The way that Charisma is defined by Riggio is as a constellation of positive traits that ultimately allows one to move and inspire others on an emotional level. Basically, their personality traits make them likable and these “leaders” such as Gandhi, FDR, and even Adolf Hitler have the ability to communicate effectively to an audience. I found Riggio’s discussion on communication most intriguing because I am currently taking a class on communication and how efficient and good communication works. When Riggio talks about the characteristics of leaders, the one that caught my attention was the ability to respond effectively to others through emotional communication. These people can read others, their emotions, and attitudes which give the leaders another tool in communicating with their audience. Leaders can be social chameleons and charisma allows them to be successful in social situations such as schools etc.
The idea of manipulation is also strong, leaders are able to harness their ability to read crowds and then feed off of their energy. Whether the cause is good or bad, this is something that effective leaders utilize and this has been seen throughout history many times. I believe that emotional manipulation is the strongest because when there are masses of people fighting using their emotions, they have nothing left to lose and will follow blindly under a cause. This again can be for better or for worse however it is still a skill that many, if not all leaders have.
Another thing that I found interesting was the charisma and tsav. This introduced the concept of leadership as an object or a symbol. It is described almost like a real-life black panther scenario. In Black Panther, the king or leader takes something called the heart-shaped herb which endows its possessor with superhuman powers. Tsav is very similar in that its possessors are gifted with leadership skills such as charisma. It allows one to dominate a social situation. I think that charisma is really different social skills that develop over time through different situations and blossoms into what we call a gift.