This week’s guest blog is from my friend and colleague, Mike Donovan. Mike is one of radio’s brightest talent coaches and program consultants. He demonstrates how personalities who aren’t funny or outrageous can charm their way to success – Randy Lane
(By Mike Donovan) Some talents can be funny, witty, and clever, but still lack charm and a special warmth that could help grow them into a multi-dimensional personality brand. We all know people who light up a room as soon as they walk in. They’re simply “charming.”
Charm is defined as the power of delighting, attracting, or fascinating others. Charm is different from charisma. Charisma is a compelling attractiveness that can inspire devotion in others. However, charm and charisma are closely related.
Tenets of charm include:
Confidence: Charming and charismatic people exude self-assurance and believe in themselves without being arrogant. They have enough confidence to be vulnerable and being vulnerable is endearing.
Authenticity: Being genuine and true to yourself is a key aspect of charm. Charming people are comfortable in their own skin and make others feel comfortable in their presence. They smile with their face and eyes. They exude charm through the tone of their voice, choice of words, and body language.
Active Listening: Charming people have excellent communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal. Talk less, listen more, remember people’s names, show respect. You don’t have to love everyone, but it’s important to be genuinely interested, curious, or fascinated by people in some way.
Warmth: Charming individuals possess the ability to understand and relate to the feelings and experiences of others by expressing genuine warmth, kindness, and empathy.
Adaptability: Charming people can adapt to different social situations and connect with people from all kinds of diverse backgrounds. They’re flexible and open-minded.
Positivity: Attributes conveying charm are having a sense of joy, displaying optimism and resilience, the ability to find a silver lining, and handling adversity with grace.
Engaging storytelling: Sharing compelling real-life stories with enthusiasm and humor makes a person more charming by creating an emotional connection and holding listeners’ attention.
Sharing Passions and Interests: Sharing personal passions and interests with enthusiasm is infectious. It invites others to engage and creates an opportunity for shared experiences on air.
Sense of humor: Charming people know how to lighten the mood, make others smile and laugh, and create a positive atmosphere.
By practicing charm in the presentation of your show and interaction with listeners, you’ll become increasingly likable leading to more admiration and loyalty. The result will be more return visits to your show and higher ratings.
Recently I got a call from a morning show host in a large market. His agreement is almost up, and he doesn’t have an agent. He’s had a couple of meetings with management he says did not go well.
My advice to him was to remain calm, smile, use some humor, avoid conflict with management, and display the same charm in negotiations he uses on-air. Recently, he called me back to say he now has a new agreement.
Randy Lane is the owner of the Randy Lane Company, which coaches and brands radio and television personalities, business professionals, sports personalities, entrepreneurs, and pop culture artists, helping them master communication skills to have an impact on their audiences. Read Randy’s Radio Ink archives here.
