1. They interrupt while you're speaking

2. When they're not interrupting their faces are

3. They look at their phones while you're talking

4. They don't maintain eye contact

5. They agree with you and then say BUT

6. They start sentences with "I don't mean to be…

7. They don't grunt or nod when a grunt or nod is appropriate

These miscues of excellent communication don't just happen in person. 

My good friend Mario helped me to get on a better path with these types of faux pas. Mario could hear my attention divert from a phone call, and he'd say, "Frankie, what are you doing? I lost you." He had a high sensitivity to the tone of my voice and knew when I was distracted. I learned from that and try to remember to get up and look away from my computer any time I pick up my phone.

In 1964 when the supreme court was trying to define a test for whether something is obscene or not, Justice Potter Stewart famously said, "I may not be able to define it, but I know it when I see it."

It's like that with charisma. We say, "I don't know, he has a certain je ne sais quoi." The path to charisma begins with the opposite of the seven steps above. Focus on being an active listener.

Own Your Sales Gene…