Humour

Terrified of talking?

T A Balasubramanian focuses on one of the greatest fears that haunts a CIO—public speaking.

With his offbeat wisdom and stirring tales, Dr Don Jong, also called The Oddfather because of the unusual fixes that he offers, opens up another session, boldly wandering into the world of Bobo Jitter, the eternally unsettled CIO of Bazooka Company. Dr Jong, as we have noted, has a very special skill in handling the oddest challenges of technology in today’s overstretched workplace.

“Bobo, you are evidently sitting on eggs,” says Dr Jong, pulling up his comfortable chair to sit down. “You have the hunted look of a person who is about to face an unruly mob.”

“Well, Doc, that could be literally true—I have to address a group of 80 Bazooka customers tomorrow, and I dread the thought of speaking to such a gathering.”

“Ah, so we have a CIO with stage fright, eh? Let me assure you that it is not uncommon for even the bravest among men to become jittery when required to talk to a crowd. I am told that Neil Armstrong, the former astronaut and the first man to walk on the moon, who is also considered one of the finest orators in the world, still gets nervous before he speaks in public. A friend once asked him why he was so edgy before giving a speech. He said: ‘When we went to the moon, there was only a 25 percent chance we would not come back. Right now that sounds very safe to me’.”

“Why do CIOs need to undergo this torture, Doc? I tried to convince my chief, Mr Bazooka that it would be simpler to hand out a document to the customers and let them read it, but he will not hear of it. He thinks it is important that his CIO and all his executives should hold an audience spellbound with their speech.”

“Hmm. Maybe spellbound is too ambitious a goal to start with in your case. But yes, Mr Bazooka may have a point. The business jungle, though not quite as dangerous as the moon mission, can create its own pressure to perform.”

“Why should I, as a CIO, invest my precious time and energy to improve my public speaking skills, if I do have any?”

“Well, Bobo, do you notice that climbing the corporate ladder is easier for those who can hold an audience captive, whether it is a conference of their peers, in the boardroom, staff, the media or customers? Juicy appointments and career-defining projects involve instances where such greatness will be thrust upon you.”

“Oh, forget greatness, Doc. Let’s keep it simple. We IT guys are technical experts who roll up our sleeves and do our jobs quietly in the back office, with cables and switches and computer screens. We are not politicians who can persuade the masses with sweet talk and a glib tongue. Will superior speaking ability differentiate me from the next executive? Can such soft skills provide a hard edge? That’s what I want to know.”

“If you ask me, the answer is yes, my boy. The point is—do you want to be ahead in the great corporate rat race or not? While many executive skills go in and out of vogue, I think the ability to shoot the breeze convincingly—to explain an abstract idea and inspire support for an intangible benefit—is timeless. Galvanizing people with different interests to rally behind a common goal is a rare talent. It involves managing change and it calls for someone who is much more than a sweet-talking politician—you have to be a general, a maestro, a teacher, an evangelist, and a storyteller—all in one package.”

“You ask for too much, Doc. A CIO’s home turf is technology—or rather, getting technology to work. Why do I need to explain anything at all?”

“Ah, but that’s where you are missing the bus, Bobo. Your home turf is no longer what you think it is. The cheese, if you observe, has moved.”

“What does that mean, Doc?”

“I mean that your home turf is now that murky area where technology meets business—a junction that moves constantly and is still beyond the reach of those with their heads buried in code. CIOs—at least the ones who are still keen on being in the rat race—are now compelled to be more strategic movers than tactical doers, more savvy corporate creatures than technical wizards.”

“How did you discover these secrets, Doc?”

“I realized how competitive the international speaker’s circuit has become when I read about Fortune 500 companies hiring award-winning scriptwriters to craft executive presentations or even employ seasoned actors to train them in theatre techniques to improve performance. Which is why I say that public speaking is a great skill to have in your kit. It generates confidence and trust—though you may wonder how that can be if you are cynically inclined to dismiss all talk as puffery.”

“Maybe you are right, Doc. But how do I make my successful CRM implementation sound riveting at a customer conference?”

“Ah, now we are talking shop, my boy. Think ahead of the curve. It is not just about tomorrow, facing these customers you dread. How do you convince a board of directors that doing more and more with less and less is not just about slashing your IT budget? How do you tell your staff that the new Internet restrictions are good for them? How do you…”

“All right, that’s all very well, Doc. Speak I will. Now what do I do to prepare for tomorrow’s grilling?”

“A grilling already, eh? But that’s only likely if you are unwilling. All the public speaking coaches I know say that you should simply tell a story, and they want to let you in on a secret—great speakers are not born—they are made. Even the professionals who stand before crowds with their laser pointers need help. The good news is that just about anyone can learn the basics.”

“And that would be?”

“Just be yourself and let your personality shine through. Never depend on the attentiveness of your audience, which usually includes many people who would rather be somewhere else. From the outset, you need to put aside the view that a presentation is about you or what you are going to say. It is what your audience is willing to hear. What if you can talk less about the CRM package and more about what Bazooka would want to do for customers? Maybe it is about an easier way to reach the company. Or a new, friendly feature added to your service. Demonstrate a typical action. Call a customer up on stage and let her try it out.”

“Ah, that is beginning to sound exciting, Doc. Even to me.”

“One of the biggest goofs speakers make when they present is that they push every ounce of their personality into a box and put on a ghastly serious mask. I call it ‘corporate camouflage’. You try to speak from a polished press release and end up sounding like one. At the other extreme are the performers who think they should start with a prepared joke. People who never tell jokes in private try to be a comedian in front of a crowd. It makes the audience squirm.”

“I think I get the message, Doc. I have been there, in both the extremes.”

“Voila, you comprehend! It is time for all CIOs to lose their modesty. If your CEO tells you to talk, you get ready to talk. It’s better than hearing him tell you something else that would make you get ready to walk, eh?”