There are teachers who seem blessed with natural charisma.
The lucky ones.
They with the easy charm. The effortlessness vibe. The secret something that causes students to want to please them and behave for them.
Must be nice, huh?
But the truth is, they’re not so different from you and me.
They just embrace one simple thing.
Before we get to what that one thing is, it’s important to mention that there are many strategies we’ve already covered here at SCM that build strong, behavior-influencing trust and likability with students.
They include, most prominently . . .
Consistency
Pleasantness
Calmness
Kindness
Humor
Pace
Manner of speaking
Together, they’ll without a doubt, and often dramatically, improve your charisma.
There is one thing, however, you can do to make them even more effective. This one thing has a way of supercharging your ability to influence, motivate, and inspire your students.
So what is it?
Well, there is an odd phenomenon that takes place the moment many teachers stand in front of students.
Maybe it’s fear. Maybe it’s nerves or lack of confidence. Maybe it’s the belief that effective teachers must behave in the same buttoned-up, cookie-cutter way.
Whatever the reason, they become almost entirely stripped of their true personality.
This is a big problem. Because when you inhabit a teaching persona that is different from your natural self, you become uninteresting and hard for students to pay attention to.
Thus, the secret to having more charisma, the one thing, is to embrace more of who you really are. No, this doesn’t mean that if you cuss up a storm at home that you should do so at school or that you have permission to be a grouch.
You are, after all, limited by common professionalism.
But the more you can embody the essence of you, which should feel as comfortable as slipping on your old college hoodie, the more charismatic and influential you’ll be.
I know what you’re thinking: “But who I really am isn’t charismatic. I’m plain and like to do boring things.”
Doesn’t matter.
The truth is, you are charismatic. Just as you are. In fact, it’s your uniqueness, your quirks and idiosyncrasies, your vulnerability and eccentricity, even your perceived weaknesses that are your greatest strengths.
Once in a while I get an email from a reader looking for excuses why the SCM approach won’t work for them. (None ever hold water.) But one of the most common is along the lines of “Well, you’re just a natural teacher, and it all must come easy for you.”
But if you’re a regular reader of SCM, you know that not one of the principles, strategies, or methodologies that make up SCM are contingent upon having any natural ability.
I’m nothing special. I’m introverted by nature. I’m not a smooth talker. I’m frequently awkward. Again, doesn’t matter. In fact, these very things help endear me to my students.
Charisma is nothing more than the inward acceptance and outward expression of the best of who you really are.
To have more of it, all it takes is a little courage, a small leap of faith, and the refusal to be anything but ordinary, kind, awesome, weird, goofy, imperfect.
You.
If you haven’t done so already, please join us. It’s free! Click here and begin receiving classroom management articles like this one in your email box every week.
Thanks
This is such a good and reassuring article, Michael. Thank you. I love being myself with my second grade students. They laugh at my not so funny puns. That is, after I’ve taught them what a pun is! They have oodles of opportunities to see me model how to take care of a mistake. We giggle at my funny drawings and they try to reassure me that I draw well. Haha. The community we have built this year is precious. They reach out to each other to help and to encourage. We cry together as we read the touching Patricia Polacco books. Thank you for all the advice over these past few years that has improved my classroom management.
It’s my pleasure, Sharon! Thanks for sharing. Love that.
I think that part of that charisma is the ability to laugh at yourself. My husband & I taught our own kids to “take your job/school seriously, but not yourself.” I try to teach that to my students as well. (I know they get yelled at in their homes for all kinds of stuff.) The ability to laugh at your mistakes, mess-ups, klutziness, etc. makes for a more relaxed classroom. I teach art & there are always spills & messes made. I never get angry (unless it was intentional-then watch out!) & show the kids how to clean up/fix up properly without a big scene. Then we move on.
Which 3-5 rules do you use in your class. I am also a creative, art teacher, but i found it hard to have less rules
Hi Michael,
You are indeed blessed with wise counsel.
I have been a dedicated reader of “smartclassroommanagement.com” for a long time! I’m really inspired by your perspectives!
I teach at a university in the Faculty of Education. I certainly promote you and your website to my Pre-Service teacher candidates.
There are a “gazillion” [Sic?] websites on classroom management, but this site is the best! Thank you!
Thanks for being a loyal reader, Wm! I’m so glad you like SCM.
I think about this a lot, and after a few years of being in the classroom, I feel a lot more confident in myself and comfortable in front of students. But I know I’m still holding back a lot, and I’m still not perceived as the kind of person I really am…goofy, kind, and funny. I’m naturally introverted, too, and quite shy on top of that. I’m happy with the progress I see in myself, but do you have any specific tips for how to gain the confidence instead of waiting for it to happen over time? I know affirmations and working on mindsets is big, but anything else?
Hi Rebecca,
This is an excellent topic. I’ll be sure to put it on the list of future articles.
One way is to bring your interests into the classroom. Kids love to see their teacher excited about something. I do puzzles and origami with kids, when appropriate; my mom (who is a birder) finds ways to shoehorn birds into all sorts of lessons (this is perhaps easier in an elementary classroom).
Another important tactic is to (sometimes) let the kids know how things make you feel. As a sub, I have a very small window to establish rapport, and often when the kids are chatty I will stop roll call to explain that I don’t like being “the mean sub”, but excessive noise makes it harder for me to do my job, which in turn can make me kinda stressed out and grumpy. With big classes I’ve never seen before (think middle school band) it’s almost impossible to maintain control unless I open this way.
Good advice, in my opinion! I think the challenge is for some teachers to find who they really are. They may have been a little damaged by upbringing and who they are got shoved into the background. It’s incumbent upon teachers to find this path to healing, to find their true identity and self-acceptance so they can be all they were meant to be for their students (who really do admire them).
Michael
Awesome advice. This should be a must for all teachers
Thanks Mike!
Mr. Linsin,
I have been reading your posts for years and you have influenced how I look at my vocation. Your post today hit a nerve, and I need to vent about it.
I have been an Art teacher since 1989, and I Loved what I do. Comming to school each day was another experience in doing what I love to do. My heart was geared towards the desire to change a child’s life through learning skills to create and building their belief that they are talented and successful in having an imagination. I always thought that to teach how I felt was the way to get the kids motivated ,and with years of experience, I was finally secure that what I was doing was right for the kids. I was myself in my class.
However, this is what is happening now: as a whole we have been told by those who “rule” that the way we were taught to be teachers is wrong – the cookie cutter teaching process is the way it is becoming. I have been devastated by this vision, and others who teach are expounding the same feeling. I would enjoy gaining my teaching soul back, but when we are evaluated twice a year and “walked throughed” weekly, we are all on edge that the thing we always loved to do is suspect of being too individualistic. Our kids are getting the same exact teaching style in every class- there is no longer a way to teach through multiple intelligences.
I loved having you post the concept of individuality and comfort in what we do- it made me think perhaps I need to return to that “ inner me” instead or fearing Big Brother. I may sound a bit like a revolutionary, but it gives me a little of my own self back. You reminded me that I am a professional and actually have a right to remain as I am- just because I have been at it a while doesn’t mean there isn’t a polished gleam about me. It’s funny actually; we want to raise the children of our world to be individual thinking creative citizens, yet the teachers who nurture that ideal are treated as if we must be a stiff follower of the new regime in teaching. You reminded me to take “the path less traveled by.” I know it will make “all the difference.”
Thanks for sharing, Lisa! I really like your last sentence.
Such inspirational insight!
I hear you, Lisa. The approach you describe so well drove me out of the classroom at the end of last year. I had been told that I was intuitive in my teaching and did some really good things but then I was expected to explain it all, argue it all, teach to the cookie-cutter teacher expectations and it all got far too much. I feel really lucky that I have had the last six months in a school that doesn’t follow that model . . . yet.
As many of the above commenters have also said, I am so glad I came across this website. So much more helpful than so much that I have been told I have to do recently.
Thank you.
Michael, you have a way of encouraging that is so…well, encouraging. Thank you so much! You have made a huge difference in my teaching. Merry Christmas!
Simply but well said!
Thanks Linda! Merry Christmas to you!
Thank you so much!
You’re welcome, Dawnalee.
My 9th-grade Geometry teacher. She wore a navy blue suit every day, with a white blouse. Every day. Her hair was the most boring light brown you can imagine. It was cut in a simple, plain pixie. She had plain rectangular glasses. She wore sensible shoes. AND, she was always pleasant, and consistent, and incredibly patient, and I have never forgotten her.
Unbelievably expressed!!! I haven’t been able to articulate this erosion.
I’ve been mourning the loss of my spontaneity and creativity. I’m inspired to seek it out!!! Thank you!!!
You can do it, C. It’s there for the taking. 🙂
I am in a new position for the first time in 20 years and I so needed this reminder. Thank you so much!
It’s my pleasure, Todd. Thanks for reading.
Thanks! I struggle exactly with this, trying to present super enthusiasm when it isn’t truly a part of my personality. I do love and know well my subject, Art. I’m going to print out this article as reassurance on my desk!
You’re welcome, Frances. Happy to help.
Bravo, Michael!
I think it would be a great idea to leave this entire article in the principal’s “Ideas” box. Maybe get a few teachers to do the same so the principal gets the idea that a good number of teachers think this is important.
Thanks Rachel!
Thanks for this wonderful idea.
Hope to get more
You’re welcome, Gloria.
I don´t have words to thank you for all your advice, since I´m a better teacher than I used to be before getting to know you. I think, besides being a natural teacher, you are a great person.
I appreciate your kind words, Raquel. I’m so glad SCM has been helpful.
Thanks Raquel! I appreciate your comments very much.
Hello! I enjoy and learn from your articles. However, I teach Spanish in an elementary school and it’s very easy for the kids to tune out a language they don’t know. We are supposed to stay in the target language 90% of the time. I break this rule sometimes when it’s absolutely necessary, but I would appreciate any thoughts you have about classroom management in a world language classroom. Gracias!
Thank you so much.
Mr. Linsin: I have an additional comment: I am a veteran 27+ year teacher and team lead. As an extreme introvert but lover of children and learning; I learned that being 100% prepared each day is foundational in giving me the ability to ‘BE’ myself and to laugh, enjoy and guide children. After that is a good nights sleep, and dressing neatly and teacher-ish.
When I take care of the physical items, then I can step up to the plate ‘in front of all those people!’ Thank you for your consistent dedication to teaching.
Thank you, Michael! Everything you say resonates perfectly with what I’ve experienced in 29 years of teaching. It has been a roller coaster ride, what with winning over “challenging” learners to finishing the syllabus/curriculum in time. Kids want authentic teachers and acceptance from them.
Is there anyway you could attach links to your articles that support the essential strategies you listed in this article? I would love to refresh myself with some of these strategies you mentioned, especially with “pace” and “manner of speaking.”
Once again Michael, your article is EXCELLENT! I’ve been following your blog since my first year of teaching. I’ve worked in schools with all impoverish students and schools with all wealthy/healthy children and the strategies you teach us WORK. I’ve had the highest level of excellence with my classroom management these past 7 years of teaching with both types of schools and because of your helpful articles, we have proven that ALL children can have excellent behavior. I just can’t get enough of your writing! Thank you for the sacrifices you have made to make this blog and your books!
Hi Jody,
I’m so glad SCM has been helpful! Thank you so much for your kind words. They keep me going. I try to include 3-4 links per article. Any more than that can become distracting to readers. I didn’t include links to the listed areas because they represent so many articles and I want to give readers a chance to explore and find those that resonate most with them.
I agree with this 100%. I’m an awkward, anxiety prone, introverted, literature geek. I was not popular in school. My peers still make me nervous. I stumble over my words and make mistakes frequently. The more I embrace my flaws, quirks, and vulnerabilities, the more my students seem to connect with me. I’m real and that allows them to be real, too. Students feel at ease in my classroom and often come hang out there before the first bell or pop in to see me between classes. It’s a release from the pressures of being a teenager and feeling forced to be cool, figure out what they will do, and who they are going to be. Instead they can just be who they already are and know they are loved and valued while becoming their best selves. My classroom management style is more relaxed than that of some teachers, but students respect me and do work I don’t think they would attempt otherwise.
I remember that you had a positive affirmation with a basketball theme by the door that students would tap as they entered the classroom. I would love to use that idea in my high school SPED classroom. Can you help me?
https://smartclassroommanagement.com/2017/07/29/back-to-school-motivation/
Hi Micheal…
So I have been following your page for quite a while.
I haven’t been teaching very long and to me at this stage, everything that I have learned so far about classroom management has been excellent, however to me feels like sooooo much to remember. I am a very passionate person, who does get worked up (not necessarily only when I’m upset) but when getting excited about something too. So, I lack a bit of calmness and was wondering whether you have a few tips as to how to be a more calm person in the classroom? Also, I have been a “victim to “speech – ing” my students, which I find obviously ineffective…How do I get them to understand why there are rules and consequences to things without sounding like I am lecturing them?
Thanks for your great work, so far 🙂 Regards
Hi Lucindia,
I’m so glad you found us. I’ve covered these topics extensively and from different angles. My best advice is to use the search bar in the top right-hand corner along the menu bar. “Calm” is a good place to start. 🙂
Michael
Micheal, I could not agree more! This aslo pairs well with your excellent article about not having to be “coo to be both liked and effective in the classroom.
That being said: I teach high school history, world and U.S. I’m 58 years old. I have thinning hair (I’m female). I have severe rheumatoid arthritis and walk hunched over life I’m 85. On bad days I have to use a walker. I wear thick bifocals. My students are well aware my favorite radio station is NPR, my favorite thing to do on the weekend is read a novel, I’m a total Star Trek junkie, I don’t have a TV, and I have zero social media accounts. Most of all, they know I think history is the most fascinating and exciting thing theois!
HOWEVER, I’m considered by the vast majority of students to be the “coolest” teacher at our high school! I never, and I mean never, have classroom management issues. I’m new at this high school this year and have yet to send a student to the office. Other teachers are amazed that the “trouble makers” make no trouble in my classez.
I have two secrets. First, I follow Michael’s “Smart Classroom Management Plan” consistently. My expectations are crystal clear, as are the consequences for choosing not to meet those expectations. For example, during tests, nothing’s can be on the desk other than a pen, the test, of a water bottle. If “I see your lips move, for any reason, or see your eyes anywhere except looking straight down at your test, I will just quietly come remove the test from your desk and you will receive an F.” They know I’m dead serious and I’ve not had to remove a single test all year. They cannot talk, period, when I’m taking or reading out loud.
However, I’m very easy-going (lax) under most other circumstances. After my short presentation at usually a whole class discussion, they are allowed to work individually, in pairs, or in groups. They can listen to music, have their phones out, chat, or work on other homework if they’re finished or don’t feel like doing history today (although that has zero effect on when it’s due!). I have 3 rules for work time, which is usually about 30 minutes: a) work to chat ratio has to be at least 60:40; b) everyone must be working on something; c) overall level if noise must stay at a reasonable level.
Other teachers don’t understand why all heck doesn’t break loose with my no rules” attitude. Actually, my rules are very strict. When I’m talking or they’re taking a test, there is absolute silence. During work time the classroom is calm and serene. I give the toughest assessments and my students get the best grades and ace the standardized tests in history.
My second secret is my perceived coolness. I was told just today by a student that I am “way chill.” Actually, I AM cool! Because coolness is a state of mind. I’m absolutely confident in who I am and I like myself. That shows. Cool people don’t give a fig about what other people think about them. My students find it hilarious that I still use my iPhone 5c. I laugh right along with them and they can tell I could not care less about having the latest phone. And they admire and respect that.
I also give them a window into my personal life. I don’t mean “personal”–I have healthy boundaries–but I mean my life outside the classroom. Some teachers are so afraid to share their personalities! I somehow work in some little story about myself every day. Sometimes it’s funny, but often it isn’t. Many times it’s not even what I’d call interesting. “I’m a little tired today because my coffee maker’s on the fritz and I left the house too late to go through the Starbucks.” I’m naturally funny and definitely have the gift of gab, which helps, but any teacher can do this–let your natural personality shine through!
I make it my business to know, in general, what teens are into. I couldn’t recite any hip-hop lyrics if you paid me a million dollars, and ny students know this , but I know the artists’ names and if they’re in the newx, have won a Grammy, etc. I love clothes and dress absolutely age appropriately and modestly, but I totally “get” teen fashion. I understand when they’re talking in code and know what they’re saying. I can talk sports. I know some random trivia about a great deal of topics. I don’t generally use current slang, nor do I ever try to be their peer, but they appreciate that I have some understanding of their world. I work hard to do that, mostly by reading the news very widely and voraciously.
Well , I didn’t intend to write a novel here–sorry! Just to illustrate that a) you don’t need to be hip to be cool and b) there are many ways to carry out SCM–find what fits your personality! I’m a happy person/teacher who never gets stressed out or frustratec at school. Other faculty call me “the unflappable Ms. Simon.” And this is not some elite private school with high admission standards. It’s a typical public high school.
LAST, let me just say I purchased and devoured Michael’s booklet on the High School SCM Plan the other night. I would urge all high school teachers to get it and put it into practice! I love Michael’s point system for high school and plan to implement it next fall. Thanks, Michael!
Hi Debbie,
Thanks for sharing your wisdom with SCM readers! I loved your comments. You get it, no doubt. Your style, though uniquely your own, is very SCM. Awesome. Your students must love your class.