The Design of Charismatic Behaviors for Virtual Humans

Abstract

Charisma is a powerful device of communication and persuasion. Researchers have pinpointed specific behaviors that contribute to the perception of charisma. How can we realize such behaviors in a virtual character? In this paper, we discuss our work in the design of charismatic behavior for a virtual human. We developed a series of verbal and nonverbal (with the focus on voice) charismatic strategies based on the analysis of behaviors of charismatic leaders. We developed scripted speech dialogues with the verbal strategies and recorded the speeches with actors using the nonverbal strategies. The dialogue is further implemented in a virtual human, embedded in a virtual classroom, to give a lecture on the human circulatory system. We conducted a study with the virtual human to assess the impact of charismatic verbal and nonverbal behaviors on perceived charisma. The results show the positive impact of the use of verbal strategies and how the use of voice can influence such impact. The results shed light on the next steps needed to automatically generate charismatic speech, voices, and gestures for virtual characters.