Hone up your oratorical skill!

Cheeniya · Jul 30, 2011

My dear OJ
You always remind me of that famous actor Maurice Chevalier who has portrayed some astounding roles in English movies such as Fanny and My Fair Lady. He was an eternal source of mirth and merriment. Even his utterances in anguish had an element of humour which certainly brought a smile to our faces though he wanted us to believe that he was in some kind of pain.

The imagery of you standing with a begging bowl for comments in the street corner left me with a big grin of interminable duration. I was trying to imagine what would the placard in front you read as. I could venture to suggest a few but knowing your qualitative superiority and your capacity to wring a copious flow of humour even out of the toughest English words, I controlled my temptation. I hereby acknowledge that you are the best in the game! Just read this phrase of yours: ‘the unacknowledged comment would hang there for the rest of eternity as a piece of supreme mockery in empty space.’ I can never come up with anything like that at any stage of my life!

I had heard that logic could take you to dizzy heights or abysmal depths but that it could lead you even into materials stored in oral cavity is a great revelation to me! And it is a greater and more astonishing revelation that Aristotle too indulged in this game! I wish you had also mentioned the empirical logic that he had applied to come to this conclusion. That would have been fascinating. I must tell you this that when I meet a good woman now, my mind wanders to the number of teeth she might be having to establish her superiority over me.

Monsieur Verdoux was a cult film to say the least. It is amazing that this film came to your mind to support my argument in favour of numbers. I do hope that the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkatta has a portrait of Francis Bacon displayed prominently in its premises.

The two genii that I adore most in IL are you and Kamla and my admiration for both of you knows no bounds. It is now my turn to feel jealous hearing of the long and intellectually stimulating chat you had with her. It thrills me no end that you remembered me immediately after the conclusion of your chat. Thank you buddy!
Sri

Viswamitra · Feb 25, 2012

Being a senior executive of a software company I had the chance to speak to audience of varying size from 50 to 500 depending on the type of the meeting. Initially, when I started speaking to that sized audience, I always used to put myself in a comfortable position by cracking a joke or even asking a question and make the audience to respond. Slowly, I improved the skill to speak in a larger audience.

One incident reminds still fresh in my memory. My CEO from the US who was visiting the Indian subsidiary told the employees in a meeting that the sales and customer support (located in the US) are like brain and heart functions and the delivery center (Indian operation) has no role to play if those two do not succeed. By stating this he demoralized the entire staff unfortunately I was not there when he said that. The next day as a CEO of Indian operation, when I returned to work, my senior executives told me what happened the previous evening. I decided to address the delivery center the next day and scheduled a meeting.

Nothing appeared to be a sound statement to make to motivate the delivery center staff. I walked into the meeting with no idea what I was going to say. Suddenly like a flash an idea came to my mind and I decided to say it no matter how the employees take it. I said, "Yes. I agree that sales and customer support are like brain and heart functions. But the delivery function is like kidney/intestinal function and without them purifying the mess that is created by the entire system, even the brain and heart won't get a cleaner blood. The system would collapse." As soon as I finished the sentence, every one clapped for a long time and I was relieved not because I made a great speech but because I knew then that the employees morale was reestablished.

Viswa

Cheeniya · Feb 27, 2012

Dear Viswa
That was very resourceful of you! It would have been well within your right to rub salt in their wounds by reemphasizing what the CEO had said. I have come across several middle level executives behave this way in my Bank. Whenever they got a banging from the chief, they would hasten back to their section and transfer the banging multiplied by two! The idea of such people is that banging from the boss is a big motivating factor! And by passing on the banging, they feel absolved of their own ineffectiveness!
You are indeed a great lesson in worker motivation!
Sri