How to not win friends and not influence people by Public Speaking or Why Rahul Gandhi should hire a ventriquolist!

         I try to not to be too offensive to specific individuals in my musings in this blog(fine! The Katrina Awards are an exception) but every once in a while there is the occasion that really gets on my nerves and necessitates a "focussed" personal assault :). I refer, of course, to aRahul Gandhi's speech in parliament yesterday. It was a most mortifying experience and to someone who has a had a brief career in public speaker, a speech full of badly missed opportunities and calculations.

        I suppose it is nothing surprising to find a bad speaker in Parliament. However the context is important. Here was a vote most important to India's future, where parties fielded their most experienced speakers to express their views. Mr.Gandhi got a chance solely because he is the son the Congress President(and the son of the former PM and the grandson ...). He was one of the youngest speakers, especially from a major party. Considering the so many hymns sung to the youth of India, there was a brilliant opportunity to speak for this huge demographic of the Indian population. It is not that he lacks education or a skill in language either. His CV lists some of the most prominent educational institutions.

        To begin with, it was a most uninspiring speech, delivered in the most deadpan tone possible. The interval between words was monotonously long. Mr.Gandhi was obviously disconcerted by the interruptions which were not even directed at him and he kept re-starting his sentences every time he was interrupted. His location was most unsuitable for some one whose speech would be so closely examined and worse of all, he looked most baffled. There were occasional flashes of irritation and amusement but most of the time he looked heavily under pressure and so maintained a very grim face.

        Each one of the mentioned points is in itself not a problem but together they badly tilt the scales against any speaker. What finally cooked Rahul Gandhi's goose was his subject and the way he chose to approach it. His limitations would have been bearable if he had chosen a technical approach to the debate. He however chose to personalize it. He declared he was speaking as an Indian and not as a politician. He tried to bring in the pain of other Indians to the debate. He specifically brought in Sasikala and Kalavati, two women whom he had visited. He then tried to appear bi-partisan, continuing his earlier narrative of speaking as an Indian, by praising A.B.Vajpayee. He tried to paint the picture of the new Indian century urging the MPs to think how India could change the world rather than vice versa.

         When a speaker personalizes an issue, he/she takes a considerable risk. The risk is that the gravity of the issue becomes inseparable from the speaker's credibility. The speaker must be credible enough and sound credible enough to convince the audience of the highs and lows of the experience he/she describes. It is not necessary that the audience buy the speaker's message in full, it is enough that the speaker opens up the audience. This requires experience and skill honed by long years of practice. Else the speaker sounds like a bored teacher reading out a story. The tone descends to condescension both for the subjects of the story and the audience. That is exactly what happened yesterday.

        Again, a good speaker's greatest ally is not his/her talent but the context. Even the most insipid speaker can be carried by the wave of the situation. On the other hand even the most well-intentioned speaker will turn out to be a damp squib if he/she mistakes the mood of audience and the context of the speech. Rahul Gandhi's speech would have worked well if he were addressing, say, corporate employees who would have marveled at the initiative displayed by him. But there he was, talking Kalavatis and Sasikalas to people who had spent a lifetime among them, who had worked their way up by working(at least in name) among people like them. No wonder there were snide comments while he was speaking! A confidence vote is a battle-field, platonic appeals won't even be audible. The context requires a specific amount of combativeness, you are defending your own government after all, not delivering a "Distinguished Lecture". Bi-partisanship is not (as Barack Obama would seem to suggest) a magic potion to solve all ills. A skilled politician/manager realizes that and utilizes the odd sectarian message at required intervals to perk up his own people, to enthuse them and to prepare them for the battle ahead.

        The Congress and the UPA did not require much from Rahul Gandhi. A simple but effective speech, delivered in a firm,precise and decisive manner. The emphasis on power was a great idea and it should have been presented as a macro-message, a statement on the behalf of the youth for instance or any other over-arching statements conveying determination and great pride in his government, even his disappointment or confusion on the way things were happening. This speech would have inspired his fellow MPs and even enabled him to claim moral high ground by not attacking anybody. But disappointingly all the Government got from the MP from Amethi was a bland narration of personal anecdotes! What a waste and what a Shame!!

Nepotism Notes

An Outlook cover on dynasties in India. We just can't ignore them can we?

Nepotism Notes

A really funny one
However nothing surprising for us in India. Visualise:

Tuesday, March 15,2016

Indore: The proceedings at the 84th plenary session of the Indian National Congress turned ugly today as supporters of INC president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra clashed violently over the future of the beleaguered party. 1 AICC delegate was injured as he tried to immolate himself to express his support for Ms. Gandhi Vadra. Both Mr. Gandhi and Ms. Gandhi Vadra have condemned the violence.
        The fracas began when Mr.Ajit Pawar (son of former Minister Sharad Pawar)accused Mr.Gandhi of failing to fulfill his promise of reviving the party's fortune. He called upon Mr.Gandhi to step down and requested Ms Gandhi Vadra to take over the reins of the party "in the tradition of your most noble mother and grandmother".This is the culmination of the on and off power struggle between the siblings that erupted 2 years ago when their mother Ms.Sonia Gandhi retired from politics to pursue what she called 'vanaprastha'.Attempts to contact Ms.Sonia Gandhi at her Rishikesh residence have not yielded any results.

THE DAILY PHEESH
wednesday 14 february 2046

otttapalam:in one of the most emotional reunions in the history of Indian politics, the indian national congress(i-r) and the indian national congress(i-p) effected a merger after 30 years of fierce infighting and rivalry which brought india's oldest party to the verge of destruction. the merger was officially announced at the 85th plenary of the inc (i) at ottapalam by antonia rahul gandhi and reihan priyanka gandhi vadra the presidents of the inc(i-r) and inc(i-p) respectively.It is worth remembering that the party split into two in 2016 after the acrimonious proceedings of the 84th plenary of the party and the famous lok sabha fight between rahul gandhi and priyanka gandhi vadra. antonia(36) and reihan (46) spoke in eloquent terms of the sacrifices of their parents, grandparents ,greatgrandparents, greatgreatgrandparents, greatgreatgreatgrandparents and countless other relatives and family friends including mahatma gandhi who had all given their lives to the nation.it is speculated that the reunited party might be renamed as the inc(jirsorp) after the names of the prominent members of the nehru-gandhi family to celebrate the efforts of the family and inspire the party workers. the new party has two seats in the lok sabha-rae bareilly which is held by antonia rahul gandhi and amethi which is represented by reihan priyanka gandhi vadra.

Nepotism Notes

Union Minister T.R Baalu responds to accusations of recommending a family controlled firm for a project.

"Yes I put in a word with the Petroleum Minister after
the UPA Government was formed in 2004. What is wrong in it ?”

He said he acted to save his companies from closure on
the request of many of the 40,000 shareholders and employees.

The Andhra Pradesh Assembly and its members seem to have gone much farther. The following incident happpened yesterday.(Context- the coming by-elections, especially the one in Khairatabad necessitated by the death of P.Janardhan Reddy)

Meanwhile, the APCC chief expressed the hope that the TRS
would not field its candidate from Khairatabad. Talking to reporters,
he reminded the TRS president that it was decided in the Assembly
session that all parties should ensure unanimous election of the
kin of P. Janardhan Reddy and T. Jayaprakash (Therlam) as a
humanitarian gesture

So nepotism acquires philanthropic and humanitarian overtones.Way to go!