V Rajesh’s latest book, Break Free , published by Rupa, talks of the importance of communication in business and every day life. Written anecdotally, with many stories thrown in, which Rajesh believes is also a powerful way of communicating, the book offers simple but telling insights into why being a good communicator helps. Rajesh, a regular columnist for Business Line on Campus with his weekly column Out of Syllabus says, “Management graduates who get placed easily are clearly better communicators and that does helps them manage a group discussion or interview successfully. So, being an exceptional communicator is not only useful but becoming a default requirement for B-schoolers.”
Excerpts from an interview:
Why do you think someone has to be an exceptional or virtuoso communicator as you mention in your book?
Everyone is constantly engaged in interactions where they need to exchange thoughts and ideas. Successful people are able to manage their interactions more effectively because they are able to communicate their ideas and thoughts in a powerful manner. I am yet to meet anyone who does not aspire for success whatever their definition of success might be. In that context it becomes essential for everyone to work towards becoming an exceptional communicator or a Virtuoso communicator as I would like to term it.
The related reality is that no one is taught to be a good communicator leave alone an exceptional one. Therefore the onus for doing this falls on the individual and they need to work on this aspect.
How useful is being an exceptional communicator for B-schoolers?
Being a virtuoso communicator or powerful communicator is crucial for any B-schooler because of what they have chosen as their career path. Regardless of whether they want to join an organisation in a managerial capacity or be an entrepreneur the role of powerful communication cannot be denied. In fact, the need to be a powerful communicator starts well before getting a job and is crucial to getting a job itself. Most placement processes include a group discussion and, of course, an interview. Management graduates who get placed easily are clearly better communicators and that does helps them manage a group discussion or interview successfully. So, being an exceptional communicator is not only useful but becoming a default requirement for B-schoolers.
You have included many stories in the book; is that a powerful way of communicating?
Yes and that is the main reason I chose that approach. Story telling has always been a powerful way to communicate because it registers easily in a person’s mind. The learning and take away from the stories then get associated with the same and recalling them becomes easier. Comprehension needs interest. That is why we can easily recall the dialogues or songs from our favourite film but struggle to recall points from a text book. Stories create that interest and, therefore, understanding as also recall of the related points becomes easier.
Among all your stories, in short, which story exemplifies powerful communication?
The story from Shakespeare about Mark Antony's speech is a wonderful example of powerful communication and covers several aspects of this topic. As also is the story from Ramayana which has several important points with regard to being a powerful communicator.
Would you say that being a virtuoso communicator can even override shortcomings in technical skills or would you rate that even higher than good tech skills ?
If technical skills refers to elements like grammar, vocabulary, they are important no doubt. However they would be listless and have no value if the various other aspects detailed in Break Free are not leveraged. The technical part is the science and helps create a basic structure. The art part which defines and differentiates a person's communication has to be built on various other elements.
In case technical skills is in reference to the conceptual knowledge or functional skills, then being a virtuoso communicator would help a person to leverage the same more powerfully. However, the content in any communication is very important and if that is weak because of poor technical skills, communication alone would not help for long.
How important is the language you speak in? Does that make a difference to the communication?
Language is one of the supporting factors for communication. Although language is an important element, it is not the only element. In fact, most people who are poor in communication tend to lack confidence because they are not good in English and therefore think that they are not good as a communicator. Nothing can be farther from the truth. The fact also remains that if a person wants to become a powerful communicator and works on the various aspects in this regard, language is just another such element which needs to be improved.
There's a debate on non-verbal and verbal communication, that one is more powerful than the other. Your views?
In any face-to-face interaction non-verbal cues tends to comprise a major part of the messaging. As much as 70 per cent of what message is received is influenced by body language, gestures and expressions. Therefore the importance of non-verbal communication cannot be dismissed. However, one cannot talk nonsense and hope that the non-verbal cues would offset the same. Similarly, a person speaking perfectly with no change in tone or showing no expressions or gestures are bound to be completely ineffective. The trick is to be able to synchronise the verbal and non-verbal elements for maximum impact. Interestingly, such non- verbal cues can influence the effect of your communication even in a telephonic conversation which is not face-to-face.
When a person smiles and speaks into the phone, the effect would be slightly different as compared to someone who is not doing so.