Woodley Park Overflows With Hidden Qualities As D.C.'s Influential Flock To 'Compelling People' Book Party

WOODLEY PARK -- Charisma begets influence, which is nothing new to the world's more personable citizens. But for those not lucky enough to be born with an innate charm, the ability to manufacture said appeal has proven elusive.

Hence the rise of an entire industry of 'message development', 'speaker training', and 'presentation coaching' firms to assist the world's statesman and Fortune 500 executives in creating lasting bonds -- be it between customers, constituents or combatants.

Matt Kohut and John Neffinger are the founding partners of one such company, with KNP Communications opening its doors in the wake of John Kerry's unsuccessful 2004 bid for the Presidency.

Fast forward to today and the two Democrats have since counseled countless both corporate and political clients and are regular speakers on the business school lecture circuit (e.g., Harvard, MIT, Columbia, etc.).

The net results of all of those years of groundbreaking research on relationship building has been channeled into a recently released book, co-authored by the pair, titled Compelling People: The Hidden Qualities That Make Us Influential.

And many of said compelling people came together early Wednesday evening to celebrate the release of Kohut and Neffinger's work, during an intimate reception and book signing party held at the Woodley Park home of David Brock.

As the founder of Media Matters for America, which is a longtime customer of KNP, Brock surely knows the value of the lessons contained within Compelling People.

Judging by the number of prominent names included in the list of organizers for Wednesday's party, so too do the city's powerbrokers: Nancy Bagley & Soroush Shehabi, Mary Pat Bonner, David Brock, Ebs Burnough, Stephanie Cutter, Kate Damon, Jill & Nathan Daschle, Karen Finney, Ilyse Hogue, Juleanna Glover, Heather Podesta, Susanna & Jack Quinn, and Kimball Stroud.

Looks like those qualities are hidden no more.