We Can Measure the Power of Charisma

It's not what you say; it's how you say it, and MIT professor Sandy Pentland has the data to prove it. He has created ingenious devices that record the social signals people send-their tone of voice, length of conversation, gesticulation, proximity to others, and the like. In short, the devices allow Pentland to measure subjects' charisma. Armed with that information, he can predict who will prevail in competitive business situations, such as business plan contests or salary negotiations, without even knowing what they have to say. In this article, he explains his studies to HBR.