Meenakshi Sharma - IIMA-Speak with Impact: Speak With Impact

Dear reader,

Speak with Impact, Meenakshi Sharmas book in the IIMA Business Books series, published in collaboration with Random House, offers clear and straightforward guidance on a subject of importance on which little has been said thus far: how to be impactful in your spoken communication.

The book begins with a discussion of why speaking effectively is a key requirement for leadership. It emphasizes the importance of preparation through introspection and seeking feedback. Through a discussion of the pros and cons of spoken versus written communication, circumstances that might be particularly amenable to spoken communication are identified. In the second chapter, she details a recipe for effective speaking. Successful speech is built on preparation, which requires (a) having clarity on objective, listener, and context; (b) gathering materials that include facts, examples, and evidence; (c) planning the structure; (d) presenting with energy and sincerity; (e) employing body language, including facial expression, eye contact, posture, and movements, well; and (f) using voice effectively, with attention to clarity, tone, pace, and pauses. I particularly enjoyed practicing the tongue twisters she listed, such as We surely shall see the sun shine soon and Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.

In subsequent chapters, Meenakshi focuses on the distinguishing characteristics of particular settings and offers concrete advice on how to be an effective speaker in those settings. She devotes a chapter to conversations and discussions, paying particular attention to phone conversations and teleconferences, and another chapter to how one might prepare for and be effective in a selection interview. She offers guidance on how to be good at extemporary speaking, including several settings such as introducing guests to an assembly, and offering a vote of thanks. She offers detailed advice on making presentations effective through focus on elements of content and delivery, offering specific dos and donts to make presentations succeed. The book concludes by emphasizing the importance of spoken communication for leadership success.

In a straightforward and practical manner, the book offers practitioners thorough and specific advice on how to be effective at spoken communication.

Speak with Impact is one of a series of books authored by IIMA professors who are not only academically proficient but also have rich experience in consulting and teaching executives. These books are intended to disseminate knowledge in relevant topics in management to practicing executives. Written in conversational style with illustrations from the world of practice, the books are eminently readable and applicable in daily life.

I hope you will enjoy Speak with Impact and find it useful, as you will other books in the series. Please do let us know if there are particular topics that you would like covered in the books published in this series.

Ashish Nanda

Director

IIM Ahmedabad

MEENAKSHI SHARMA

Published by Random House India in 2014

Copyright Meenakshi Sharma 2014

Random House Publishers India Private Limited
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EPUB ISBN 9788184006179

To Shishir, Ruchir, and Ananya, the wind beneath my wings

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the people whose support has been invaluable in writing this book.

First of all, I owe a debt of gratitude to Prof Samir Barua who invited me to contribute to the IIMA Business Books series and put me in touch with Random House. The idea of this book had been simmering for some time, and I needed someone to push me to get down to writing it. The confidence displayed by Prof Barua was a big motivator for me.

My thanks go to Milee Ashwarya and Radhika Marwah from Random House, for their positive response right from the word go. Milees constant encouragement and enthusiasm kept up my spirits through the writing process. My thanks also go to Trisha Bora for her critical reading and meticulous editing.

Behind all that I am, lie the shaping influence and blessings of my parents. Their pride and joy in every big and small achievement of mine crowns all the effort that I put in it. I am grateful to the Almighty for my good fortune in having had this influence and blessing.

No words of appreciation and thanks would suffice for Shishir, Ruchir, and Ananya who have been with me every step, supporting me in countless ways, cheering me up when I got exhausted, and encouraging me when I worried about missing deadlines. I couldnt have done it without you!

Introduction

YOU CAN MAKE SPEAKING EFFECTIVE AND MEMORABLE

As we go through life, there are occasions when we encounter someone whose ideas ring in our minds for long and create a strong, positive impression of them. There are also times when some of us have wrung our hands in desperation, feeling that our ideas or deep knowledge is not being appreciated by others. On both occasions, it boils down to a skill that this book attempts to de-mystify. This is the skill of articulating ideas through the spoken word. We must remember that it is through communication that our ideas can leave the space of our own mind and impact anothers. On countless occasions this is through the spoken mode. It is not just the act of speaking but the quality of speaking that often sets the successful individual apart. Speaking is a powerful way to impress others not only with our ideas but also with our personality. In all areas of life, our relationships with others go a long way in paving the path to successwhether in terms of providing support, receptivity to ideas, ease in persuasion, or openness to suggestions. And these relationships are largely based on the way we speak with others in our everyday interactions with them. People are constantly forming ideas about our intelligence, level of awareness, depth of knowledge, originality of ideas, integrity, level of involvement, and much else from what we speak and how we speak. Speaking not only serves particular objectives but is also an expression of ones personality. As Dorothy Carnegie writes in the introduction to Dale Carnegies Effective Speaking, when one is unable to say clearly what he means, through either nervousness, timidity, or foggy thought-processes, his personality is blocked off, dimmed out, and misunderstood. How true it is, not only in terms of what blocks the clear articulation of ones ideas but also in terms of the damage it does to fairly presenting ones knowledge, creativity, ideasin short, ones entire personality.

We must remind ourselves that in order for our ideas to be appreciated and rewarded, we need to be able to convey them to others. The greatest harm and injustice we do by not presenting ourselves fairly and completely through our communication, are to oneself and if others are not able to recognize and reward us for what we are, the fault may really lie with us.