Executive Communication: Shell Oil President Marvin Odum Wins Me Over Instantly, Thanks to a Most Disarming and Endearing Smile

Take a look at the video clip below which is from a recent interview broadcast on PBS’s famed Nightly Business Report. I believe you too will be full of admiration for Shell Oil President Marvin Odum’s facial expression: His wide, almost constant, and somewhat apologetic smile gives him a disarming appearance, thus helping him come across as personable, approachable, full of the milk of human kindness… (I could go on).

[Click here for the full interview.]

The clip below is now Exhibit One when I am coaching top executives (as well as others who have to make presentations to new audiences) on how to be endearing and create a highly favorable first impression.

© Copyright 2012 V. J. Singal

Glaring Mispronunciations by Leading Lights

First, let me remind you of the purpose behind this periodic feature on glaring mispronunciations: It stems from my belief that if someone who is well placed or who moves in “articulate circles” is mispronouncing a word, chances are that a few of my blog readers are also making the same pronunciation error. In other words, this feature is not at all meant to denigrate or ridicule any particular person. And the reason why I name the program and identify the speaker is solely to make this feature credible.

Two notable cases of mispronunciation by high profile people caught my ear in recent weeks:

(i) Albeit being pronounced as [awl-by-it] instead of [awl-bee-it] by Wharton Professor Susan Wachter during the January 19 edition of Marketplace. Hear it for yourself by clicking here—she begins speaking at about 2.0 minutes into the clip. BTW, Ms. Wachter has a very mellifluous voice and great diction.

(ii) Artifice being pronounced as [ahr-tuh-fys] instead of [ahr-tuh-fis] by filmmaker Kevin Smith during a March 20 interview on NPR’s “Morning Edition.” The mispronunciation of artifice occurs at 6.0 minutes into the interview. Here is the link.

© Copyright 2012 V. J. Singal

Boasting (with Humor) that you are “Severely Patriotic” or “Severely American”; Inducting the Adverb “Severely” Into Your Humor Vocabulary

Recall Mitt Romney’s assertion during a major speech last month (February 10) that he was a “severely conservative” Republican governor….

While Romney was dead serious when he uttered those words—after all, he was desperately trying to woo diehard conservatives—the highly unusual use of the adverb “severely” with such a positive connotation quickly became the butt of jokes, and has been grist for my “humor mill.”

For instance, last week, while introducing someone who shares my concern for the environment, I described her as a “severe environmentalist,” using a panoply of nonverbals to emphasize the word severe, thus drawing laughter from the audience, as intended. And on numerous occasions in the past few weeks, I have jokingly referred to friends as being “severely Democratic” or “severely Republican,” depending on their ideological bent, and praised some as being “severely progressive” or “severely advanced” in their thinking.

Thank you, Mitt, for enlarging my “humor vocabulary”!

© Copyright 2012 V. J. Singal

Vocabulary Enhancement Words: New Edition of “Words of the Month”

The latest edition of “Words of the Month,” my free vocabulary enrichment feature, has been online since the middle of this month. The six featured words, all of which lie within the conversational vocabulary of America’s most articulate (as is the case with all of the words featured in my book, “The Articulate Professional-3rd Edition”):

1. inveigh

2. fatuous

3. wunderkind

4. histrionics

5. metastasize

6. consummate

inveigh

-- (with reference to the ongoing vitriolic attacks among the Republican presidential contenders) analysts wondering if all the inveighing against one another will leave the ultimate nominee severely weakened

-- Rick is constantly inveighing against something or the other

-- to inveigh against abortion rights; inveighing against the absurdly high pay packages of some corporate CEOs

-- Rush Limbaugh: an unfailing inveigher against anything and everything that is liberal; on the issue of abusive labor practices in foreign countries, everyone seems to be attacking Apple--no one inveighs against …

-- amid the mounting international condemnation of Syria’s Assad regime, inveighers being of all stripes: the Muslim nation of Turkey, the Arab state of…

fatuous

-- my previous employer suffered from the fatuous thinking that if you have a fantastic new product, sales will automatically ….

-- I think Doug is pretty realistic, not Pollyannaish or a fatuous optimist

-- this is a fatuous statement because….; some of the fatuous and inane ads during last evening’s Super Bowl

-- the comment “let them eat cake” falsely attributed to Marie Antoinette by her detractors who wanted to portray her as fatuous, callous, and blithely unaware of…

-- a fatuous question, fatuous argument, fatuous statement, fatuous meeting, or fatuous stereotype; a fatuous belief

-- the fatuous conspiracy theories triggered by the sudden death of Andrew Breitbart

wunderkind

-- when Bob Simon of “60 Minutes” asked Dudamel “how do you react to being described as a genius, a prodigy, a wunderkind,” the maestro responded…

-- Ben and Marsha are our firm’s two wunderkinds, both being at least 15 years …

-- Radha Chitale of ABC News writing: “Omega-3 fatty acids are the latest wunderkind of the mood world”

-- Mozart, the musical wunderkind

-- Tiger Woods, who is now well past his wunderkind phase

histrionics

-- watching the defendant shed many a tear, people wondering: is the show of remorse histrionic or sincere?

-- somebody’s deliberate use of histrionics as a negotiating tactic

-- many in the audience being turned off by Nicole’s histrionics, her over-the-top performance, during her campaign speech

-- a driver who is given to throwing up his hands histrionically every time the freeway traffic comes to a halt

-- people who have been diagnosed with a “histrionic pattern of behavior” or “histrionic personality disorder” because of their…

-- the frequent histrionics, or histrionic outbursts, that characterized Adolf Hitler’s speeches

metastasize

-- the fear that America’s use of drones could quickly metastasize into technologically advanced nations using such weapons unhindered to obliterate anyone anywhere…

-- we need to confront the issue before this sort of indiscipline metastasizes and becomes out of control

-- Phil’s concern for looking neat and well dressed has metastasized into an obsession…

-- the committee’s charter has metastasized into a heady ambition to…

-- an unfounded notion metastasizing into a widely held belief, thanks to repeated assertions of a  falsehood by some prominent Americans with ready access to a media mouthpiece

consummate (as adjective)

-- the late Louis Rukeyser, whose constellation of highly admirable attributes made him a consummate interviewer of his panelists and guests

-- Steve, our division manager, is a consummate leader—for instance, he can….; somebody’s consummate preparation for a Q&A session

-- consummate happiness is a way of life, not a destination

-- the Supreme Court ruling: “Headlong flight, wherever it occurs, is the consummate act of evasion: it is not….”

-- a consummate master of the piano; a consummate entrepreneur; a consummate professional; a consummate dealmaker; a consummate pianist; a consummate worrier or a consummate liar; an ancient artifact that reflects consummate skill; Bruce Hoffman widely regarded as a consummate expert on counterterrorism; Bill Clinton, a consummate campaigner

© Copyright 2012  V. J. Singal

Answering Questions Effectively: When Replying to a “Why Question,” Start With a Direct Answer and Only Then Elaborate, If You Must

Earlier this week, while presenting a workshop on how to speak concisely and emphasize your point in just three sentences at the Southwest Regional Conference of FEW (“Federally Employed Women”) held at Houston’s Hyatt Regency, one of my key points was the following: When responding to a “why question” (such as “why is such-and-such thing important” or “why is such-and-such development affecting the price of milk in grocery stores”), it’s always a good idea to first give a direct answer--preferably by way of a relatively short sentence--and only then elaborate, if necessary, rather than the vice versa. An immediate direct response helps provide the listener with an instant milestone as to where you are heading, thus making the overall reply easier to digest and more compelling.

An illustration of the wrong way to answer a “why question”: the video clip below, from a recent PBS interview with actor and activist George Clooney, shows how cumbersome it can become for the listener when the person answering a “why question” first launches into the elaboration phase and only then gives the direct answer to the question. In this case, when PBS’s Judy Woodruff asks Clooney whether the resolution of problems in remote South Sudan will really affect the price of gas here in the U.S., he first gives a mini-101 on the various factors affecting gas prices--buttressing it with statements from President Obama and Senator Lugar--and only then answers affirmatively “there is no question …that it does raise the price.”

Clooney’s response would have been far more elegant and streamlined, and therefore easier to digest, had he first said something like “Judy, there is no question that the goings-on in South Sudan are affecting gas prices here” and then gone into the geopolitical aspects.
© Copyright 2012 V. J. Singal

Terminating an Interminable Handshake; How to Free Your Hand From Someone Who Won’t Let Go (Without Seeming Rude)

Today, while discussing the “Three-Pump Handshake” during my seminar on “Some Simple Verbal and Nonverbal Skills for Creating a Highly Favorable First Impression” at a division of Subsea 7, one of the participants asked the following question: What is one to do if the other person just clings onto you, i.e. will not let go of your right hand even after you’ve ended the “three pumps”? In other words, how do you extricate your hand from the other person’s grasp without coming across as rude?

After some discussion, here was the consensus: Go ahead and free your right hand from the other person’s hold (after the three pumps) but as you are doing so, gently place your left hand on the other person’s right shoulder or arm as a compensating gesture. Needless to say, you should be exhibiting the “all-32 teeth-showing smile” as you are executing all these maneuvers. In fact, a couple of the audience members--one of them a woman--confirmed having tried this before and that it worked out beautifully.

© Copyright 2012 V. J. Singal

How to Successfully Goad Someone into Saying Something When They are Speechless or Just Cannot Find the Words

Here is a surefire way to successfully exhort someone into uttering something if and when the latter just cannot find the words (because of, say, the momentousness of the occasion): “Just say anything…You don’t have to be Shakespeare!”

Got the above idea from a recent episode of the wildly popular Masterpiece series “Downton Abbey.”

© Copyright 2012 V. J. Singal

Visual, Evocative Words to Emphasize Something: An Inspiring Example From an Interview with Daniel Yergin

A couple of months ago, while discussing the impact of fossil fuels on the environment during a PBS Newshour interview, Daniel Yergin pooh poohed doomsday scenarios, saying “It’s a concern and has to be managed” and “the issue is of finding the relevant new technologies, something we’ve been doing for some 250 years.”

Yergin than elaborated on his optimistic frame of mind by stressing that the alternative/ renewable energy technologies of today (gas turbines, for instance) are far, far more efficient than those of the 1970s and 80s, and that the reason why people don’t readily perceive all this progress is that such advances are not “dramatic.” He emphasized his point by quoting a European Union official who is reported to have said “there is no red ribbon to cut” -- for instance, in the matter of cars having become a lot more efficient in recent years, “you don’t get great photo ops.” Well said, Mr. Yergin.

© Copyright 2012 V. J. Singal

Vocabulary Enhancement Words: New Edition of “Words of the Month”

The latest edition of “Words of the Month,” my free vocabulary enrichment feature, has been online since the middle of this month. The six featured words, all of which lie within the conversational vocabulary of America’s most articulate (as is the case with all of the words featured in my book, “The Articulate Professional-3rd Edition”):

1. palliate
2. artifice
3. superfluous
4. unswerving
5. politic
6. polemicist

Public Speaking Tips: How to Handover Control of the Lectern; the Pervasive Problem of Clumsy/ Inelegant/ Awkward Handovers

First, some examples of clumsy, awkward, or inelegant handovers: Take a look at the first three of the five video clips below. What do you see? In each case, after the two people have shaken hands, the person who has just finished speaking (Leon Panetta, Louisiana Governor Jindal, and Ford’s then-CEO William Clayton Ford respectively)steps in between the lectern and the next speaker, thus briefly blocking the audience's view of the latter, as he moves away to resume his seat. Bad idea! And here's why:

Look at clips 4 and 5 which display an “elegant” or proper handover. Note how the person handing over control of the lectern goes behind the next speaker (Texas Governor Perry and DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman respectively)--stepping backward, if necessary--(that is, after shaking hands or whatever) as he or she begins walking toward his/her seat, thus ensuring that the audience's view of the next speaker is not blocked even for a moment once that person has come up to the lectern.

Note that the problem of an untidy or clumsy handover only occurs when the seat or chair of the person handing over is on the same side of the room as is the chair of the next speaker. If the two are seated on opposite sides of the room, the situation of an awkward/ improper handover does not arise.

© Copyright 2012 V. J. Singal

Public Speaking Tips: Power of the Pregnant Pause

The unusually illustrious Mark Twain was also an enormously successful public speaker. So, it’s worth our while to ponder his views on the pregnant pause--a vital ingredient of powerful public speaking.

In his biography of Mark Twain, author Ron Powers writes that Twain came to use the pause “almost as a thing of weighted substance, as a length of solid lead to place between his well-constructed words.” He then cites the following quote from Twain: "The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.” (Emphasis within the quote by yours truly).

Hard to imagine a more instructive and weighty testimonial for the pregnant pause.


© Copyright 2011 V. J. Singal

The Freakish “Top-Of-The-Food-Chain” Prehistoric Creature Discovered Earlier this Month: An Image That Is Bound to Impact Science Fiction

Do you remember the headline-making discovery earlier this month (off the coast of Australia) of the fossilized eyes of something called "the anomalocaris" --a “freakish, nearly 3-foot long, prehistoric super-predator” that lived in the oceans some 500 million years ago and was at the top of the food chain? (I guess, with such a menacing anatomy, it had to be!) Well, the thing that strikes me most about this unsettlingly fearsome creature is its huge eyes—sticking out several inches from the sides of its head, at the end of “stalks.” See for your self by clicking here.

I bet the anomalocaris’s eyes will inspire generations of science fiction writers and artists when giving form to some of their alien creations.

© Copyright 2011 V. J. Singal

Visual, Evocative Words to Emphasize Something: Some Inspiring Examples From a Discussion on the Legendary John Brown

Just watched a month-old PBS interview with Tony Horwitz, author of a recent book (“Midnight Rising”) about the legendary John Brown’s famous raid seeking to end slavery. Extremely impressed--and stirred--by Mr. Horwitz’s extraordinary verbal expression. Here are some examples:

-- (pointing out that other abolitionists believed in “education and moral uplift” as the way to defeat slavery): “Brown derided this as milk-and-water abolitionism, weak and ineffectual”

-- “he had this charisma, this moral magnetism that got people to give money and guns to his cause”

-- “this rough-hewn frontier warrior had an intoxicating effect on genteel parlor radicals of the North”

-- (question: “was he crazy, was he a madman?”) “He was certainly obsessive, he had this ‘Ahab quality’ about him…also very grandiose in his dreams.”


© Copyright 2011 V. J. Singal

Female Attire: For “Low Contrast” Women, A Contrasting Color Is A Must!

Just as is the case with low-contrast men, the face of a low-contrast woman (i.e. a light skinned blonde) will be overwhelmed if she were to wear a high contrast attire (such as a black dress with a prominent white border). The observer’s gaze will be constantly pulled down by the thus lowered center of gravity.

On the flip side, a low contrast woman should assiduously avoid wearing a dress that is almost identical in color to her face and hair because it will make her look flat and boring. Wearing a color that provides a nice contrast to her skin tones will sharply enhance the light-skinned woman’s presence and bolster her personality.

The three video clips below, featuring Consuelo Mack (whom I strongly admire because of the great public service she is providing through her “Wealthtrack” television program on PBS) illustrate my point. Clearly, Ms. Mack looks much sharper--has a far more robust appearance--in clips 2 and 3 than in clip 1 which presents an image that is almost monochromatic from top to bottom.

© Copyright 2011 V. J. Singal

“The Blue Marble”: Quintessential Example of an Image That Changed the World

Today’s edition of Garrison Keillor’s “The Writer’s Almanac” reminded us of that beautiful image of planet earth captured by Apollo astronauts—the one that has since been dubbed “The Blue Marble”—and how it helped spawn the environmental movement.

More later.

© Copyright 2011 V. J. Singal

Yes, “Irregardless” is a Word. Of Course, Using it is Not a Good Idea Because...

The featured word in yesterday’s edition of Merriam Webster’s “Word of the day”—the most worthwhile of the various word-of-the-day emails that fly around in cyberspace—was “regardless.” I was immediately reminded of how indignantly some in my seminar audiences have reacted when, as a teaser or in a moment of frivolity, I have uttered the word “irregardless.” “V.J., there is no such word,” they say vehemently.

Well, of course “irregardless” is a word--after all, it is featured in all dictionaries. But, yes, it is considered “non-standard” and its usage not recommended. It’s best to reproduce the relevant comment from that “Word of the Day” email from Merriam Webster’s: "Irregardless" originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century, and usage commentators have been decrying it since the 1920s, often declaring "there is no such word." "Irregardless" does exist, of course, but it tends to be used primarily in speech and it is still considered nonstandard. "Regardless" is greatly preferred.

Summing up: Yes, “irregardless” is a word but using it is not at all a good idea because first, it is non-standard, and second, its use will provoke angry glares from many in your audience--not in your interest if you want to be endearing.

© Copyright 2011 V. J. Singal

A Common Mistake by Caucasian/ Other Light Skinned Men When Selecting a Tie: The Perils of an Attire with Contrast that Far Exceeds That of Face

The problem, stated perhaps much too cryptically in the above title, is best explained by the first of the two video clips at the bottom of this post. And let’s begin by describing the subject in the video, who happens to be Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. He has what experts call a “low-contrast face,” as do all men who have a very light skin and possess blonde/very light brown hair or no hair at all. [As a corollary, if Erdogan had lots of brown hair, his would be a “medium-contrast” face, and if he had lots of black hair, the term to describe his natural features above the neck would be “high contrast,” as is the case with most young Chinese males.]

Now let’s turn to Erdogan’s attire in the first clip. The clothes present a very high contrast, thanks to the design of the tie, what with its alternating (and bold!) black and white stripes. The result: an attire that easily dominates the rest of him, so much so that his face--which is what ultimately should attract and hold the observer’s eye--retreats into the background, almost falling off the picture. Why is this happening? Because, with the “center of gravity” of Erdogan’s overall appearance having been lowered to a spot below the neck, the observer’s gaze too is forcibly pulled down, to his chest area! It’s extremely important to note that Erdogan would have had a similar problem of the face being overwhelmed by a high contrast attire if he had worn a plain tie but one that contrasted very strongly with the rest of his clothes--for instance, a bright red tie, a white shirt, and a very dark jacket.

Let us now click on the second video clip. Notice that this time, as you look at him, your gaze is NOT pulled down below the neck. In fact, the glow emanating from his face is heightened thanks to the appropriateness of his attire. Yes, his tie-shirt-jacket combination does have an inbuilt contrast but the level is low, matching in intensity the low contrast of his face. You might well ask, what if Erdogan had swung to the other extreme, donning an attire with absolutely no contrast, such as a light blue shirt, light blue tie, and light blue jacket? Well, that’s not a good idea either because such an attire, while not pulling down the center of gravity from his face, would look boring and unimaginative and fail to add to the glow from his face. The unfavorable impression that results from a timid, ultra-low contrast attire will be the subject of a later blog.

The key lesson in all this: when choosing an attire, remember the overall objective, which is to heighten the glow from you face and thus hold the observer’s attention to it. The next time you step into an apparel store to buy a new tie, do not be seduced by a tie’s intrinsic beauty.

© Copyright 2011 V. J. Singal

Vocabulary Enhancement Words: New Edition of “Words of the Month”

The latest edition of “Words of the Month,” my free vocabulary enrichment feature, has been online since the middle of this month. The six featured words, all of which lie within the conversational vocabulary of America’s most articulate (as is the case with all of the words featured in my book, “The Articulate Professional-3rd Edition”):

1. machismo
2. effrontery
3. conduit
4. imperial
5. sclerotic
6. timber

Here are extracts from some of my favorite examples, all carefully designed to help you expand your vocabulary:

-- (with reference to Putin being promoted as a he-man--riding a horse bare-chested, wrestling with a tiger…) the fact that Russians enjoy brandishing the machismo element in their leader suggests an almost primitive zeitgeist

-- VW’s CEO hoping that American men will be attracted by the new Beetle’s machismo-oozing front

-- someone wondering whether China is pursuing its massive military buildup out of some national machismo

-- while discussing how organizations can raise their probability of success, the famous Christine Lagarde talking about the perils of unrestrained machismo in the meeting room

-- I believe her fetish for eating raw eggs is a result of her health-extremist machismo

-- some of the other non-phallic symbols of machismo: the late John Wayne, a bushy mustache, the Super Bowl, a really stiff drink…

-- several of the movie characters portrayed by the late actor Burt Lancaster seemed to exude machismo

-- an example of political correctness run amok: some regarding the mention of Santa Claus and Christmas as “cultural effrontery”

-- during an address by President Obama to a joint session of Congress, South Carolina's Joe Wilson having the effrontery to shout out “You lie”

-- our former employee, who has less than a year’s worth of work experience, now has the effrontery to hang out a shingle calling herself a “business consultant”

-- to prevent school shooting rampages, campus police must talk to students and thus become “conduits for information,” says a Princeton University expert

-- a sales broker becoming a conduit for illicit payments from a U.S. manufacturer seeking lucrative contracts in Asia

-- the “all managers lunch” held every Friday in the cafeteria has become a conduit for ideas, even jokes, to travel across all departments within the company

-- Walgreens and other drugstore chains pushing their private brands in competition with imperial brands such as Gillette and Colgate-Palmolive

-- people in some foreign countries resentful of what they describe as “the imperialism of American pop culture”

-- the imperial manner of Gen. Douglas MacArthur; some of the speeches delivered by U.S. presidents being in a highly imperial setting, such as…..

-- amid the controversy stirred by such U.S. actions as the invasion of Iraq and the secret military action conducted deep inside Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden, critics saying that the U.S. is acting imperially or that such actions demonstrate the “imperialist agenda” or the “imperialist designs” of the world’s only superpower

-- the sclerotic regimes in Syria and Yemen; the widespread corruption and sclerotic leadership at the helm in several Asian and African nations

-- with reference to the inability of lawmakers in Washington D.C. to reach a compromise on vital issues, this author saying: “The U.S. is suffering from acute political sclerosis”

-- responding to calls for more regulation in his industry, a CEO saying “That would be an open invitation to business sclerosis!”

-- then-Prime Minister Tony Blair warning European nations to shed their sclerotic working practices or risk obliteration by China and India

-- a new managers exclaiming in frustration: “This pace is so rigidified, so sclerotic! People are unbelievably content with the way things are.”

-- the sexual assault charges in NY against Dominique Strauss-Kahn derailing the political career of someone who had been widely hailed in France as presidential timber

-- I agree the Joel is a great quarterback, but, unlike you, I do no think he is NFL timber

-- ever since Marilyn joined the company as marketing manager, she’s being talked up as top executive timber

-- I just hope when our highly regarded CEO, Rob, retires in a couple of years, the board of directors can find someone of his timber to run this behemoth of a company

-- Ethan’s recent actions clearly show that he is top leadership timber

-- the way our summer intern Jessica has... successfully handled even some of our most recalcitrant employees proves she is definitely managerial timber

© Copyright 2011 V. J. Singal

Inspiring Words As Well as a Reminder from Bob Schieffer For Anyone Aspiring to be a Great Communicator

While delivering an encomium for the late Andy Rooney during last Sunday’s edition of “Face the Nation,” CBS’s Bob Schieffer said something that should touch a nerve in everyone who is striving to be great communicator (and who, by definition, are the target of this blog). He reminded us that the English language is a limitless reservoir which each and every one of us can easily tap into at will, to affect, stir, and touch other people.

The essence of Shieffer’s message is that by using the vast potential of the English language, and by deploying words with vigor and imagination, each of us can harness his or her own potential to become a powerful communicator.

Well worth 22 seconds of your time to watch the video clip below.

© Copyright 2011 V. J. Singal

Injecting Humor: Conservative George Will’s Memorable Take on Republican Mitt Romney’s Varying Political Stance

Just in case you missed it, here is conservative columnist George Will’s brilliant characterization of Mitt Romney, uttered on “ABC This Week with Christiane Amanpour” two weeks ago (Oct. 16):

“Romney has shown a certain versatility of conviction over the years.”

As you might expect, everyone else seated around the table that morning immediately burst out laughing. You can bet that only someone of Will’s rare intellect can spontaneously conjure up such a compelling and humorously fresh expression.

© Copyright 2011 V. J. Singal