712. When the Expert Failed to Impress

Dr. Venkatachalam, a renowned psychiatrist, was invited to deliver a speech at the monthly meeting of the recreation club.

Buoyed by the expectation that the expert would present several interesting and useful pieces of information in his talk, a large number of members were present for the lecture.

The enthusiasm of the audience began to wane within a few minutes after Venkatacham had begun his talk, since Venkatachalam's speech was structured like a classroom lecture for college students. 

After Venkatachalam had concluded his lecture, the audience clapped mechanically, without any excitement or enthusiasm.

Kripakaran, the Secretary of the club, got up, to present the vote of thanks.

"As per the agenda, I should present a vote of thanks. But, I find that there is still half an hour left, as per the schedule. We have, in our midst, a scholar with profound knowledge and rich experience. I feel that we could get some more pieces of interesting and useful information from him, by asking him questions on specific issues. I will begin by outlining the mental health problem of a person known to me and seeking Dr. Venkatachalam's opinion on it" said Kripakaran. 

He then briefly narrated the mental health issue of a person known to him.

"I would request Mr. Venkatachalam to briefly give his views on the condition of this person." 

Venkatachalam began to give his opinion on the problem mentioned by Kripakaran.

The audience that had been sitting with a bored feeling till then, began to feel excited and listened to Venkatachlam's comments, with rapt attention.

After Venkatachalam had given his reply, Kripakaran announced in the mike, "If some of you have questions about mental health conditions of persons known to you, you can ask Dr. Venkatachalam about them. I think that within the remaining time, he will be able to answer four or five questions. I have taken the liberty of suggesting this, without seeking the concurrence of Dr. Venkatachalam. I hope he won't mind" and looked at Venkatachalam, with a polite expression.

Venkatachalam smiled at Kripakaran and nodded his head, in agreement. The audience could sense an enhanced sense of enthusiasm in his demeanor.

One by one, people from the audience began to ask questions about the conditions of people known to them. Venkatachalam was answering the questions, enthusiastically.

Both Venkatachalam and the audience enjoyed the question-answer session, since the answers provided by Venkatachalam were both interesting and useful.

Even after one hour, both the audience and Venkatachalam were interested in continuing the session. Kripakaran had to intervene and bring the session to an end, pointing out that the program had continued for about an hour beyond the scheduled time.

At the time of taking leave of Kripakaran, after the event was concluded, Venkatachalam held Kripakaran's hands in his and said, "A few minutes into my speech, I sensed that the audience did not enjoy my talk. I also realized my mistake in structuring my talk like a classroom lecture. Since I could not change my speech at that stage, I cut short my speech, by half an hour. But, the opportunity provided by you to answer specific questions from the audience helped me satisfy the audience. You even showed the way to the audience what kind of questions to ask, by your asking a question at first. I have had no experience in public speaking. From today's experience, I have learnt that I should ascertain what kind of speech would be appropriate to an audience and tailor my speech accordingly. I am thankful to you for making me understand this."

"I didn't do anything, sir. I just wanted to make the best use of the specialized knowledge and experience of an expert like you" said Kripakaran.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 72
Divining the Mind

Verse 712 (in Tamil):
idai therindhu nangu uNarndhu solluga sollin
nadai therindha nanmaiyavar.

Meaning:

Those who are well-versed in the use of words, will, after anticipating the response of the audience, convey the message clearly.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nibuNarin pEchchu' by the same author.) 

Verse 713 (Soon)
Verse 711