I Figured Out a Way to Help Students Quickly Develop Their Communication Skills and Charisma

Charisma is defined as the “compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others.”

Essentially, it’s your inner ‘charm’ and ability to make people like you, and listen to what you have to say.

Being charismatic and learning to be able to communicate your thoughts and feelings effectively to others is a vital skill that every student should have, especially if they want to achieve success in every aspect of life after they graduate.

You see, being able to communicate, and be charismatic while doing it, is extremely important as it can affect your:

• relationships
• career opportunities
• confidence
• respect from others
• reputation
• happiness

You see, charisma can open up doors and opportunities for one student in lots of areas of life, while the lack of it can be key reason why another student might feel like they just can’t ever seem to reach their goals, regardless of how hard they’re trying.

But I want to help make sure that you are the most charismatic student you can be, and never have to worry about missing out on opportunities due to your lack of charisma and communication skills again.

That's why in this article, I’ll go over why charisma and the ability to communicate effectively is so important, and also give you some actionable tips and strategies you can use to develop your communication skills and learn to be as charismatic as possible.

Ready?

Let’s get started.

Why Is Being Charismatic and Able to Communicate Effectively Important?

In today’s fast-paced and competitive world, having strong communication skills and charisma are pretty much essential for both personal and professional success in any realm of human endeavor.

Whether it’s in the professional workplace, social events/settings, or even within one’s own personal relationships, possessing these two attributes can greatly impact one’s ability to succeed and live a good overall quality of life.

Effective communication is the foundation of all successful social interactions, and often a key reason why some people seem to always get the best university scholarships, job offers, and promotions, while others seem to fall behind and never really get what they want.

In personal relationships, whether that’s your friendships, family connections or romantic interests, good communication skills allow for deeper connections and more enjoyable time spent together.

As you can probably imagine, this is definitely going to lead to a better overall quality of life and more overall happiness every single day, as who doesn’t want to have better connections with friends, family and loved ones?

You might think this doesn’t matter so much now since you’re still young, but just know, maintaining strong relationships with the people you care about is a lot harder when you’re an adult and actually have responsibilities to take care of, instead of having everyone just love you unconditionally.

Job and Career Opportunities

In professional settings, being able to effectively communicate charismatically is crucial for teamwork, client interactions, negotiations, taking on leadership positions, getting job offers and promotions, and more.

Even just in your school setting, take a look around at the students who are killing it, meaning they’re getting the best grades, very involved in extracurricular activities, taking on leadership positions in clubs and councils, and possibly going on to get scholarships and other big opportunities.

You might be one of those students, you might not.

But take a look at these students, and ask yourself:

Are these people good communicators?

Are these people really easily likeable and fun to talk to and be around?

Chances are, the answer would be yes to both these questions.

This is because the students who are great communicators, and are charismatic, will be given/granted, both directly and indirectly, more opportunities than students who are not.

Perhaps a new leadership position will open up at one of the main school clubs, and since everyone knows and likes Sarah, she’ll get the most recommendations and referrals as a candidate for the position.

Or, maybe all the academically high-achieving students are applying for scholarships, and needing a teacher’s referral through a letter of recommendation.

There might be two students who have achieved identical grades, and are equally as talented as each other in the academic system.

However, if one of the students is always engaging in banter with the teacher, always engaging in good conversations, and has a strong connection to the teacher, while the other is extremely quiet and has only talked to the teacher a few times during the year, I could almost guarantee that the two letters of recommendation would be pretty different.

The teacher might not even notice it, or admit it to themselves, but the letter of recommendation for the charismatic student is almost bound to be better, or sound more enthusiastic than the other one.

Who is more likely to get the scholarship?

On top of this, in the real world, charisma, and being a likeable person is sometimes regarded to be equally as, if not more important than being a high performer if you want to excel in your career.

It involves not just speaking clearly and succinctly but also actively listening to others, understanding non-verbal cues, being able to read and display body language appropriately, and adapting to different situations and audiences.

What Does Charisma Look Like?

Confidence

One of the key characteristics of charisma is confidence.

Charismatic people exude self-assurance, making them stand out in a crowd.

They are comfortable in their own skin and radiate positivity even in challenging situations. Their confidence is infectious and makes others feel at ease around them.

Communication Skills

Another characteristic of charismatic individuals is that they pretty much always have excellent communication skills.

They have a natural gift for connecting with others through words, body language, and facial expressions.

They know how to listen actively and make people feel heard and understood.

Charismatic individuals are also great storytellers who can captivate an audience with their words.

Empathy

Empathy is another critical aspect of charisma.

People who possess this quality have high emotional intelligence; they can sense other people’s feelings accurately and adjust their behavior accordingly.

This ability to empathize allows charismatic individuals to build meaningful connections with others by understanding they pain points, and actually being able to relate to whoever they’re talking to.

Developing Charisma and Communication Skills as a Student

There are lots of different ways that you can develop your charisma as a student; though you have to realize that it’s going to take a pretty long time to develop and master (probably a few years), but it’s all going to be worth it in the end.

Expose Yourself to More Social Settings Through Part Time Jobs and Extracurricular Activities

The main way that I would recommend you to improve your communication skills is to get more involved around your school, and around your community.

You can do this through things like:

• Getting a part time job
• Joining clubs and social groups at your school
• Volunteering around the community, either with the school or by yourself

In this next section I’ll talk more about each point and what you can do

Part Time Jobs

One of the main benefits of part-time jobs is that they offer hands-on experience in interacting with various types of people.

Whether you’re going to be working as a cashier at a retail store or serving customers at a restaurant, many part-time jobs require regular, consistent communication with coworkers, supervisors, and customers from all kinds of different backgrounds.

Pretty much, any customer facing role is a great way for you to expose yourself to more social interactions, and develop your communication skills.

This allows individuals to practice adapting their communication style based on the person they are interacting with.

In fact, it forces you to face customers and develop your confidence in social situations, so it’s pretty much guaranteed to be able to help you develop your own communication skills.

Additionally, part-time jobs such as those in supermarkets or busy restaurants often involve working in fast-paced environments where quick thinking and effective communication is necessary to get tasks done efficiently.

This is going to further help you develop your communication skills, even when you’re under pressure.

My first job was in a supermarket and back then, I was a pretty shy kid to say the least.

In fact, I’d heavily attribute a lot of my social skill development to my part time job in the supermarket, which, still to this day, I'm forever thankful of my younger self for taking up.

Let’s say that you work both weekend days as a checkout operator or cashier in a busy supermarket, doing 8 hours each shift on Saturday and Sunday.

Obviously, even if you were the shyest person, you’d have to at least greet the customers that come by, hopefully with some eye contact and a smile.

Or, at least, that’s what you’d be working towards as you developed your confidence from the ground up.

On top of this, every so often, you’re bound to get customers that want to start a conversation with you, and you’d have literally no choice but to go along with it and converse back with them!

Even after just a month or two, it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’d be comfortable making eye contact with and greeting customers with a clear voice, as well as hold a conversation with someone.

Of course, if you’re not quite as shy as I might be talking about, there are still lots of other things you can learn and develop socially from a customer-facing part time job, and it’s something I’d highly recommend.

Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities also provide an avenue for developing communication skills through collaboration with team members towards a shared goal.

Similarly to getting a part time job where you face customers and regularly have to interact with others, extracurricular activities such as debating teams and sports teams are going to force you to get good at communicating with others.

You’re always going to have to talk to and interact with team members, coaches, teachers, an the opposition as well.

Plus, taking on more extracurricular activities is going to help get your name out there and help you get to know more people, which can certainly help with establishing a reputation and opening up opportunities to meet even more people.

By participating in more extracurricular activities, you might get the chance to go to more social gatherings, meetings and events, and maybe even get the chance to speak in front of people if you take up leadership positions!

All of this is going to seriously help you develop your confidence and get more comfortable in social settings, ultimately leading to improvements in your communication skills and charisma!

Volunteering and Getting Involved Around Your Community

Whether you’re offered the chance to volunteer on behalf of your school, or you actively go out and seek opportunities to gain volunteer experience on your own, volunteering and getting involved around your local community is another great way that you can expose yourself to more social interactions, and build your confidence in communication.

Just like you would if you were to go out and get a part time job or sign yourself up for some of the extracurricular activities at your school, you’ll get the chance to meet new people and gain experience interacting with people from all kinds of different backgrounds.

In high school, another thing that I did to boost my own confidence in communication was join the school rowing team, which offered me the chance to go out and volunteer around the community, running bake sales, helping out at local marathon events, and things like that.

Alongside my part time job, I’d also say my participation in team, and all the social aspects of it, allowed me to develop myself and improve my communication skills rapidly.

What Are Some Other Ways I Could Develop My Communication Skills as a Student?

Now, if, for some reason you don’t want to go out and get your name out there through active participation around your community, the only other real option you’d have would be to hire a coach to train you to be a better communicator and be more charismatic.

However, I would highly discourage this, as not only would it cost you more money, but it would also mean you’d have to miss out on lots of the other benefits that would come with the other methods of developing communication skills mentioned above.

Other Tips to Increase Charisma and Become a Better Communicator

Increase Your Self Confidence

When you believe in yourself, it will shine through in your demeanor, which makes you more attractive and charismatic to others, making them like you more.

If you want to boost your self-confidence, do the following:

Recognize and have faith in your strengths: Recognize your unique qualities and talents, and make sure you have faith in your own skills and capabilities.

Your self-awareness will allow you to stand out, as people are naturally attracted and drawn to others who display traits of self assurance.

If you need to do some work on yourself first in order to have skills and traits to be confident about, so be it!

You can do this by:

• Going to the gym
• Learning a new skill
• Achieving better grades by working harder
• Joining a new club

Your confidence and resilience will be amplified as you overcome challenges and prove yourself wrong by doing things you never thought you’d be able to achieve.

Work On Your Communication Skills

Communicating effectively is key to building meaningful relationships and thriving in your future career, wherever you choose to go!

Here are some tips:

Pay attention when someone speaks to you.

Understand their perspective and respond thoughtfully, always either address what they’ve said and comment on it, or repeat it back to them before saying whatever you were going to say.

People appreciate it when they feel heard by the people they’re talking to.

Maintain strong eye contact.

By establishing and maintaining eye contact, you convey that you are engaged in the conversation and interested in what the other person has to say.

This also shows confidence, and once again will help make others feel more attracted and drawn to you.

A good rule of thumb is to show eye contact about 70–80% of the time when you’re the one speaking, and 60–70% of the time when you’re the one listening.

This will ensure that you can convey confidence, but don’t come across as creepy or weird.

Trust me, I’ve met some people who literally will not take their eyes off you when you talk to them, and no, it’s not because they had a crush on me.

Needless to say, it felt weird to talk to them and I found myself avoiding them at times.

Demonstrate empathy.

In order to communicate meaningfully, you need empathy.

Empathy enables you to understand and connect with others emotionally, and creates stronger feelings of engagement between you and the people you’re talking to.

Be there for others when they need you, and show genuine concern for their well-being by asking them follow up questions, and offering sound advice when they ask for it,

Make sure to use compliments here and there, as sincere compliments can brighten someone’s day and strengthen your relationships, as everybody loves to hear some positive affirmations from others.

Learn how to use positive, confident body language.

How others perceive you is significantly influenced by your body language and visual cues that you send off.

In fact, experts have said that in a face to face conversation, 55% of the communication is nonverbal, meaning either through your body language, or facial expressions.

Here are some body language tips to convey confidence and approachability:

Keep your arms open to make yourself seem more welcoming.

Avoid crossing your arms or appearing closed off. You should always maintain a focus on displaying open body language by keeping your chest up, shoulders back, and head held high.

Putting people at ease with your smile is one of the most powerful tools in your charisma arsenal, always make sure to use it.

Wherever reasonable, you should always be able to use your body language, gestures and facial expressions to help get your point across and add more meaning to the things you say.

Make sure you have a sense of humor

The ability to inject humor into your interactions can make you more relatable to others, as well as help make your interactions more fun and make the other people crave talking to you.

Practicing joke-telling skills and incorporating humor into conversations can break the ice and build rapport, and build your confidence in social settings.

To Wrap Things Up

All in all, being able to communicate your thoughts and feelings in a clear, fun and engaging way can help make you seem far more charismatic and attractive to the others around you.

Making use of the tips and advice in this article will definitely help you boost your confidence, improve your communication skills and the quality of your social interactions, as well as enhance your charisma!

Don’t forget, being charismatic, and strong at communicating are extremely important traits if you want to achieve success in all realms and aspects of life!

It’s important to start now while you’re still young and a student, so that you establish a foundation and not have to worry about it when your charisma and ability to communicate is actually important later on in life.

I hope you’ve learnt something from this article, and have enjoyed reading through it!

If you’d like to learn more about becoming the highest performing student you can be, check out the rest of our Medium publication, Grad Excel!