Charisma on Command: Inspire, Impress, and Energize Everyone You Meet

Think of a story you’ve told in the past. We are going to make sure you’re telling it in the best way possible.
The first step is to ask yourself, “Why am I telling this story?”
Because it is hilarious? Because it is shocking? Because it is absurd?
If you can’t find a good reason, find a different story

Here’s an example
“How are you?”
“I’m phenomenal! I snuck out of the office a bit early to take my son to the baseball game. I’m not a big fan myself, but I love seeing how happy it makes him.”
Notice the effusive answer (breaks the pattern of “good” “fine” or “great”). Then elaborating in a way that shares something about what is important to you while leading the conversation.
“Where are you from?”
“New York originally, but I got very tired of the heads down, speak to no strangers, avoid eye contact at all costs attitude. I wanted to live somewhere where people were warmer, so I decided on Latin America. I just love how open and affectionate people are to strangers – I’ve been totally blown away.”
Breaks the traditional pattern of just listing what city you were born in. Shares something about your journey as well as why you moved where you did. Get’s a chuckle when talking about New York and then leads the conversation to talk about the different cultures.
“What do you do?”
“I’m a computer doctor. For as long as I can remember I’ve loved breaking things and putting them back together. So it fulfills my nerdy streak and my ego since I get to be the one person who can fix stuff when things go bad.”
“Computer doctor” breaks the pattern of listing job title. Then talking about why you got into the industry by relating it back to a childhood event shows relatable qualities. Ending on the self-effacing joke creates more laughter.
These are just examples to get you started. The goal is simple: rework your answers to the three most common questions you get so that they intrigue others. Take some time right now and write out a 2-5 sentence answer for each question. Then use them in conversation and note how people respond. If you consistently get laughter and follow up questions, you’ve hit the mark. If people are still bored, come back to the 4 principles and rework your answer

How are you?” “Where are you from?” and “What do you do?” are the 3 most common questions in every first interaction you’ll ever have!
So maybe it’s worth putting a little bit more effort in, right?
Here’s how:
Lead the conversation. People don’t want one-word responses. Give them 2-5 sentences so that they have something to actually respond to.
Break patterns. Answer in a way that jolts people out of auto-pilot.
Be fun. Make people smile and laugh.
Share something important about yourself. Like your values and motivations