The Art of Charm, Inc

We teach and train professionals around the globe science-based communication, leadership, and persuasion skills. You'll be able to leverage the expertise and experience of world-class coaches when it comes to sales, persuasion, and social engagement. Need to align your team and drive a unified front toward your vision? We've helped Fortune 500 CEOs with this. Need to amp up your sales game? Our team has developed proprietary sales frameworks to support just that. 

Whether you listen to our globally-recognized podcast, join our Network+ program, or come on-site for our Hollywood Bootcamp, you're joined by millions of men and women trying to accomplish the same things: increase leadership and persuasion skills, reduce social awkwardness, and optimize your ability to communicate.

Chief Executive Officer

Sirius XM Radio Inc.

Host, 'The Art of Charm presents: Game On' the only show completely devoted to helping you get (and keep) the girl. From 8-10pm EST on Sirius 108, XM 139.

On-Air Talent (Talkshow Host)

Build your social capital and influence ◼ Over 10,000 clients served in 17 years ◼ Co-Host and Founder, Art of Charm

🔥 Command Presence. Real Influence. No Fluff.

Already invested in coaching or leadership programs… but still feel like something’s missing?

You’ve got the credentials. The hard skills. Maybe even the title.

But if your career growth is slowing because your communication hasn’t caught up — you’re not alone.

Most professionals hit a ceiling when soft skills become the differentiator.

And that’s where I step in.

❌ The truth about most coaching:

Leadership courses? Too generic.

Corporate training? Too political.

Communication books and TED Talks? Great in theory, useless in high-stakes rooms.

You need targeted, practical coaching built around your professional world — not some academic framework.

✅ What You’ll Get Working With Me

10 hours. One-on-one. Personalized. Intensely practical.

We’ll work together to:

Decode high-stakes conversations and make your communication hit harder.

Amplify your influence in rooms filled with executives, engineers, investors, or stakeholders.

Build your “X-Factor” — a powerful personal presence that earns trust fast.

Unleash your Social Intelligence — command the room, influence anyone, and forge relationships.

You’ll never watch a video or sit through fluff. This is tactical training designed for results.

💥 Plus: Join the X-Factor Accelerator

An exclusive, implementation-based group for high performers. Inside:

Get real-time feedback from other driven professionals.

Practice frameworks in live drills.

Build executive presence and influence with accountability.

👊 My Credibility
19+ years in influence, leadership, and communication development.

10,000+ clients across tech, finance, military, and consulting.

Coached U.S. Military Special Forces & Intelligence Units.

Host of a podcast with 450M+ downloads featuring world-class scientists and performance experts.

For the Analytic Mind Turned Leader.
For the Founder Now Fundraising.
For the Operator Who Needs Buy-In Fast.

If you’ve already tried “the other stuff” and still aren’t getting the results — let’s fix it.

DM me.

Let's turn communication into your competitive advantage.

This CEO kept asking how to get respect but he was asking the wrong question.

He hired me to fix his executive presence with a new team.

But what he really needed was to learn how to read the room.

He'd just taken over from a CEO who'd been run out of the company.

The team was in complete disarray.

Trust was shot. Morale was in the basement.

In our first session, he kept asking: "How do I get them to respect me?"

Wrong question.

The right question: "What are they telling me that I'm not hearing?"

We spent two days together. Not on power poses or speech techniques.

On reading the signals everyone was already sending.

The VP who always sat furthest from him in meetings? Not disrespect. Self-protection from the last regime.

The director who never made eye contact? Not defiance. Fear of being next to go.

The team lead who talked too much in meetings? Not showing off. 

Desperately trying to prove their value.

Once he learned to read these signals, everything shifted.

Instead of demanding respect through authority, he earned it through understanding.

He moved the VP closer, saying "I need your perspective up here."

He caught the director's eye and nodded before speaking, signaling safety.

He let the team lead finish, then said "That's exactly the thinking we need more of."

Three months later, same team, completely different energy.

Employee engagement scores jumped 40%. Voluntary turnover dropped to zero.

The board noticed. "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it."

Here's what most leaders miss:

Your team is constantly broadcasting what they need from you.

But most executives are so focused on sending signals, they forget to receive them.

The strongest leaders don't just project presence.

They detect what's present in others.

Master that, and watch your influence multiply.

AJ Harbinger

"Your Influence Strategy Is Backwards," My Mentor Said.

I was 27, running The Art of Charm, convinced I had influence figured out.

More connections. Bigger network. Higher-profile meetings.

Then my mentor watched me work a conference for 20 minutes and pulled me aside.

"You're doing it completely backwards. Stop trying to be known by everyone. Start being unforgettable to someone."

That stung. I'd just collected 50 business cards.

"How many will remember you next week?" he asked.

The honest answer? Maybe three.

He shared something that rewired my entire approach:

"Real influence isn't about reach. It's about depth. You're spreading yourself so thin, you're invisible even when you're everywhere."

I tested his theory the next day.

Instead of working the entire room, I had three conversations. Real ones.

I asked about their biggest challenge. I listened for what wasn't being said. I offered specific help without being asked.

One of those conversations turned into a $2M partnership six months later.

The other 47 business cards from the previous day? They went nowhere.

Here's what backwards influence strategy looks like:

• Chasing quantity over quality connections 
• Being everywhere but memorable nowhere 
• Collecting contacts instead of creating advocates 
• Focusing on who you know vs who truly knows you

The right way forward:

Go deep with a select few. Create moments that matter. Build relationships that compound.

Your influence isn't measured by your LinkedIn connections.

It's measured by how many people would drop everything to take your call.

That's the strategy that actually scales.

The best communicators aren't the smoothest talkers. They do this instead.

They shut up.

I learned this years ago watching a negotiation between two CEOs that changed my entire perspective on influence.

One CEO talked for 45 minutes straight. Polished. Articulate. Every word perfectly placed.

The other? Spoke for maybe 5 minutes total.

Guess who walked away with the $100M deal?

The quiet one.

Here's what he did that the smooth talker missed:

He asked questions that made the other CEO think.

Not surface questions. Depth charges.

"What's the real problem you're trying to solve?"

Then he did something most people can't do: He waited.

Not the awkward 3-second pause most people call silence.

Real silence. 10, 15, sometimes 20 seconds.

The other CEO filled that silence with the truth. His real fears. His actual goals. His hidden agenda.

By minute 30, the quiet CEO knew exactly what to offer. And exactly how to frame it.

The smooth talker? He was still pitching features to problems that didn't exist.

The best communicators aren't performers. They're detectives.

They understand this fundamental truth:

The person asking questions controls the conversation.

The person talking the most reveals the most.

The person who listens deepest wins.

I tested this with a client who couldn't close deals despite being incredibly articulate.

We flipped his approach. Instead of perfecting his pitch, we perfected his questions.

Instead of filling silence, he learned to create it.

Instead of impressing with words, he impressed by understanding.

His close rate went from 15% to 65% in 90 days.

Nothing changed about his product. Everything changed about his presence.

Here's what master communicators do differently:

They ask questions that cut through the noise:

"What happens if nothing changes?"
"What's this really about for you?"
"What aren't you telling me?"

They use strategic silence:

After asking a question. After someone shares something vulnerable. After making an important point.

They listen for what's not being said:

The pause before answering. The shift in energy. The words they avoid.

They reflect back deeper than surface:

"It sounds like this is really about trust."
"I'm hearing fear behind that confidence."
"This seems personal, not just professional."

Carnegie's research found that people who listen more than they talk are rated 40% more influential than those who dominate conversations.

But here's what Carnegie missed:

It's not just about the ratio of talking to listening.

It's about the quality of your silence.

Most people can't handle 5 seconds of quiet. Their discomfort fills every gap.

Masters of influence use silence like a surgical tool.

They know silence creates space for truth.

They know questions create connection.

They know understanding creates influence.

The smoothest talkers often say the least.

Stop trying to sound smart.

Start trying to understand deeply.

Your influence will explode overnight.

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The most influential people aren't the most connected. They master these 4 relationship principles.

Here are the 4 principles they live by:

1. Depth Before Width

Most people chase breadth. They want to know everyone.

Influential people go deep with a select few.

I watched a Fortune 500 CEO turn down a conference with 5,000 attendees to have dinner with three key relationships.

That dinner led to a $50M partnership.

Those 5,000 business cards? They would've led nowhere.

MIT research confirms: we can only maintain 150 meaningful relationships. But only 12-15 can be truly deep.

Choose wisely.

2. Give Without Keeping Score

Transactional networkers always lose.

They track favors like accountants. They give to get.

True influence comes from giving without memory and receiving without forgetting.

A client learned this after years of "strategic networking" yielded nothing.

We shifted his approach: Give first. Give freely. Give without expectation.

18 months later, his phone rings with opportunities he never asked for.

Why? 

People remember those who helped when helping wasn't required.

3. Invest in People Before They're Successful

Everyone wants to know successful people.

Few invest in people before they make it.

The most influential people I know have one trait: They bet on potential, not position.

They mentor the unknown. Support the struggling. Believe in the beginning.

A venture capitalist told me his secret: "I don't network up. I network forward."

His portfolio? Built on relationships formed when founders had nothing but ideas.

His returns? 300x on relationship capital alone.

4. Create Value Intersections

Influential people don't just connect. They create collision points.

They introduce people who should know each other. They build bridges between worlds.

They become the hub, not just another spoke.

I watched a consultant build a $10M business using this principle.

She never sold anything. She just kept introducing the right people to each other.

Eventually, everyone came to her first. She became indispensable by making others successful.

Here's what most people miss:

Your network's value isn't in its size. It's in its depth.

Your influence isn't in who you know. It's in who you've helped become.

Your social capital isn't built on transactions. It's built on transformation.

That's real influence.

Stop collecting contacts.

Start cultivating relationships that matter.

Your influence depends on it.

Want the real key to success?

Charisma that makes you unforgettable.

You've seen them: individuals whose very presence radiates a magnetic energy.

They captivate, command attention, and effortlessly draw people in.

Often, when we talk of charisma, our minds dart to celebrities.

After all, isn't it their charm that amasses them fortune and fame?

❌ But let’s bust a myth right here: charisma isn’t reserved for the rich or the famous.

Remember that college friend who, seemingly without trying, was everyone's favorite? 

Or that colleague whom the entire office adored? 

That's charisma at work.

Here's a twist: it isn't the financial success that brings charisma; instead, it's charisma that can open doors to such successes.

Charisma….It's one of those things – you know it when you see it, but describing it? That's a challenge. However, one definition that resonates with us is by Psychology Today:

"Charisma is the ability to attract, charm, and influence the people around you."

One ancient myth claims charisma is innate - you either have it, or you don’t, rooted from its Greek origin meaning "a divine gift."

👉 But here's the reality: charisma isn't just a divine handout.

Science confirms it's a blend of both nature and nurture. While genes play a part, charisma is also about understanding its principles and honing the techniques.

🔥 Whether you're an introvert or extrovert, with the right mindset and tools, charisma can be nurtured and refined.

Follow me for more upcoming tips and strategies to bring out your charisma and increase your social capital.

No amount of networking can fix poor social skills. But one conversation technique can.

Here's the brutal truth: Your network is only as strong as your ability to connect.

Most people think networking is about quantity. It's not.

It's about making people feel something when they talk to you.

I learned this from a client who epitomized the problem.

Tech executive. Impressive resume. Zero charisma.

At a conference, I watched him work the room. Business cards flying. Elevator pitch on repeat.

By the end, he'd talked to 50 people.

Not one remembered his name the next day.

We tested this. I had him reach out to his "new connections" a week later.

3 responses. All polite rejections.

His problem wasn't his approach. It was his presence.

He was so focused on what he wanted to say, he never noticed what others needed to hear.

So we worked on one technique that changed everything:

The Mirror Method.

Instead of preparing what to say next, you mirror their emotional state first.

Someone excited about their startup? Match their energy.

Someone frustrated with their job? Acknowledge their struggle.

Someone proud of their team? Celebrate with them.

It's not mimicry. It's emotional synchronization.

Here's why it works:

MIT neuroscience research shows our brains are wired for emotional contagion.

When someone feels you're on their wavelength, their guard drops.

Trust forms in seconds, not hours.

The same executive went to another conference three months later.

This time, he talked to 12 people. Just 12.

But he mirrored their emotional states. He met them where they were.

Result?

8 follow-up meetings. 3 new clients. 1 board position offer.

From 50 forgettable interactions to 12 transformational ones.

Harvard Business Review found that emotional intelligence accounts for 58% of performance in all job types.

Yet we spend 95% of our time perfecting our pitch instead of our presence.

Stop collecting contacts.

Start creating connections.

The Mirror Method in action:

They say: "This quarter has been brutal."

You say: "Sounds like you're carrying a lot right now."

They say: "We just closed our Series A!"

You say: "That energy is contagious! Tell me more."

They say: "I'm thinking of making a career change."

You say: "Big decisions like that take courage."

Notice what's missing? Your agenda.

When you mirror someone's emotional state before pushing your message, magic happens.

They feel seen. They open up. They remember you.

Your network isn't built on how many people you know.

It's built on how many people feel known by you.

Master this one technique.

Watch your influence transform overnight.

I'd rather be present...

than let my phone kill my charisma.

We often lose our charm by pulling out our phones:

↳ We miss genuine connections
because we're distracted by screens.

↳ We fail to engage fully
because notifications steal our attention.

↳ We overlook the magic in moments
because we're tied down by devices.

Even if we think we're multitasking.

↓ Here's a 5-step guide on how to boost your charisma by being present:

1. Recognize the Distraction:
Acknowledge that your phone is a barrier to genuine connections.

2. Silence Notifications:
Turn off alerts to minimize distractions during conversations.

3. Practice Mindfulness:
Focus on the here and now, giving your full attention to those around you.

4. Pocket the Phone:
Keep your phone out of sight to avoid the temptation to check it.

5. Engage Fully:
Listen actively and respond thoughtfully, showing you value the interaction.

Charisma starts with being present.

So, next time you're with someone, pocket that phone.

Watch the magic unfold.

Want to know the real reason your ideas and initiatives aren’t getting traction…

You are not using the 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 stories.

During a coaching session last week, she confessed to me the 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 reason her digital initiative suddenly took off after months of resistance:

"𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘹 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬."

Let me explain what happened...

After countless failed attempts to get buy-in on a major digital transformation project, one team member casually compared their journey to Netflix - you know, the company that started with those red envelopes in the mail?

The room fell silent.

Then something magical happened.

Suddenly, 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 could see the vision. 

The same executives who had bored in previous meetings were now enthusiastically on board.

All because of a 30-second story about Netflix's evolution from mail-order DVDs to streaming dominance.

Here's why this works like nothing else:

✅ 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: Everyone knows Netflix. It's like explaining quantum physics through football. Instant clarity.

✅ 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: Complex ideas need simple vehicles. Netflix's journey from mail to mobile is the perfect metaphor for transformation.

✅ 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥: Stories bypass logical resistance. They stick because they make us FEEL something.

This isn't just nice-to-have fluff. It's the difference between brilliant ideas that die in PowerPoint hell and ones that get implemented.

Look around your organization - I guarantee the most influential leaders aren't just the smartest. 

They're the best storytellers.

The good news? 

Unlike technical skills that take years to master, you can deploy this technique in your very next meeting.

What transformation are 𝐘𝐎𝐔 trying to lead? 

What familiar story could make it click?

Taplio

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