How to Conquer Charisma — Queen Elizabeth I’s Secrets to Success
By: Tamara Mitrofanova
Tags: Life Hacking, History, Life, Inspiration, Life Lessons

How to Conquer Charisma — Queen Elizabeth I’s Secrets to Success

Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Actress — Cate Blanchett. Google Images.

Elizabeth Tudor’s birth was marred with tragedy. Her father, Henry VIII, defied the mighty Pope and their formidable Spanish allies by proclaiming himself Head of the Church of England in order to marry Anne Boleyn, hoping she would bear him a strong and healthy son.

Instead, Anne gave him a squalling red-haired daughter whose reign would be remembered as the golden age of English history. Furious with her mother's failure to provide him with an heir, Henry VIII viciously executed Anne Boleyn on trumped-up charges. Henceforth, Elizabeth’s life was thrown into disarray. Under her father's reign, she presented herself as docile and obedient, secreting her growing intelligence and fortitude.

Throughout her life, she was faced with a number of perilous tasks. She successfully survived Queen Mary’s reign, where she was falsely accused of conspiring against her sister to place herself on the throne and proved herself triumphant against the invincible Spanish Armada sent to overthrow her.

Her unfathomable charisma was a tool used during the many dangers and challenges of her life.

Lesson 1: Increase Your Intelligence and Fast Thinking

Queen Elizabeth Tudor. Google images/Public Domain

Charisma is the ability to attract, charm and influence those around you. We are all instinctively drawn to intelligent people who are quick-witted and can easily strike up an engaging conversation.

Princess Elizabeth had a rigorous education. She spoke six languages fluently, including Latin, French, Greek, and Italian. She was taught philosophy, theology, rhetoric, history, and mathematics. Elizabeth possessed an aptitude for learning and was devoted to her studies. Ascham, her tutor, remarked that she had the intelligence of a man and complimented her memory.

To conquer charisma, it is vital to enhance your mental speed through learning. William Von Hippel led a research team to determine the major qualities of charismatic people and found that those who were able to respond more quickly to general knowledge questions were perceived as charming.

Elizabeth was well aware of her superior intellect, and as queen, revealed her formidable political talent and distinguished knowledge.

“She is a very vain and clever woman. She must have been thoroughly schooled in the manner in which her father conducted his affairs. She is determined to be governed by no one.” — the Spanish ambassador De Feria, 1559.

The Spanish ambassador may have viewed her cleverness as a vice but in her role as queen, her intelligence, her wit, and her vast learning appealed positively to many in her court. She was a charismatic peacock.

Her personal magnetism that heavily relied on her intelligence was an important component in her charisma. Mental speed and general intelligence shaped Queen Elizabeth as a smooth talker.

It is incredibly important to embrace learning new things because it boosts fast mental processing. Improving your mind through learning does not require a textbook or a classroom. Challenging yourself to learning something new is what helps you stay mentally sharp.

Expand your mind through limitless learning or studying. Play a new musical instrument. Read a fantasy trilogy. Study Italian. Start painting.

Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and give your brain a mental workout.

2nd Lesson: Radiating Warmth and Kindness

People who radiate warmth and kindness are intoxicating. They often leave you feeling happy, electrified, and with the feeling that they’re an incredibly wonderful person.

In short words, they’re captivating. Just being around them can shift your mood. A person with sincere kindness is also charismatic because they’re sought after for company and easily trusted.

Queen Elizabeth knew how to enthrall the audience with warmth and cheerfulness. She was extremely popular among her subjects and was always surrounded by vast, cheering crowds that lined the streets to watch her carriage go by. She always made each and every person who called out to her feel special with a nod and a kind remark.

Gifts of flowers, letters, food, and poems were always kept in her litter until the journey ended. This left an impression to the people that she was thoughtful and cared. Elizabeth was able to radiate warmth and affection with each interaction, marking her as a highly-charismatic person. Positivity is a necessary skill to win someone over and Elizabeth was easily able to connect with others by responding to their attention.

She knew that optimism was the magical spell to influencing others. Expressing warmth is a trait all charismatic people possess. They understand that it’s important to have people feeling good around you and crave your attention.

Being magnetic is largely centered on positivity. Start the conversation with something positive and end it with an optimistic attitude. Studies have shown that we draw power from the positivity of others and it would enliven others to see your company.

Next time you see your co-worker, friend, classmate, or acquaintance, take a moment to reflect on what you’re going to say or how you’re going to end the conversation.

Instead of complaining about the muggy weather, start your day by saying:

“Good Morning! I’m so happy it’s raining today. I can’t wait to go home and drink some warm tea.”

And at the end of the day, tell them how delighted you were to see them or that you can’t wait to see them again.

Let your carefree, friendly self flow through your body and watch the power of positive emotions. Optimism, warmth, and kindness are attractive and engaging personality traits that will bring you one step forward to conquering charisma.

Lesson 3: Use Your Confidence to Motivate Others

Queen Elizabeth Tudor. Google images/Public Domain

Confidence is very much the heart of charisma. People who exude confidence attract admirers. The biggest mistake people make is believing that charismatic people have innate confidence, like some genetic miracle trait they’re born with.

The truth is far from it. Confidence is learned, practiced, and honed. Charismatic people know that confidence is like a slippery eel. It is hard to grasp and can disappear in a second. Some days you don’t have it at all.

Luckily, they have a trick to solve this problem. It doesn’t matter how you feel from the inside but how you present from the outside. The ability to appear confident is an essential key to conquering charisma. A charismatic person is able to create the illusion of confidence in conversation or speech.

Queen Elizabeth is the epitome of outer confidence. Throughout her reign, she made many bold and controversial decisions. Her ministers would question her methods such as her resistance to change, to marriage, and to naming a successor.

Despite these doubts, Elizabeth stood her ground using outer confidence. Time and time again, she proved herself politically-savvy and went to great lengths to appear self-assured in her decisions. Behind-the-scenes, Elizabeth felt pressure from all sides but remained poised. Unlike her hot-tempered father, her steely belief and unwavering judgment during difficult periods gained her great admiration.

The most famous conflict in her reign was the failed invasion of England by the Spanish Armada. The Spanish defeat was Queen Elizabeth’s finest hour and gained her worldwide renown. During this war, Elizabeth displayed high self-esteem by refusing to be cowed into submission. The queen refused to return, for her own safety, to London and declared that she “would not think of deserting her army at a time of danger.” The power of her confidence was instantaneous. Queen Elizabeth became a symbol of victory and hope.

Queen Elizabeth was able to instill confidence in those around her and is credited with boosting the spirits of her troops. A character with great charisma is able to develop and communicate a compelling vision that draws others to them. This includes having an extraordinary effect to motivate others through empowerment and inspiration.

Even her enemies had great admiration for Queen Elizabeth.

Pope Sixtus V, who supported the Armada, was infatuated with Elizabeth, telling an astonished Venetian ambassador: “Were she a Catholic, she would be our most beloved, for she is of great worth.”

Lesson 4: Be Sharp-witted

Painting by Henry Gillard Glindoni (1852–1913). Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

Effortless conversations are best when the speaker has a sharp and attentive mind.

Fumbling conversations leaves people feeling awkward and wanting to get away. That’s why sharp-wit is extremely important, it creates interesting conversations that become flirty, playful, or natural.

Sharp-wit is your golden key to being a good conversationalist and charisma is all about striking an exciting conversation.

It’s important to note that in moments of crisis, charismatic people are talented at choosing their words and phrases carefully.

At the tender age of fifteen, Elizabeth was entangled in political danger. It was discovered that Thomas Seymour planned to woo and marry her for advantageous gain as she was second-in-line to the throne. Sir Robert Tyrwhitt was ordered to draw out a confession but Elizabeth proclaimed her innocence and stuck by it. No amount of prodding or threats would sway her position. Exasperated, Sir Robert wrote, “She was a very good wit and nothing is gotten off her.”

Elizabeth was able to use her sharp-wit for many occasions, including under pressure to marry. Instead of responding outright, Elizabeth would entertain appropriate suitors or respond to questions of marriage with sarcastic remarks that held no inclined meaning. Charismatic people add humor to their conversations without over-doing it and that’s a hack Elizabeth took great advantage of.

An example of sharp-wit is a witty comeback or responding sarcastically to an issue depending on the situation. Quick-witted conversations are fun, clever, and make the speaker more captivating to listen to. Queen Elizabeth’s tone was known to be quick and persuasive. Many courtiers were awed by her quick, witty answers.

A famous study by Norman Miller found that people are more persuasive when they speak quicker than normal.

His study suggested that when people speak quickly (defined as 195 words per minute), they are perceived as being more confident, intelligent, knowledgeable, and objective.

There are plenty of ways to practice sharp-wit. The best way is practicing quick-thinking by naming objects around you as quickly as you can or practicing witty responses.

Having a silver tongue is an important habit to add to your personal life because witty, friendly responses through quick-thinking will make people gravitate to you.

In Conclusion…

During Queen Elizabeth’s reign, music and literature flourished under her sponsorship. Architecture developed to new heights and sea-faring expanded during a time when the Spanish conquered the seas. After the turbulent years under her sister, Queen Mary, and the monstrous Henry VIII, Elizabeth’s reign brought an era of peace and prosperity.

English history blossomed under Queen Elizabeth’s leadership. Her compelling charm inspired devotion and awe in others. She was able to push through challenges in her tumultuous life by conquering charisma and therefore becoming the epoch of success.