Psychoanalysts who studied charismatic leaders say they evidence ‘an extraordinary amount of energy, with an inner clarity that is unhindered by anxieties and guilt that tend to afflict more ordinary people’.
While smiling is contagious, it puts people at ease, you seem more approachable, and the mood lightens up, so that creates wider appeal and a willing audience. Netas need to smile more, rather than frown and play the blame game, criticising opponents.
Mohandas Gandhi’s toothless smile melted more hearts than he might have ever imagined, and garnered for him a large number of followers who willingly adapted to his philosophy of frugality, self-control, swadeshi and satyagraha, all difficult to achieve. But he did it all smilingly and his admirers spanned the world.