I was watching a movie last night, one of these very standard horror flicks, and there were two female leads.

One is conventionally pretty. You look at her and see no obvious flaws. She could appear in an ad in Seventeen Magazine, and fit right in.

The other lead isnt pretty in any standard sense. Sexy, is closer to the mark, but not because she has any particular physical characteristic one would associate with that term.

She is just more interesting, magnetic, or what you could call, watch-able.

My guess is well be seeing a lot more of her in forthcoming films, and much less of the pretty one.

Glenn Close, a very watch-able actor in her own right, whom Ive seen on Broadway in two different productions, described Jeremy Irons, her co-star in one of them.

She said, I like the way he disturbs the molecules when he enters a room.

Wow, what a great definition of charisma!

Isnt this what charismatic people do, whether were watching them in-person, or on TV or in a movie theater? Think about the great actor, Robert Mitchum.

Mainly, he was cast in bad-guy or shady roles, but still, he was generally likeable.

Today, Christopher Walken comes across the same way. Even when hes evil, hes fun to watch.

Theres only one word for that sort of unexpected appeal: charisma.

Im convinced it can be cultivated. One way is through the study and practice of martial arts, yoga, and similar disciplines.

But if youre hiring salespeople, or others who need to be effective with wide swaths of the public, be on the lookout for charisma. You cant advertise for it.

But you can recognize it, and put their chemistry to work for you.

And then someone will be disturbing the molecules for a good reason.