Turn on the charm

Superficial charm (or insincere charm or glib charm) is the tendency to be smooth, engaging, charming, slick and verbally facile.

The phrase often appears in lists of attributes of psychopathic personalities, such as in Hervey M. Cleckley's The Mask of Sanity, and Robert D. Hare's Hare Psychopathy Checklist.

Associated expressions are "charm offensive", "turning on the charm" and "superficial smile".

Classical rhetoric had early singled out the critical category of the superficial charmer, whose merit was purely verbal, without underlying substance.

In the nineteenth century, George Eliot explored the darker side of the Victorian feminine ideal, concluding bleakly that there was little worse than the narrow minded kind of femininity sheltering behind an artificial charm of manner.

Contemporary interest in superficial charm goes back to Hervey M. Cleckley's classic study (1941) of the sociopath: since his work it has become widely accepted that the sociopath/psychopath was characterised by superficial charm and a disregard for other people's feelings. According to Hare, "Psychopathic charm is not in the least shy, self-conscious, or afraid to say anything."

Subsequent studies have refined, but not perhaps fundamentally altered, Cleckley's initial assessment. In the latest diagnostic review, Cleckley's mix of intelligence and superficial charm has been redefined to reflect a more deviant demeanour, talkative, slick, and insincere. A distinction can also be drawn between a subtle, self-effacing kind of sociopathic charm, and a more expansive, exhilarating spontaneity which serves to give the sociopath a sort of animal magnetism.

The authors of the book Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work describe a five phase model of how a typical workplace psychopath climbs to and maintains power. In phase one (entry), the psychopath will use highly developed social skills and charm to obtain employment by an organisation. Corporate psychopaths within organizations may be singled out for rapid promotion because of their polish, charm, and cool decisiveness.

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