Is Donald Tsang HK's most boring speaker?
He's in the running but he has stiff competition from his colleagues. An article in yesterday's South China Morning Post lamented the public speaking skills of our politicians.
Stephan Engel writes:
"In a few weeks, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen will deliver his annual policy address to the Legislative Council. While his speech covering the latest government plans and initiatives will be new, in terms of content, the style of its delivery will be exactly the same as in previous years.
With all the charm of a North Korean television presenter, Mr Tsang will read the text straight from a piece of paper placed in front of him. No sudden smile will brighten up his otherwise monotonous facial expression. Occasionally he will look up, stony-faced, his lips firmly pressed together, nervously scanning the ranks of the chamber.
There won't be a single joke, a witty remark or an intelligent play on words spicing up his oratory. Sentence after sentence, he will subject his audience to more than 10,000 words of dull and uninspiring language.
Welcome to Hong Kong politics, where the boring people rule.
It is a sad fact that, despite the openness of our society, our freedom of speech and an increasingly dynamic political process, our local politicians and officials seem to be seriously orally challenged. Whenever speaking in public, they almost completely miss the light touch, rarely displaying any charm, emotion or sense of humour."
Whilst I agree that, on these occasions and many others like them, Donald Tsang plays safe and reads a script that was probably prepared by someone else, I have seen him more animated. When he's on a talk show or speaking to a group of people without a script, he does project charisma. He just needs to do it more often. And encourage his colleagues to do the same.
If they'd just consider the audience (and their low boredom threshold, relax and rely less on the script, we'd all have a better time of it.
If you have a subscription to the SCMP, read the full article.
Engel ends by saying:
"It is finally time for Hong Kong's politicians and leaders to take public speaking more seriously and invest in their communication skills. The audience is getting impatient."
I'll end by saying we either:
a) vote for our political leaders
b) welcome them to our Toastmasters community.
Stephan Engel writes:
"In a few weeks, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen will deliver his annual policy address to the Legislative Council. While his speech covering the latest government plans and initiatives will be new, in terms of content, the style of its delivery will be exactly the same as in previous years.
With all the charm of a North Korean television presenter, Mr Tsang will read the text straight from a piece of paper placed in front of him. No sudden smile will brighten up his otherwise monotonous facial expression. Occasionally he will look up, stony-faced, his lips firmly pressed together, nervously scanning the ranks of the chamber.
There won't be a single joke, a witty remark or an intelligent play on words spicing up his oratory. Sentence after sentence, he will subject his audience to more than 10,000 words of dull and uninspiring language.
Welcome to Hong Kong politics, where the boring people rule.
It is a sad fact that, despite the openness of our society, our freedom of speech and an increasingly dynamic political process, our local politicians and officials seem to be seriously orally challenged. Whenever speaking in public, they almost completely miss the light touch, rarely displaying any charm, emotion or sense of humour."
Whilst I agree that, on these occasions and many others like them, Donald Tsang plays safe and reads a script that was probably prepared by someone else, I have seen him more animated. When he's on a talk show or speaking to a group of people without a script, he does project charisma. He just needs to do it more often. And encourage his colleagues to do the same.
If they'd just consider the audience (and their low boredom threshold, relax and rely less on the script, we'd all have a better time of it.
If you have a subscription to the SCMP, read the full article.
Engel ends by saying:
"It is finally time for Hong Kong's politicians and leaders to take public speaking more seriously and invest in their communication skills. The audience is getting impatient."
I'll end by saying we either:
a) vote for our political leaders
b) welcome them to our Toastmasters community.
Hi Ruth,
I am glad that you liked my article. I agree that some thorough training by your Toastmasters would benefit most Hong Kong politicians.
Best regards,
Stephan