Fix the inner state, not the outer mask

Your body language broadcasts your real internal state — so change the state, not the surface.

Why it works

Cabane’s central thesis is that charisma is mostly involuntary nonverbal signal, and you can’t reliably fake those signals because they leak from your true state. The leverage point is therefore internal: shift your physical and mental state (through breathing, reframing, self-compassion) and the authentic charismatic signals follow without micromanaging your face.

How to do it

1. Notice the internal state you’re actually in (anxious, distracted, irritated) before trying to project anything.
2. Use the body — posture, breath, movement — to shift the state rather than masking it.
3. Reframe anxiety-producing thoughts beforehand so you’re not fighting your own signals in the moment.

Evidence

The "internal state drives nonverbal leakage" idea is consistent with research on emotional expression and on how hard genuine affect is to fake; the overall charisma framework is practitioner-derived. Ekman and Friesen documented how true feeling leaks through nonverbal channels, and the Duchenne-smile work (Ekman, Davidson, & Friesen) shows a genuinely felt smile recruits muscles a posed one does not — concrete grounding for why shifting the state beats masking the surface. (mechanistic)

Cabane sometimes leans on contested embodiment claims; treat strong "fake it physically and the feeling follows" promises cautiously, and favor genuinely shifting state over posing.

Sources

• Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1969). Nonverbal Leakage and Clues to Deception. Psychiatry, 32(1), 88-106.
• Ekman, P., Davidson, R. J., & Friesen, W. V. (1990). The Duchenne smile: Emotional expression and brain physiology II. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(2), 342-353.

Common mistake

Trying to control the surface — forcing a smile, holding a power pose — while feeling anxious underneath, so the mismatch leaks through and reads as inauthentic.