134. Pacelle Van Goethem: Charisma and Persuasion

Pacelle van Goethem MSc is a writer and a highly sought-after international speaker and executive coach on the subjects of persuasion, charisma and exerting influence. Her clients include influential companies and people from the highest levels of government and the corporate world. She helps people to use all of their charismatic potential. After her exhaustive research into true persuasion and the best practices of charismatic people, Van Goethem has cracked the magic code and now wishes to share the secrets with everyone whose ideas deserve a platform. She has developed a revolutionary model of the psychology of persuasion and a compelling method that can instantly improve your charisma.

What charisma is

Charisma is the power to persuade others. In order to be persuaded, three things need to happen in the brain:

* The prefrontal cortex has to recognize the message or person as normal or expected.

* The Hipocampus has to recognize the message or person as familiar or pleasant.

* The Amigdala should not be alarmed.

The trick of persuasion is to find out what the other person thinks is normal, as this varies accross cultures.

Three styles of persuasion

* Authority. Examples: A general practitioner, doctor, and among well-know people: Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin.

* Friend. Examples: Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey , Michele Obama.

* Role model. Examples: Elon Musk, Serena Williams.

It’s a good idea you combine the three styles.

Related: Persuasion Lessons from Cats and Pop Culture

Favorite quotations

“All my life I wanted to be me, and I’ve never been myself more than in the last six months.” — Karen Budel

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” — Henry Ford

Recommended book

Skin in the Game by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Routine to Shine

The Obama voice exercise. Use lower pitch voice to sound authoritative.

Links

Book: True Persuasion

Email to Pacelle: [email protected]

Summer School of Rhetoric 2019