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Giants of the Genre

Written by: Nikki Owen

Article Overview: As part of my research into discovering the secrets of Charisma, I wanted to find four of the world’s best role models - famous people at the top of their game. Although there are thousands of famous people who exude varying degrees of star quality I wanted to find giants of the Charisma genre.

Giants of the Genre

With the recent technological availability of video extracts on ‘You Tube’, I had access to hours of footage of Charismatic individuals. The choice of potential giants was vast and at that point I hadn’t objectively defined Charisma. Consequently, I looked to the well regarded sociologist and anthropologist, Max Webber, who defines Charisma as: “a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he/she is considered extraordinary and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities.” None the wiser, I elected to discard looking at Charisma in an objective way and chose a more feeling-centred approach. Charisma evokes powerful feelings, a physiological reaction, and a strong instinct that you are in the presence of someone extremely special. In an incredibly easy to set up ‘control experiment’ in mind, I decided to base my initial selection on to what extent an individual had the power to make the hairs on my arm stand on end!

Let me introduce four ‘hair-raising’ individuals who demonstrate intense Charismatic presence in their own unique way. They are ‘Giants of the Charisma Genre’. Later we will unravel the blend of components they possess to produce the ultimate definition of Charisma, and perhaps even more importantly, the process for creating and developing it.


Dr Martin Luther King (1929 -1968)

August 28th 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King delivered his most famous speech - ‘I Have a Dream’ to hundreds of thousands of supporters. As a civil rights leader his passionate campaign for the equal rights of black people led to him receiving the Nobel Peace Prize despite being arrested over twenty times.

King’s exceptional oratory that day contained an unbridled religious fervour in its tone. Using his right hand to orchestrate the pace, he began slowly. His capacity to inspire the crowd to roar like lions in one moment, before silencing them with a simple gesture was an exceptional demonstration of his power over the people.

Watching this speech – “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” through poor quality, black and white footage I became mesmerised with this man’s intensity. My emotions welled up and I knew instantly why his Charismatic oratories have made history. His eyes, his voice tone, the words he spoke with complete and utter conviction will remain etched in my memory forever.


Elvis Presley (1935 – 1977)

From Martin Luther King to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll - Elvis Presley is an International cultural icon. His distinctive voice with the physical, uninhibited way he performed unique treatments of existing songs, simultaneously shocked and excited thousands.

Elvis made television and entertainment history when he performed ‘My Way’ at his Aloha from Hawaii concert at the Honolulu International Center Arena on January 14, 1973. Thanks to Globecam Satelitte, around 1.5 billion people in 40 countries saw this amazing performance at the pinnacle of his career. With his eyes closed and barely moving, his deep connection with the song generated an aura of extreme intensity that was hypnotic, awe-inspiring and strangely personal.

Steve Binder, American Director of ’68 Comeback Special talks about Elvis’s Charisma; “I’m straight as an arrow and I got to tell you, you stop, whether you’re male or female, to look at him. He was that good looking. And if you never knew he was a superstar, it wouldn’t make any difference; if he’d walked in the room, you’d know somebody special was in your presence.”


Baroness Thatcher (Born 1925)

The UK’s first female Prime Minister, Baker’s daughter, Margaret Thatcher reshaped almost every aspect of British politics. Her ‘Iron Lady’ nickname was acquired due to her forthright and assertive manner. Strong willed and armed with a superhuman abundance of energy, she relentlessly pursued national recovery, courting controversy, dismay and delight from every continent.

One of her most impressive interviews, from a dynamic and Charismatic perspective, was on BBC Panorama with the late Sir Robin Day. Her direct eye contact and her commanding voice tonality were heightened by her passion and conviction when she responded to Day’s question about whether she believed ‘Thatcherism’ had divided the country. Talking for around 3 minutes (a long time for television), Margaret Thatcher used this question to deliver a party political broadcast. As she concluded with a disarming smile and a softer look, all I could think of was WOW!

My web-marketing supplier met Baroness Thatcher at a book signing once. He said that such was the power of her presence; she appeared to be surrounded by an electro-magnetic force field. Even watching her on television from the comfort of my armchair did little to dilute her personal impact.


Muhammad Ali (Born 1942)

Universally recognised as the world’s greatest heavyweight-boxing champion, Muhammad Ali won an incredible 56 fights, three world championships, and an Olympic gold medal. The man who could “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” possessed a legendary charm, quick witted sense of humour and steadfastly held to his principles. People appear to either love or loathe him, probably because of his arrogance and mental acrobatics. Using his athleticism and boxing skill, he would taunt his opponents by predicting the round when he would win. Usually, he was right! His physical prowess was matched by his amazingly agile mind and was revered by Michael Parkinson as his favourite guest on his series of chat shows.

Ali was a giant of a man who used big expansive gestures, talked so fast that his passion for life was clearly evident. According to his daughter, Laila, her father “always stood up for what he believed in and he recognised that he only had one life to live and if there was something he wasn’t happy about then he only had himself to blame.” He fought like a winner, talked like a winner and accepted complete responsibility for what he achieved in his life. When faced with Parkinson’s disease, Ali’s bravery was awe-inspiring as he lit the Olympic torch with shaking hands at the start of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. To this day Muhammad Ali commands attention and respect that transcends athletics, race, religion and politics.


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Article Tags: charismatic individuals, charismatic presence, civil rights leader, control experiment, definition of charisma, dr martin luther, dr martin luther king, famous speech, initial selection, lincoln memorial, martin luther king, max webber, nobel peace prize, oratory, physiological reaction, religious fervour, simple gesture, speech i have a dream, twenty times, video extracts



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