New need for digital charisma
With the shifts in modern media and the workforce market, more than employees’ basic skills are needed. Showcasing soft skills and online presence has become imperative in making a mark and becoming more desirable as an employee. An almost new term has emerged called digital charisma. It is about online presence and presence in online meetings, business communication channels, and more.
Building up digital charisma for some may not be an easy task but after the pandemic, it has become an important and desirable trait.
What is digital charisma?
Digital charisma is the ability to influence, inspire, and convey your thinking and ideas through modern communication. It’s about building a community within an online presence, while also being approachable through various communication channels like online meetings, internal messaging apps, and emails.
The rising importance comes from the need for people to communicate through more than one channel where they have to transfer their soft skills while not being there in person. It is easier to maintain relationships one-on-one, but new social customs are pushing them to the online sphere. Now, individuals have to learn how to present themselves to others and read social cues without face-to-face interaction. This, for some, remains difficult to do.
Digital charisma allows people to develop their personas and learn to exist within digital realms while obtaining their individuality and realness. How important digital charisma is, speaks the evolution of AI and large language models (LLMs) that serve as digital charisma filters that help individuals communicate better and sift through information.
Personal versus professional digital charisma
We have to distinguish between personal and professional charisma first. It’s one thing to use social media and informal communication for personal in contrast to professional. Your personal messaging or emails will definitely not be the same in tone and wording as professional.
Many people have different personas in private and in the work setting. The communication aspect then varies as well. There is a different tone of voice, different wording, lexicon, sentence form, and general emotion woven throughout text or speech. Private digital charisma is going to be vastly different from professional digital charisma. Depending on the situation and personality type, one might be harder than the other.
Rise of the importance of professional digital charisma
Never before have digital communication settings been more important than now. Especially because of the rise of technologies and new ways of communication. Conveying ideas, emotions, questions, and similar have encountered changes in the ways how we do it. Online meetings and work correspondence demand us to be more open, communicative, more likable, and to have a strong influential presence.
Before, making business deals was done one-on-one, in meetings, business lunches, and outings. For example, we can look at another activity that is known to make connections and business deals. We are talking about golfing. Even today, this activity is well-liked in certain industries for its strength of networking. Some people entertain this activity solely for the purpose of networking and what it could bring to their careers. Now imagine the same setting but in a digital world. You have to transfer your social skills to a place where you can’t simply shake hands or offer pats on the back. You are limited to how you speak, express yourself, and your body language (if we’re talking about online meetings and calls).
It is true, no matter how good you are at what you do, your personality and communication skills, or soft skills, are how you will stand out in the crowd. In professional settings, your charisma and how you converse with people is what will give you a leg up and it will build your reputation.
How to amplify your digital charisma
There are ways how to present yourself and your work in a digital environment. Not everyone is an extrovert and they don’t have to be to have a strong and unique presence. These are not hard rules on how to behave in an online world. These are recommendations on how to build your personal brand as a professional.
Find your tone of voice
The way you converse in digital realms is how you set your tone of voice. How you speak or write is a window to your personality. Each person is different and has different interests, personality traits, and behavior. You should combine those differences and portray them to the public in a unique but respectful way. Stand out from the crown but stay true to yourself.
Use social media that aligns with your personal brand and has your targeted audience
You don’t have to be on all social media to find your niche. Find which ones suit you best. It might be one, it might be none and you chose websites or blog sites for your content. It depends on the content you want to produce and for what audience. Work with your strengths, not against them. If you are not prone to social media, choose a platform that is different and could help you promote what you have to say.
Find a balance between open communication and professional language
Depending on the chosen platform, your tone of voice will differ. Not all of them will allow for the same content. For example, LinkedIn is a professional business platform that seeks one type of content. Blog post sites will allow for longer and more technical texts, and so on. So, it’s a thin line between you choosing to be strictly professional and formal versus a more open and laid-back attitude. Be careful with both. One can be too rigorous and one too relaxed.
Embrace digital charisma filters and AI
If you can’t find yourself easily creating content or conversing with others, AI and digital charisma filters are here to help. Gartner says filters digital charisma filter prompts and sifts communications to make them more socially effective in various situations, and that in 2026, 30% of workers will leverage digital charisma filters to achieve previously unattainable advances in their career. AI will help employees interact with others and find the best approach in conversations, business-wise. Not only that, but AI can help recruiters to analyze and examine potential employees through the whole interaction in the recruitment process.
Talk about your work and achievements (share experience and expertise
Building digital charisma in a professional setting is not easy. It takes time and dedication. Your content has to be well thought through. It is best to talk about your work, experience, and expertise. This way you can share advice on topics that you specialize in. This way you’ll discover your niche and feel more comfortable in sharing what you have to say. It also builds up credibility. Converse with the community who is interested in such topics and your confidence will get a boost. Also, your comfort level with participating in discussions will increase.
Get more involved in the community
As an individual working in any industry, you should get more involved in the community. Why? Because, this way you’ll not only do wonders for networking, but you’ll have instant access to industry insights, news, and trends. It can be a part of your growth and education. But besides hard skills and your knowledge, you’ll expand on your soft skills.
Challenge yourself in online meetings and calls
Many people fall silent or passive in online meetings and calls. They tend to listen actively rather than participate in discussions. The reason for this is that many online conversations lack a way of someone getting a word in, meaning it’s difficult to see when someone wants to say something since it’s harder to read body language obstructed by camera positioning. So, to stand out, you have to speak up. Have a stronger presence in meetings and portray your real-life self in the online world. Behave exactly as you would in in-person meetings. If you are introverted by nature, challenge yourself and slowly learn how to insert your personality and influence into those conversations.
Digital charisma is a must
In today’s world, your image is slowly becoming everything. It’s a testament to your personality and your expertise as well. It is also about promoting your work, your company, or yourself through many online channels.
Creating a perfect digital charisma is a big task, but it is one that will bring the most benefits.
