Stop designing “delightful” products
And start designing charismatic products instead.
Sometimes two people have an instant click, and sometimes two people never, ever click. This click often has to do with many factors. Interests, values, and personality play a big part in this though. There are certain personality traits you like and others that you don’t.
There is, however, one personality trait many people are drawn to: charisma.
I think most people know innately what charisma is, but find it hard to pin down. I describe it as an “irresistible attractiveness that triggers people to like and trust you”.
Charisma is an irresistible attractiveness that triggers people to like and trust you.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about what makes a product charismatic. As I wrote in my first article, we automatically project human-like features to everything around us. Therefore, I’m convinced we associate certain personality traits to the products we use, too.
For example, likability and trustworthiness are important factors that determine whether users continue to use your product or not. Or, in business terms: likability and trustworthiness lead to loyalty.
According to Olivia Fox Cabane, executive coach, and author of “The Charisma Myth”, charisma consists of three main components:
- presence,
- warmth, and
- power.
“Charisma has three main components: Presence, warmth, and power.”
Although it comes naturally to some, Olivia Fox Cabane believes anyone can learn to be charismatic.
This made me wonder: Is it possible to apply these three traits to products?
Before we think about the question, let’s dig deeper into the essential characteristics of charisma first.
Presence in people
When you’re mentally tuned in to the people and environment around you, you emit presence. This makes people feel heard, respected, and valued.
People feel your presence when you make eye contact and respond at the right moment. When you partially listen, you tend to respond a split-second too late. Even though it’s only a minuscule delay, people noticed this and know you’re not 100% engaged.
Power in people
When people believe you can impact the world or people around you, you are perceived as powerful.
Some examples are authority, money, physical strength, attractiveness, and social status. People often look for power in someone’s appearance, but most of all, through their body language.
Warmth in people
If you are perceived as having goodwill towards others, you radiate warmth.
In the context of charisma, people feel you are willing to use your power in their favor. This is assessed through your body language and behavior.
How to apply the components of charisma to digital products
Body language plays a significant role in all three components of charisma. You might have adjusted your posture while reading them. And, if you’re a critical reader you might wonder at this point “How on earth do you incorporate charisma in a digital product?”
Good question. I have a theory on this.
Presence in products
A well-designed product shows only exactly what is necessary — no more and no less.
Therefore, I believe the layout, structure, and visual elements of a digital product communicate presence — or lack thereof.
To understand what’s essential on each step of a user journey, you need to do interviews and product testing. In these tests, you listen to what your users say. By listening and taking the time to understand where they are coming from, you can create a product that shows that you have listened to your users and designed your product for them.
It’s a continuous feedback loop of listening to your users and adjusting your backlog to that. Even after a new feature is shipped, you need to question its design and even its existence.
Listening isn’t letting the test person talk and you nodding your head for an hour. Listening means, asking questions and being curious about what the other person has in their mind.
If you listen and respond to your users, you design a product that listens and responds.
I’m not talking about usability testing here. The usability of a product can be perfect, but if you don’t look further than this, there’s a good chance you’ll design a product for yourself and not for your users.
If you listen and respond to your users, you design a product that listens and responds.
Power in products
To me, power relates to the performance of your product.
Does it do exactly what you promised the user and does it do it fast? Just like how physical strength can emit power, so can speed, responsiveness, and processing.
For example, my banking app has never, ever let me down. It does exactly what it should, it’s fast, and it’s reliable. As a result, I trust it and recommend it to others.
Just like a well-dressed or attractive person can appear powerful, attractive UI can do the same.
Just like how well-dressed, attractive people can appear powerful, so can good UI make an app or website perceived more powerful.
Polishing a product’s interface shows that thought, time and money has gone into taking the product to a higher level. An added benefit of appealing UI is that people are more tolerant of minor usability issues when they find it appealing. This is known as the Aesthetic-Usability Effect.
Warmth in products
We have arrived at the last essential component: warmth.
To start I want to make one thing clear, warmth does not have to do with the colors of your product. Yes, there are certain colors that we perceive as warmer than others. But, when it comes to color psychology, context is everything. There are thousands of internal and external factors that influence how we perceive color, which I will not discuss here.
So, what does give a digital product warmth?
Warmth has to do with goodwill towards others. I would argue a product that is transparent, open, and collaborative will be perceived as warm. This shows you are not intimidated by other parties and have confidence in your product. It shows that you are prepared to work together to get to a higher level.
Warmth has to do with goodwill towards others. I would argue a product that is transparent, open, and collaborative will be perceived as warm.
Doing good deeds can also be seen as warmth, but this is only the case when it’s respectful and sincere. Otherwise, it can actually have the opposite effect and be perceived as fake or hypocritical.
Lastly, copywriting has a huge influence on warmth. Presence and power do too, but less so.
The way you communicate with others reveals your attitude towards them. The word empathy is used so often in the design world, that I’ve become slightly allergic to it. But, if there was any time in which best to show how much you empathize with your users it’s through copy.
Through written language, you can communicate that you understand the needs and feelings of your users. It’s not just about inserting factual information in the placeholders the designer created. It’s about understanding why, when, where, what, and how to communicate.
Last thoughts
You cannot build a complete product with only the elements written above. Of course, there is much more to it. The goal of this article is to give insight into why certain choices and expertise are crucial in creating a digital product with an irresistible attractiveness that triggers people to like it, trust it, and be loyal to it.
Thank you, Erin Weigel, for your helpful thoughts on this article.
