As someone whose oratorical style varies between Elmer Fudd and Elmer Gantry—usually depending on my level of interest in the subject being presented and the volume/quality of preparation undertaken beforehand—I have always admired public speakers who can deliver highly complex topics in a clear, concise and confident fashion.
We happen to be blessed in our industry with a disproportionately high number of such articulate people. Phil Brown of Clearstream, Peter Adams of BNY Mellon and Alan Cameron of BNP Paribas Securities Services are just a few of the star performers who can gain and hold an audience’s attention in exemplary fashion. A presenter who is clearly in charge of his or her brief engenders confidence in their audience that what they are saying is valid, relevant and incisive, while reassuring them that they are either with the correct supplier—whatever service they are providing—or should consider the possibility of moving to them.
The ability to present—be it on a stage, in a beauty parade/pitch/RFP process or simply to a team of peers, subordinates or superiors—is a tremendous skill and asset. I would encourage anyone, be they at the start of their career or interested in progressing it, to invest time and even a little money in enhancing their skills in this area. This is just one of a portfolio of skills that candidates should have in their toolkit, which together can serve to launch, protect or enhance a career.
While it is impossible to have too many skills, the pursuit of them purely for the sake of doing so can actually have a detrimental effect on a career in terms of both the opportunity cost of attaining them, but also the danger of becoming perceived as a generalist. Therefore, I’d suggest a good ‘portfolio’ of skills would include the previously mentioned presentational abilities as well as a grounding in project management—the Prince II qualification is an excellent starting point and courses can occasionally even be bought at a much reduced rate via Groupon.
A decent level of understanding as evidenced by an acknowledged qualification in the compliance space is useful too, although this field is changing so quickly—and not necessarily for the benefit of anyone but the regulators I’d suggest, but that is a topic for another day—that ongoing ‘topping up’ is required to keep abreast of even the headline developments.
Finally, two pieces of more prosaic guidance would be to simply work on the ability to listen and not simply project 100 percent of the time, and, if you are in any form of management position, accept that you cannot please everyone all of the time. There will generally be a ‘bell curve’ acceptance of people who dislike, tolerate and, hopefully, admire you. Such is life.
As ever, do let me know your thoughts. Drop me a line at paul@localhost
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