How to be magnetic

Ask people to name someone they think is charismatic and the answers will almost always include the likes of Obama, Brené Brown, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney and Princess Diana. But ask the same people to tell you what makes these smooth operators so charming, and you’ll likely be met with blank faces. Singling out the charismatic among us seems somewhat intuitive, but quantifying what makes these people so magnetic is a whole other exercise.

Unlike power, wealth or status, charisma is something altogether more amorphous: a vibe-like quality that draws admiration and trust from others. According to the Oxford English Dictionary it is “compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others”.

Psychologists and research scientists have been studying this elusive “it”