Talking - The Importance of Being Charming

Last week I found out they held open mic nights every Thursday at Creese. I was looking into performing but it was all booked for the night so maybe next time. I did, however, was able to enjoy some of the acts that night. There was this one act that made me think. It was a stand-up comedy act by some guy and most of it was degrading and insensitive comments about sex. I could see why that may have been funny. It is actually a topic used very commonly by a lot of famous comedians and I remember laughing really hard.

However, that wasn’t the case this time. So what was different this time? First of all he wasn’t as experienced as the famous ones. He did not understand that it’s not only the content of his act that matters; you must be able to interact with the audience. You must be able to look at the stage from the audiences’ point of view. What do they think when they hear a joke, a personal experience, or a serious comment? You must be able to anticipate their trail of thoughts and place the right comment at the right moment in order to achieve the right effect. This is the skill the comedian lacked of.

This skill is not only for comedians. This kind of thinking is exactly what charming people use when they talk. There are some people that can say exactly what they need to in order to win people over. They can analyze the situation and the person’s personality and ultimately predict what he or she needs. This can even control one’s mind and behavior without even letting the person realize it.

This doesn’t only take the person’s personality into account. It involves analyzing the surroundings, the time and place, appearance, and so on. And in this process we use develop intelligence in many different ways. Intelligence is the key difference between a good speaker and a bad speaker, not personality. This intelligence can be gained by practicing in either public performances or in small parties. The skills gained here can be used in various situations, and ultimately make us smarter.