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charisma n. A rare quality or power attributed to those persons who have demonstrated an exceptional ability for leadership and for securing the devotion of large numbers of people.
My private list includes a most influential teacher who was a slope-shouldered zhlub and a dazzling corporate executive who couldn't find his way to the bathroom. I have admired the uprightness of one president, bespectacled and ordinary, and deplored the moral barrenness of another, whose charisma would drive the needle off scale. Still, the stuff confers a distinct advantage in life, and I am reluctant to disclose what I would be willing to give up for the gift of charisma. Faust, move over. |
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lot of folks don't care much for the word "charisma." I think I know
why. It's just plain unreliable.