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By Tinky Ningombam
Barrack Obama`s second term was quite expected. And even though Romney had some strong arguments, Obama is clearly the better orator, which we have seen time and again. But my statement was perhaps too haste or so I thought when I saw a video of an interview of Obama where he actually faltered for words and to top it all, he was tongue-tied and clearly confused. Which drives me to the two questions in my head. One is the question of scripted speeches and the other is the need for communication skills for leaders esp in the higher level of governance.
With the rise of publicists and press aides, everything is scripted. While this is a good way to keep your thoughts together and actually come up with better structure to help you project your words, one loses the charm of being too impersonal. I have never heard of any politicians in Manipur who can sway me with his oration. I am sorry to be biased but every speech just doesn`t seem honest. And everyone seems to have practiced the same rehearsed tone of voice, body posture, the awkward pauses, the slow and calculated pronunciation of words. Where is the fun in listening to politicians saying the same diplomatic jargon which they might have seen only in the last minute (sic).
And where intelligence and leadership quality is one aspect that leaders in political parties require indelibly, we are lenient to people who cannot communicate to the general public, the same public who they are suppose to lead. However we also understand that we live in a place where words are spoken in fear of moral policing around that even the politicos are sandwiched between rocks.
I think this is a general observation on how politics and leadership values are skewed in a country where democratic privilege is a big question mark. But that said, I have to reiterate my point that there is a serious need for a quality check for people in public office. And like any other job that requires a set list of skills, gruelling interviews and tests, mental agility, politics is one domain where I think a qualitative check is a must. And it is quite surprising why qualification criteria is such a small things amongst politicians so that the people make a well-informed decision when they are voted for public leadership.
One cannot help but ask questions against politicians as they are the most powerful people around us today. And people who are there to serve are forever in the limelight, for the wrong reasons sometimes perhaps but in the limelight for sure.
In the same breath, we see an entertaining crop of scams that are coming out of the closet bringing a lot of tension and heartache to the ruling government. Which I personally think is a good sign. A sign that says the law will not discriminate between anyone and everyone. Because keeping the legality, the allegations and law on other side, what is more important is accountabilty, something that keeps a modest check on people. If you know you are liable for a crisis and will be charged for it, you will think twice before doing the wrong.
But what brings all of this in the perspective of the communication skill set that we require from the leaders in our political offices is that whatever that is the ideal/utopic sense of good governance, be it accountability, objectivity, sustainabilty, it comes back to the need for honest and transparent communication. And I think that is why we are in awe of leaders like Obama, the charm is not in his official press releases and speeches but his spontaneous and excellent oration, the absolute confidence in which he cues in the key messages in any public debate or interviews (save the one-off video that I saw). And that is why one tends to compare and regret the lack of charismatic leaders here.
We need innovation in communication. We need good speakers. We need good communicators. Leaders who have the conviction and brains to deliver what has been promised. We have heard and read too many speeches and seen too many examples to know that a leader is not someone who just reads out from scripted notes. But it is someone who knows what to say and act at the drop of the hat and be accountable for it.
(The columnist cannot get over the news on Bal Thackeray`s demise. And is getting very curious how Mumbai will react to it. She would not be surprised if I&B decides to put another sms-ing curfew again.)
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