An article busting ten myths about charismatic speech

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 29, 2025 I blogged about What makes a speaker charismatic? There is a long, detailed 31-page pdf article by Jan Michalsky and Oliver Niebuhr at Acta Universitasis Carolinae in 2019 which is titled Myth Busted? Challenging What We Think We Know About Charismatic Speech. It has over a hundred references! That article discusses the following ten myths:

 

Myth 1: Charisma makes a difference.

 

Myth 2: Charisma is a divine talent of a few gifted people that only surfaces during a crisis.

 

Myth 3: Charismatic communication is the expression of a charismatic personality.

 

Myth 4: How we say something is more important than what we say.

 

Myth 5: Lower voices are more charismatic.

 

Myth 6: A clear pronunciation supports perceived speaker charisma.

 

Myth 7: Filled pauses are bad for perceived charisma.

 

Myth 8: Belly breathing and an upright posture support speaker charisma.

 

Myth 9: A charismatic performance requires intensive training on the part of the speaker.

 

Myth 10: Engineers are less charismatic.

 

My image was assembled by repeating and modifying one of a carved figure at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, British Columbia.