.