On Charisma

by Thomas Heng

Charisma is the ability to draw from the audience the questions that it is dying to enunciate, but is for one reason or another fearful to do so.

Charisma is the ability to intimately relate to the deepest experiences of another person, and to enable him to create meaning from these experiences.

On Public Speaking

Nick Morgan wrote a book entitled "Give Your Speech, Change the World: How to Move Your Audience to Action". It's a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who would like to go into the field of public speaking.

When I think a little deeper about it, the only worthwhile reason for giving a speech, a group presentation, or even a one-on-one meeting for that matter, is to change the world.  Indeed, what other purpose could there be?

May I always bear this in mind whenever I communicate with another person...

On Commitment

Today is D-Day; Decision Day

Today I decide to be successful;

To be a better communicator

To be a a great connector of people

This is my commitment

It is not easy to put a stake on the ground

To finally commit to something that 

Seems so much bigger than what I see myself

Achieving  at this moment in time

Yet this is precisely the point of commitment

I connect to my future self

And embrace him as my Destiny

On Customer Service

I'm sure you're all experienced shoddy customer service at one point in your life or other. In Singapore, this seems to happen too often than not. So when someone comes along to commit to promoting great customer service in Singapore, kudos are very much in order.

Ron Kaufman is one such amazing person. He has lived in Singapore for almost 20 years, and I seriously believe that he is a lot more Singaporean than Singaporeans themselves! He goes all over the island, proclaiming "Up Your Service!" I couldn't agree more. We badly need a kick up our backsides when in comes to giving Great Customer Service.

Are you reading this, Singapore businesses??

On Opinions

I attended a talk by Dolf de Roos, the real estate guru. He was passionate, and did his best to connect with the audience through asking questions. The topic was rather dry, and the response was frankly quite dismal. Finally Rolf said something to this effect, "Singapore, you've got to have an opinion about something."

I totally agree. Each and everyone of us should have an opinion about matters, and back these up appropriately. Unfortunately, it is my observation that most Singaporeans feel constipated by the belief that the 'back-up' should come before the opinion, hence they don't tend to share with others their invaluable insights. 

Why not take the time to regularly discuss matters civily in a group, put out your opinions, and let the market refine such thoughts for us?