Janette Eckert

After years of creating individual marketing pieces, Janette Eckert of Alpine Ductless Heating and Air Conditioning, took on the task of creating a new marketing packet including a presentation folder and flyers.

With consistent, cohesive design, it's a beautiful upgrade across the board.

Debra VanTuinen

National and international artist, Debra VanTuinen, recently updated her website to be mobile friendly and easily accessible to herself and her audience. Debra can now update her portfolios with ease, keeping her presentation current.

With a simple, yet elegant design, her website is easy to maintain and navigate.

Valerie Fluestch

Valerie Fluestch has been a successful event planner for years. She recently added Wedding Planning to her list of services and created a postcard/handout to help announce her newest addition.

By creating a handout, she helped define and share her newest offering.

Steve Koskella

Steve Koskella has been offering wetland, stream and forest management services for over 25 years. He had a simple, one-page website that was difficult to find and update.

By creating a new website that lists all of his services, testimonials, and projects, Steve has increased his visibility.

Edward, an advertising executive, strode into the room, smiled with sparkling eyes, shook my hand firmly and said, “It’s wonderful to meet you Jean!”

I knew I was going to enjoy working with Edward. How could I not? Talking with his co-workers, I realized everyone loved working with Edward. In short, he had charisma.

As a presentation coach, I often work with CEOs who seek to protect greater executive presence and charisma. They wonder if it is something they can even learn. The good news: Although charisma comes more naturally to some people, everyone can work on a few simple yet profound skills to enhance their charisma.

Whether you have an important presentation, a meeting in which you need to motivate others, or a social event in which you need to make a good impression, these skills will not only increase your confidence, they will also help you achieve your desired results.

Some people think of charisma as a superficial quality, a slick veneer on confident person. Yes, confidence is an important part of charisma. As consultants and author Alan Weise says, “The first sale is to yourself.”

But a charismatic person also knows it’s about more than yourself. Charisma involves tapping into the best of you to bring out the best in others. A charismatic person communicates both strength and warmth. When you are charismatic, people feel good about themselves when they are with you.

So what can you do to immediately raise your “charisma quotient”?

If you are distracted, you are not charismatic. And if you think you can fake it, think again. You can tell when someone is not really listening to you. How does it feel? Listening is not just waiting for your turn to talk. Real listening happens when you are fully focused on the person speaking. When you become a better listener,others will think you are wonderful—because you make them feel valued.

I recently worked with David, an accomplished businessman who had a very challenging childhood. He fondly remembers his favorite casework from the child-welfare agency. “The way she listened to me had more impact on my current success than anything else in my life,” he told me. “She made me realize my thoughts and feelings had value.”

By listening to others, you have the ability to change lives.

You can’t be curious and judgemental at the same time. Whereas judgment breeds defensiveness, curiosity opens people up to find creative solutions. When you show curiosity about others’ ideas and experiences, you bring out the best in then, in turn demonstrating your charisma.

I recently worked with an engineer, Cynthia, who told me that the departments in her company tended to work in silos and in competition with one another. After our session, she led a meeting to brainstorm ideas for working more collaboratively. Cynthia focused on asking questions and modeling curiosity. “Rather than getting defensive, people began to approach the skills and perspectives of one another,” she recalled.

Remember, charisma is not about you, but about how you make others feel about themselves. When you are curious, you create an environment of good communication, where people feel encouraged to share their ideas. And another benefit? You end up with better solutions.

Your posture, gait, smile, eyes and even your breathing collectively signal whether or not you are trustworthy. Your non-verbal communication can enhance or destroy charisma. People are hired-wired to decide in milliseconds if you are a potential friend or a threat.

An attorney I worked with, Alice, worried that she’d appear unprofessional if she smiled too often. When she watched herself on video, she said, “Wow, I didn’t realize I looked so unapproachable.” When filmed a second time, smiling, she recognized that instead of looking goofy, like she’d imagined, she appeared open, confident, friendly and, yes, charismatic.

Your voice has a huge impact on how you are perceived. A rich and resonant voice captivates people. Speaking in a monotone will put people to sleep—not exactly charismatic! Speak with the same vitality and enthusiasm you have when talking with a good friend over dinner.

Charles, who attended one of my trainings, had mastered this. Not only did he have a rich, pleasing sound to his voice, but he changed his pitch and tempo to keep us engaged. Best of all, he was completely comfortable with “The pause.” We were transfixed. Because he didn’t rush, he not only communicated confidence, hemmed us feel there was no place he would rather be.

That is the key to charisma. Use your voice to show your enjoyment of the moment. Be “all in.” As you focus on enhancing your charisma, find your own style. Allow your body and voice to become more expressive. Be present. Take joy in your discovery.

Successful people love what they do. Their passion draws people in. We all want to feel more of that. Just like I did with Edward.

Jean Hamilton, founder and principal of Speaking Results, offers coaching and training on communication, storytelling and public speaking to executives and leaders.

Charisma appeared in Alaska Beyond Magazine, January 2017.

The best part about a 365 day calendar is that it starts and stops—there's a beginning and end. Endings are always great places to draw a line in the sand and start fresh—from this day forward. It can be refreshing.

Although I intend to get more organized all year long, it feels like the new year offers more inspiration and opportunity—closets, cupboards, cabinets…

In our fast-paced lifestyles we all are attempting to organize a pile of account logins and passwords. It can often feel insurmountable and exhausting. As with most daunting tasks, given a few minutes of focus and attention, it's less challenging than we first imagined.

Most of us have considered getting a password program and might have already done some research. More often than not, those logins and passwords are scribbled on pieces of paper, tucked in notebooks, taped to the bottom of a desk drawer…

Just like the utilities for your home, your 'marketing outfit' comes with a host of accounts that link together and work in unison. Start getting organized by downloading My Marketing Accounts below. Store it on your computer and when you have a few extra minute, start collecting all of your account information in one location.

I highly recommend using a password program to safely store all of your logins and password in one secure location. I've used 1Password for years—it's secure and syncs with my iPhone, iPad and computer. The beauty is that you only need to remember one password to access all of them.

The most integral work I do with clients often begins with leading them to their own work of discovering their authentic voice and what they have to offer.

Take a pause and listen to what author Todd Henry has to say as he talks about the creative process and how success comes in layers.