Charisma Infrastructure: Decoding CEO Signals via Socionics
Jun 12, 2025
Strategic Rationale
The market capitalization of the world’s largest companies today is driven predominantly by intangible assets. According to Ocean Tomo, they account for approximately 90% of the S&P 500's total value—a trend that has accelerated sharply since 2020. Globally, the combined value of such assets—brands, customer relationships, and trust in leadership—reached USD 79.4 trillion in 2024, with nearly 80% of that figure not reflected in formal reporting. Investors are thus compelled to search for “soft signals” that reveal a company’s reputational and behavioral foundations, as these increasingly determine the sustainability of future cash flows. Leading institutional investors explicitly state that evaluating such signals requires a “tone at the top”—a direct assessment of how the board and the CEO communicate vision and values. In the annual Morrow Sodali survey, 91% of respondents identified direct contact with top management as the most reliable way to validate non-financial metrics. In other words, a leader’s ability to deliver a clear, coherent message becomes an asset comparable to a patent portfolio. Empirical studies confirm the economic significance of nonverbal channels. An analysis of 29,000 earnings calls between 2008 and 2020 found that when a CEO speaks clearly—without hesitations or mumbling—the volume of abnormal intraday trading rises by around 6%, and positive earnings surprises lead to stronger price reactions; unclear speech produces the opposite effect. Another study, published in *Management Science* (2024), shows that dynamic hemifacial asymmetry (uneven facial microexpressions) triggers negative market responses and widens spreads—indicating a decline in investor trust and a rise in perceived information risk. This gives companies a direct financial incentive to manage the human layer of disclosure. In Socionics terms, two functions play a central role: the Role function (2nd) and the Demonstrative function (8th), which shape the leader’s characteristic rhetorical and micro-motor patterns. Hypothesis: if these patterns can be calibrated and matched against the expectations of the investors’ target quadra, they can form the basis for a measurable trust index—further reducing the cost of capital. The remainder of this article outlines a methodology for empirically testing this hypothesis using a sample of earnings calls from 2023 to 2025.
Theoretical Framework
This framework is based on the Model A of Aušra Augustinavičiūtė, which distributes eight cognitive functions across four blocks. Two of these are particularly relevant in public communication: the Role function (3rd, Super-Ego block) and the Demonstrative function (8th, Id block). The Role function is conscious but “external”: it activates when a person attempts to align with external social expectations—temporarily suppressing the dominant function. The Demonstrative function, by contrast, is just as strong as the dominant one, but the individual treats it playfully, often using it ironically or effortlessly, especially when mimicking what others treat with undue seriousness.
As a result, a CEO’s public performance contains two behavioral layers:
- Regulatory layer — verbal formulations and gestures that compensate for the blind spots of the dominant function and signal social adequacy (Role function).
- Implicit layer — micro-patterns, spontaneous jokes, and ironic asides that reflect confident use of a non-valued but strong domain (Demonstrative function).
How the audience decodes these layers depends on its quadral values. In the Beta quadra (Ti-Fe-Se-Ni), emphasis is placed on energy and ideological coherence; in the Gamma quadra (Te-Fi-Se-Ni), on pragmatism and measurable value. The same gesture from Demonstrative Se (e.g., a sharp hand movement) may thus be read as “decisive leadership” by a Beta-oriented investor, and as “coercive pressure” by someone aligned with Gamma expectations.
The connection between micro-behavioral signals and market trust is backed by empirical data. A study of 29,000 earnings calls (2008–2020) showed that clear vocal delivery correlates with a ≈6% rise in abnormal trading volume. Another study in Management Science (2024) found that dynamic facial asymmetry during CEO interviews on CNBC suppressed positive price reactions and widened bid-ask spreads—indicating higher perceived informational risk.
Hypothesis, grounded in observed data: if correlations between Role/Demonstrative function expressions and market reactions can be systematically mapped across investor quadral clusters, it becomes possible to construct a reliable trust indicator. The potential of such an index to lower cost of capital has been established empirically. Testing this hypothesis requires a dataset of real public appearances, objective annotation of functional markers, and alignment with trading data—each of which is addressed in the following sections.
Taxonomy of Verbal and Nonverbal Markers
How the Role (3rd) and Demonstrative (8th) Functions of Each Information Element in Model A Manifest in Public Speaking
1. Functional Contrast
Role function — weak but conscious; it switches on when one needs to “maintain face.” The speaker verbalizes it through socially acceptable language, gestures are slightly restrained, and speech tends to sound formal.
Demonstrative function — strong, vital, and almost automatic; it surfaces spontaneously, often nonverbally, as if the person is “playing in their element,” without needing to prove anything.
Mental functions (like the Role) lean toward verbal formulation, while vital ones (like the Demonstrative) are expressed through action and micro-movement.
2. Markers by Information Element
| Element |
Role Function Markers |
Demonstrative Function Markers |
| Te (Logic of Action) |
Bureaucratic language: “in accordance with,” “regulation,” frequent citation of formal procedures; slightly strained voice; fingers count numbers awkwardly. |
Effortless bursts of facts and metrics; confident finger snaps, pacing the stage; relaxed facial tone — as if “playing with statistics.” |
| Ti (Structural Logic) |
Classifier patterns: “first, second, third.” Jaw tension appears under pressure; longer pauses before formal breakdowns. |
Spontaneous air diagrams; eyes roll upward as arguments are built; smooth logical corrections of inconsistencies — done casually. |
| Fe (Ethics of Emotion) |
Polite smile, standard phrases like “great to see you,” but no vocal modulation; hands stay close to the body, gestures minimal. |
Sharp vocal rise, dynamic volume shifts, wide open-handed gestures toward the audience; eyebrows move independently, facial expressions sync with speech — classic expressive delivery. |
| Fi (Ethics of Relations) |
Formal distance cues: “dear colleagues,” “if I may.” Shoulders slightly lifted as if maintaining formality before the audience. |
Softer pacing, embedded pauses for connection, slight forward lean; eye contact is held longer than usual, creating emotional proximity. |
| Se (Force Sensory) |
Controlled firmness: upright body, but restricted gestures. “Command” tone briefly appears on key words, then subsides. |
Natural stance expansion, quick arm extension toward the slide, confident step toward the audience; vocal tone thickens without effort, gaze is held assertively. |
| Si (Sensory of Comfort) |
Comfort mentions sound like formal inserts: “let’s ensure the sound is okay for everyone.” Gestures like adjusting a cuff appear delayed. |
Micro-adjustments: smoothing a jacket, aligning a glass on the table; colorful sensory metaphors like “warm launch” or “rough integration” spoken playfully. |
| Ne (Intuition of Possibilities) |
Careful phrases: “maybe,” “let’s suppose” — as if fulfilling the duty to mention options; hands remain interlocked. |
“Fireworks” of ideas with no tension: open palms facing up, quick shifts in topic, widened pupils; sentences begin with “what if…” |
| Ni (Intuition of Time) |
Formally correct forecasting: “by Q3 we expect…”; slight shoulder stiffness, vocal tone drops at the end of sentences. |
Tempo slows down, long pause before key dates, gaze appears to “look through” the room; one hand draws an arc, signaling a temporal narrative. |
3. How to Read This in Practice
If a speaker frequently hesitates on the Role function line, the audience picks up uncertainty — this is often where investors ask clarifying questions.
Demonstrative outbursts are detected faster than the speaker realizes. A sudden expansion of gesture or emotional “flip” signals the element in which the person operates naturally, even if they don’t consider it central.
By applying this framework, an analyst can identify which communication channels are activated with effort (Role) and which emerge effortlessly (Demonstrative), and then correlate them with market or audience response.
Case Studies
Elon Musk — LIE (ENTj)
On July 19, 2023, during Tesla’s Q2 earnings call, Musk spoke in short, dry bursts of numbers — a hallmark of strong Te. Twice he broke from the report to sketch a “bigger picture” involving autonomous robotaxis and a “digital civilization”; these flashes of ideation align well with Demonstrative Ne. However, emotional rapport with the audience was almost absent: the Role Fe remained dormant, and his voice stayed flat, lacking any social cushioning. Within minutes, Tesla shares fell approximately 3% in after-hours trading — the market read the technocratic tone, delivered without warmth, as an elevated risk.
Oprah Winfrey — EIE (ENFj)
On screen, Oprah leads her audience through powerful Fe emotion: shifting speech tempo, playing with pauses, and making strong eye contact. Every few minutes she inserts concrete details — print runs, costs, social impact — consistent with Role Te and reinforcing the credibility of her message. This same pattern defined her “Book Club” from 1996 to 2011, when she featured 70 titles that went on to sell a combined 55 million copies. Each announcement triggered a sales spike — publishers labeled the phenomenon the “Oprah Effect.” Emotional delivery backed by precise figures translated directly into financial impact, making this a textbook example of EIE’s Role–Demonstrative function interplay.
Warren Buffett — LSI (ISTj)
Buffett speaks slowly, without outward theatrics, relying on structured Ti logic and a calm, nearly motionless face — the classic behavioral profile of LSI. On August 25, 2011, he announced a $5 billion investment in Bank of America. His phrasing was minimalist: “We invested because the bank is a strong business.” No emotional framing followed — just an immediate breakdown of the deal’s terms, reflecting Role Se through concrete, task-focused detail. Bank of America shares jumped over 12% that morning and continued to rise. Investors interpreted the calm, well-reasoned delivery as a sign of total command over the situation.
These three cases demonstrate how Role and Demonstrative functions shape distinct speech and behavior patterns — and how markets respond to them in real financial terms.
Practical Application
This is not a how-to guide with growth guarantees. Rather, it’s a way to translate the language of functions into actionable business insight.
Investor
During earnings calls, the primary task is to cut through noise. A Chicago Booth study covering nearly 29,000 calls showed: the clearer the speaker’s voice, the higher the intraday trading volume and stronger the price reaction. The difference between “clear” and “marginally audible” accounts for about a 6% volume swing. If numbers flow smoothly (Te) or forecasts unfold in clean arcs (Ni), but the social glue (Fe or Fi) sounds like checkbox pleasantries, the market reads: “the logic is there, but empathy is underdelivered.” That’s usually the moment to ask a follow-up — CEOs tend to activate their Role function under direct questioning, offering precisely the human nuance that stabilizes investor trust.
IR Team
Rehearsal is the space for fine calibration. There’s no need to suppress a strong Demonstrative element — say, Ne in a visionary CEO — but it helps to frame it with a preloaded Role phrase. For Ne-speakers, a grounding line like “What this means for our shareholders right now…” can stabilize the flow. For a CEO with strong Se, the moment of the closing gesture is critical: check for facial symmetry. Those who ignore this risk penalty — Management Science studies show that dynamic facial asymmetry around major statements correlates with widened spreads and reduced trust.
CEO
It’s often easier to develop your weaker Role function than to alter what’s naturally strong. If your Role function is Fe and your tone is naturally flat, record two or three authentic phrases of gratitude and drop them at the opening and close of your segment — the audience gets emotional “glue,” and you avoid sounding rehearsed. Don’t touch the Demonstrative function: its value lies in its spontaneity and credibility.
Board of Directors
When 90% of S&P 500’s capitalization is intangible, the quality of the company’s public voice becomes a direct responsibility of the board. Global investor surveys (Morrow Sodali, 2021–2024) show that direct engagement with top management remains the most reliable way to validate non-financial risk. Accordingly, it makes sense to include not just the quantity of outreach, but also the clarity of delivery and stability of nonverbal cues in CEO KPIs.
In short: the Role function is the etiquette of speech, the Demonstrative function — a signature of personality. A good public appearance hides neither. Spot an imbalance? Chances are the market will, too — and will price it in accordingly.
Conclusion
The market has long moved beyond tangible assets. According to Ocean Tomo, intangible capital accounted for 90% of the S&P 500’s valuation as early as mid-2020—and the trend is only accelerating. In this reality, every C-level public appearance becomes an assessment event, on par with a financial report in its impact.
Institutional investors already act accordingly. In the annual Morrow Sodali survey, over 90% of portfolio managers identified direct engagement with top executives as the most reliable method for assessing non-financial risks. As a result, the ability to read and calibrate a leader’s verbal and nonverbal signals is now part of fiduciary responsibility—for both management and the board.
The empirical foundation is solid. Research by Mayew et al. shows that improved speech clarity during earnings calls correlates with increased intraday trading volume and stronger returns—comparable in scale to the effect of an unexpected profit announcement. A separate study in Management Science reports that dynamic facial asymmetry during CEO interviews reduces investor trust and widens spreads, leading to statistically significant short-term price declines.
Socionics’ Role/Demonstrative function pair offers a conceptual frame that aligns these observed market metrics with psycholinguistic mechanics: the Role function explains why formal speech often sounds strained, while the Demonstrative function clarifies why spontaneous flashes can either persuade or unsettle. The cases of Musk, Winfrey, and Buffett show that the combination of these two layers reliably echoes in share price and trading volume.
The limitations are clear: most studies to date are based in North American regulatory contexts. Accent, eye contact norms, and cultural facial expression patterns may influence results. Yet the underlying logic—linking clarity, symmetry, function, and trust—remains reproducible.
The next step is cross-cultural calibration and integration of these markers into portfolio-level risk models. When a company’s value no longer resides in warehouse inventory but in the trust evoked by a face on screen, reading the Role and Demonstrative layers becomes less a matter of psychology and more a pillar of financial analysis.