Introduction
>> Similarly, basic communication is quite simple. Almost everyone is taught about communication and various other inputs like verbal, non-verbal, formal, informal, body language, and so on. Yet, some people communicate in a very memorable and effective manner while the communication of others is best forgotten.
>> Essentially, that is the difference between just communicating and being an expert or a master communicator whose words are far more effective and impactful than those of someone who is simply communicating. This book is NOT about communicating. This book is about becoming an expert, master, ace or superstar in communication or simply put, a Virtuoso Communicator.
What to do when the Airport Floods
>> My view was simple. If there was nothing I could do, it is better to enjoy the situation instead of getting frustrated by something outside my control.
>> The customer can never be always correct. This is impossible.
>> There is a lot of truth in the old advice of counting till ten and taking deep breathes when you become very angry. This tends to give you a breathing space literally and figuratively. When we breathe deeply we tend to take in more oxygen.
Shiva’s Third Eye
>> Nakkeerar at this point realized that he had been debating with Lord Shiva. But to him, a fact was a fact. He reaffirmed his belief that truth cannot be countered even before God. His clarity of thought gave him the strength of conviction to stick to his view that the poem was incorrect.
>> Virtuoso Communicators are able to clearly illustrate their conviction because of the amazing clarity of thought they possess.
Are you a Bank Employee?
>> Simply put, they were not listening. Rather, they were just reading the mail and not even bothering to understand the message.
>> Similar is the habit of several people in offices who like to be seen as being extremely focused, but who are usually busy reading messages (real or imaginary) on their phones, or who continue working on their computer even during meetings or interactions.
The Laughter that led to a War
>> Then, Duryodhana is said to have walked straight onto what appeared to be a beautifully decorated floor but which was actually a pool of water. He fell into the water and was completely soaked; his clothes, too, were in disarray. Everyone around him burst into laughter, including Draupadi, who laughed out loud.
>> If you were receiving the same kind of communication you intend to send out, would it make you feel good, would it make you receptive to the message?
Electricity Failure during a Concert
>> For you to truly understand the magnitude of this effort, try chanting ‘Om’ in a steady tone, volume and at a particular pitch. Stop suddenly; wait for a few moments and then restart.
>> Most of them speak either too fast, too softly, too loudly or use the wrong tone. Whatever is the case, the result is lack of understanding, or in other words, they fail in their communication.
Letter Written by Blaise Pascal
>> It is said that the focused attention span for anyone, when the mind is totally concentrated, could be as less as approximately ten seconds.
>> In the context of brevity, ‘Elevator pitch’ is a concept which is very effective and something I would recommend everyone to prepare and rehearse. This is based on the golden rule of brevity and there are many real-life instances of its effectiveness.
Hanuman Burns Lanka
>> The other puzzling thing was Hanuman’s capability to assume any size and his enormous strength. The natural question in my mind was: why didn’t he simply carry Sita back and cut a long story short?
>> Contrary to what many people perceive, Hanuman’s target audience was never Ravana.
Letter to a Bank Manager
>> The subordinate informed me with a suitably mournful face that I had been most disrespectful of his boss’s seniority and age by addressing him by name, that too, in a formal letter.
>> The reality is that people tend to become increasingly rigid in their ideas as they grow older and being open to varied communication options decreases dramatically. A simple act of extending one’s legs in front of an elderly person can be perceived to communicate disrespect.
Marc Antony’s Speech
>> It is in this context that Mark Antony stood up to speak and address the crowd. He was calm whereas everyone expected him to be angry. He appeared visibly sad, which was natural and also extremely relevant to the context. He started his speech by actually appearing to agree with Brutus.
>> Finally, he showed his anger and used it as a powerful weapon to make the whole communication extremely effective and achieved the objective of winning the crowd’s support against Brutus.
Temple Cleansing by Jesus Christ
>> It is said that seeing this, Jesus Christ became very angry. He made a whip from some cords and drove out all these people along with the livestock.
>> However, Virtuoso Communicators need to leverage emotions by bringing them into play if required.
How many Gulab Jamuns to Eat?
>> A related concept from the field of engineering is that of tensile strength. It is the inherent strength inbuilt for any material and defines its breaking point.
>> Similarly the context of the communication defines the tensile strength of the emotion being used.
Which is the Correct Shade of Yellow?
>> Very simply put, men approach communication from a functional and linear perspective. This means that they speak less and many a times this makes them sound abrupt, to the point of being rude.
>> Communicating with people of the same gender is relatively easy, if one factors in the age and cultural influence. However, communicating with the opposite gender, especially from varied cultural influences, requires a great deal of awareness and planning for it to be effective.
How to Use Shikakai Powder?
>> In fact, there are countless examples of such mistakes in marketing and advertising, where a lack of proper understanding of the local culture has led to failed communication, some of which are quite hilarious.
>> Cultural influences on communication are myriad and complex.
The Car that liked Vanilla Ice cream
>> Between the friends, neighbours and now the dealership staff, the family became well-known thanks to the car. Because the news had spread even in small towns, most people would point out the car and talk about how it liked vanilla ice cream.
>> One of the biggest constraints everyone has is to assume things and jump to conclusions too soon.
Break Free
>> “We are all just prisoners here, of our own device” - This is not something I am saying. It is a line from the famous song ‘Hotel California’ sung by the Eagles. But, then it is so very true.
>> Remember this always and work towards learning how to do something positive with what you know. In other words, the world will reward you for your knowledge and I hope that you use it. Mere information has no rewards.
>> Similarly, basic communication is quite simple. Almost everyone is taught about communication and various other inputs like verbal, non-verbal, formal, informal, body language, and so on. Yet, some people communicate in a very memorable and effective manner while the communication of others is best forgotten.
>> Essentially, that is the difference between just communicating and being an expert or a master communicator whose words are far more effective and impactful than those of someone who is simply communicating. This book is NOT about communicating. This book is about becoming an expert, master, ace or superstar in communication or simply put, a Virtuoso Communicator.
What to do when the Airport Floods
>> My view was simple. If there was nothing I could do, it is better to enjoy the situation instead of getting frustrated by something outside my control.
>> The customer can never be always correct. This is impossible.
>> There is a lot of truth in the old advice of counting till ten and taking deep breathes when you become very angry. This tends to give you a breathing space literally and figuratively. When we breathe deeply we tend to take in more oxygen.
Shiva’s Third Eye
>> Nakkeerar at this point realized that he had been debating with Lord Shiva. But to him, a fact was a fact. He reaffirmed his belief that truth cannot be countered even before God. His clarity of thought gave him the strength of conviction to stick to his view that the poem was incorrect.
>> Virtuoso Communicators are able to clearly illustrate their conviction because of the amazing clarity of thought they possess.
Are you a Bank Employee?
>> Simply put, they were not listening. Rather, they were just reading the mail and not even bothering to understand the message.
>> Similar is the habit of several people in offices who like to be seen as being extremely focused, but who are usually busy reading messages (real or imaginary) on their phones, or who continue working on their computer even during meetings or interactions.
The Laughter that led to a War
>> Then, Duryodhana is said to have walked straight onto what appeared to be a beautifully decorated floor but which was actually a pool of water. He fell into the water and was completely soaked; his clothes, too, were in disarray. Everyone around him burst into laughter, including Draupadi, who laughed out loud.
>> If you were receiving the same kind of communication you intend to send out, would it make you feel good, would it make you receptive to the message?
Electricity Failure during a Concert
>> For you to truly understand the magnitude of this effort, try chanting ‘Om’ in a steady tone, volume and at a particular pitch. Stop suddenly; wait for a few moments and then restart.
>> Most of them speak either too fast, too softly, too loudly or use the wrong tone. Whatever is the case, the result is lack of understanding, or in other words, they fail in their communication.
Letter Written by Blaise Pascal
>> It is said that the focused attention span for anyone, when the mind is totally concentrated, could be as less as approximately ten seconds.
>> In the context of brevity, ‘Elevator pitch’ is a concept which is very effective and something I would recommend everyone to prepare and rehearse. This is based on the golden rule of brevity and there are many real-life instances of its effectiveness.
Hanuman Burns Lanka
>> The other puzzling thing was Hanuman’s capability to assume any size and his enormous strength. The natural question in my mind was: why didn’t he simply carry Sita back and cut a long story short?
>> Contrary to what many people perceive, Hanuman’s target audience was never Ravana.
Letter to a Bank Manager
>> The subordinate informed me with a suitably mournful face that I had been most disrespectful of his boss’s seniority and age by addressing him by name, that too, in a formal letter.
>> The reality is that people tend to become increasingly rigid in their ideas as they grow older and being open to varied communication options decreases dramatically. A simple act of extending one’s legs in front of an elderly person can be perceived to communicate disrespect.
Marc Antony’s Speech
>> It is in this context that Mark Antony stood up to speak and address the crowd. He was calm whereas everyone expected him to be angry. He appeared visibly sad, which was natural and also extremely relevant to the context. He started his speech by actually appearing to agree with Brutus.
>> Finally, he showed his anger and used it as a powerful weapon to make the whole communication extremely effective and achieved the objective of winning the crowd’s support against Brutus.
Temple Cleansing by Jesus Christ
>> It is said that seeing this, Jesus Christ became very angry. He made a whip from some cords and drove out all these people along with the livestock.
>> However, Virtuoso Communicators need to leverage emotions by bringing them into play if required.
How many Gulab Jamuns to Eat?
>> A related concept from the field of engineering is that of tensile strength. It is the inherent strength inbuilt for any material and defines its breaking point.
>> Similarly the context of the communication defines the tensile strength of the emotion being used.
Which is the Correct Shade of Yellow?
>> Very simply put, men approach communication from a functional and linear perspective. This means that they speak less and many a times this makes them sound abrupt, to the point of being rude.
>> Communicating with people of the same gender is relatively easy, if one factors in the age and cultural influence. However, communicating with the opposite gender, especially from varied cultural influences, requires a great deal of awareness and planning for it to be effective.
How to Use Shikakai Powder?
>> In fact, there are countless examples of such mistakes in marketing and advertising, where a lack of proper understanding of the local culture has led to failed communication, some of which are quite hilarious.
>> Cultural influences on communication are myriad and complex.
The Car that liked Vanilla Ice cream
>> Between the friends, neighbours and now the dealership staff, the family became well-known thanks to the car. Because the news had spread even in small towns, most people would point out the car and talk about how it liked vanilla ice cream.
>> One of the biggest constraints everyone has is to assume things and jump to conclusions too soon.
Break Free
>> “We are all just prisoners here, of our own device” - This is not something I am saying. It is a line from the famous song ‘Hotel California’ sung by the Eagles. But, then it is so very true.
>> Remember this always and work towards learning how to do something positive with what you know. In other words, the world will reward you for your knowledge and I hope that you use it. Mere information has no rewards.