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..

Recipe For Making Interesting Humans

I am proposing a recipe of another kind. How do you create an interesting human?

Take a human who is willing to become interesting- this selection is an important part of your success.

Add some good habits. Reading is essential, others can be added as per your choice. 

Add a taste for music.. of any kind. And a sport, again of his/her choice.

Expose to different people of all age groups.

Add a high level of curiosity, and a dash of speaking skills. Some listening skills too.

Some social grace for how to behave (kindly?) with others in society.

Activism is optional.

Add a generous dose of SMILES, and a sense of humour.

You are done! Serve to society at large, unless you want to keep him/her to yourself!

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!

Celebrating 4 Years at IIM Indore

My second longest work stint- I have worked at Clemson (Teaching Asst.), Lander University, XIM Bhubaneswar, Vignana Jyothi, Kirloskar Institute, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, PESIT, IFIM B School, IMT Nagpur and Ghaziabad before I got here. Kirloskar was the longest I stayed-7 years approx.

I learnt a lot here, and have enjoyed the company of some lovely people. Taught in our Dubai program, PGP MX (Weekend), Exec PGP, FPM, and the flagship PGP. Also did a couple of administrative stints as MDP chair and now as Dean (Faculty). Went to a few conferences and designed a few programs on Retail and Digital Marketing. Watched some talented students perform my favourite plays such as "The Importance of Being Earnest"  and work on the Google Online Marketing Challenge and win it.

Some glimpses from these 4 years.

 Shweta Kushal becomes a Golfer!

 Me and the Narmada river at Maheshwar.

 A great view of IIM Indore.

 Jayasimha and Archana at Jahaz Mahal, Mandu. He and I have now worked together at 4 institutions.

 Office with a view.

 Mandu-interesting place.

 Road trip to Udaipur.

 Anjali (Ph. D. student) with our Conference poster.

 Starry visits. Suhita Thatte, my cousin, visits us.

 Pataal pani, and we pose, filmy style.

More sober pose at Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

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.

Making Life Interesting

How to make life interesting is a challenge. One can focus on oneself, or you can look outwards. Both have possibilities. You can learn new things, do new things, delve into philosophy or the meaning of life whatever interests you. You can learn to sing, or play an instrument. Or more easy, read. Or travel. Blogging might be an option too, though it is a little harder for some.

I visited a factory set up by an engineering classmate today, and refreshed a few engineering fundas that I had forgotten long ago. This is an engineering niche product sold across the world by only 3-4 companies, his company being one of the elite crowd. We got to discussing competition, and surprisingly, he said there was little of it. In this day and age, I thought it was amazing that there are businesses without much competition. Wouldn't we all love to be in one such? But then, look around and you will find that in each industry, there are some companies that customers love, and others are also-rans. Worth thinking about the reasons. Not all of them are realising their potential. Same with us? Maybe. Maybe interesting to think about it in our own context. That should make life interesting for a while.