Giving a Speech is Not an Achievement

 Politicians give speeches all the time. CEOs, sometimes. Guests at Convocations or events, all the time.

Just giving a speech is not an achievement, in my view. If you have actually achieved something significant, in career, life it's fine. If not, you are simple fooling people. Just a motivating speech is only a way with words. It may sound good for a minute, good to listen to, but might not have a lasting impact.

Why are people fond of listening to speeches? I have no idea, but I try to speak as little as possible. From experience, I know it is painful to listen to human drones in full form- have done enough of listening. 

Why am I in this mood? An independence day is coming up, and what happens on that day? You are right, speeches do..

Why Academic Types Are Boring

Why are we academic types so boring? And I am not talking of in-class boring or droning on.. just regular boring. 

Many of us don't have hobbies. We rarely socialise. We only travel to go to conferences- if our institution funds them. 

We don't have a favourite author. If we do, we rarely talk about that author. 

If we write, it's a research paper, most of the time. 

We are not big on social media-though that is changing. 

We rarely have an interesting perspective to share on anything other than the routine office politics, or the weather, or our commute.

Is there a cure for being boring? No idea, I am too bored to find out. 

Speeches

 I was at an event full of speeches recently. And it struck me forcefully, yet again, that Indian speakers, with some exceptions, don't know how to construct a speech for a given audience. Professors are no exception. I have seen many drone on through their allotted time and beyond, when audiences have lost interest, at conferences galore.

Maybe this is a subject for communication experts to explain to such speakers/wannabe speakers, but here is my two bits- I'll keep it short, thank you.

Know your audience, and what makes them tick. Or at least, might interest them.

Have a loose structure, at least. A PPT (Power point), for all the criticism it gets, does force you to write down a structured presentation. You can always deviate a bit from a structure, but it gives you a frame. And an approximate timer.

Keep it short. Use some visuals if you have a presentation.

Use anecdotes if appropriate, and personal experiences. Shows you have been there, done that.

Humour also can make it easy on the audience, if used intelligently.

That's it..as promised.

Are Men Boring?

 This is a question that if answered- or at least satisfactorily researched- can get someone their Ph.D. A very useful study for humanity it would be, too-particularly if it suggested ways to make men less boring, and more interesting (assuming the answer they found was in the affirmative).

But really, if you contrast men with women, it's obvious who is the more interesting of the two. This is based on observational research, if there is such a thing. Men seem like they are least interested in anything happening around them, except global football, or politics. But try drawing them into a conversation about mundane things that affect their lives everyday (or anything else at all), and they clam up. 

Why men are boring is a topic worth exploring. Is it that they miss their hunting-gathering days of bravery in the jungles or wherever they lived? Is it the burden of office work that they carried home (now the twain have merged, so there's no carrying involved)? Could it be too much education of the wrong kind, that precludes enjoyment of life? 

On the contrary, what makes women more interested in everything, and therefore more interesting? I will leave you to ponder an answer to this important question.

Talking the Walk

We hear about corporates on TV waxing eloquent about Walking the Talk. So I figured I would talk about the reverse.

What does it take to go for a walk? By itself, it is a boring activity, unless you are playing Golf. If there are compulsions, like the doc telling you that it is a choice between your life here and in Heaven, you may go walking, but otherwise, it's like an injection you'd rather avoid..

But there is one reason that you will go for a walk, jumping with joy..when you can talk to your heart's content. Go with a friend who you can talk to without inhibition. Then, the walk becomes an excuse for the talk, and stops hurting.

So talk the walk, instead of walking the talk. You will look forward to the experience!

Don't Frown on the Boring

Boring has a role to play. And so do the boring people. Here's why.

If there was no boredom, you wouldn't know how interesting interesting was..a contrast makes it easy to find out.

The boring people make it easier for you to become interesting. Example- when everybody in a group discussion is silent, you can steal the show just by opening your mouth. Similarly,..

If everyone was interesting, you might find it boring after a while. Too much of anything, you know.

Variety is the spice of life, a wise person has said. Therefore, it takes all kinds...

Hope this was (interesting and) convincing.

What Makes People Boring (!)

I am going to present you with a deliciously ironic post- it's about boredom, but it's very interesting.

The source is a book by Sandi Mann, titled The Upside of Downtime. She has researched boredom (!) and the book has a lot of it, including some on bored students, and bored workers; but I will take that up some other time. This time, it's about what makes people boring.

She has listed 30 points, but (so as not to bore you) I will concentrate on those that strike a chord. Here goes-

1. They ARE boring, as in nothing interesting is happening in their lives.

2. They are serious at all times- humourless is the word.

3. They avoid eye contact- look down, look away, but not look at you. I don't recommend staring at someone as an antidote. And looking into someone's eyes is reserved for, well, special people. But, you get what I mean.

4. They are ingratiating. Flattering beyond the normal, acceptable limits. It's one thing to say, "You are looking nice" sometimes, but to keep doing so all the time is.. well, what do you think? Maybe some will disagree :)

5. Using jargon or acronyms that you don't understand (showing off).

6. Living in the past, and talking about it all the time. I am getting there, having so much of it, I'm afraid...

7. Quoting from movies/ TV shows. I am guilty of bringing up Arnab Goswami multiple times..he IS irritating, and I find it helps to vent..