Friday, May 28, 2010

Polishing up to get endorsements

So have you been caught up in all the hoopla – the ‘ballers’ are back in town. In the worlds most famous sport arguably two of Kenya’s best known exports are Dennis Oliech and McDonald Mariga. And as I said you can’t have missed it – one of them handing out cash at a local premier league game and another caught on camera driving away from the car dealer in a mint new Hummer. With the inflated salaries in some European leagues, even a bench warmer can earn a pretty penny. Good on them I say, but the real money is in endorsements. It is estimated that companies world wide spend close to one billion dollars on athlete and celebrity endorsements each year and for good reason. I agree with Donald Kipkorir writing in the Daily Nation when he said that we read in the media about how much our athletes win in races or make playing football and we say 'wow' - but only if we knew how much more they could earn through endorsements.

The highest-paid athletes in the world make money from a combination of salaries, bonuses, prize money and endorsements - and endorsements are by far the largest income deriver. In 2009 Tiger Woods earned Ksh 7.5 billion alone in endorsements before his image implosion. So why aren’t our sports stars making Tiger Woods money? Ok, maybe not Tiger Woods money but why not Manny Paquiao, Wayne Rooney, Usain Bolt or Lewis Hamilton cash? Again to quote Kipkorir, ‘With the amount of money they earn, spending a little part of it to be polished and learning to speak well is worth every cent. It doesn’t matter how many records one breaks or what football clubs one has been signed into, language and style limitation is a real limitation. Just watch the sports SOYA awards and you'll know what I'm talking about. Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nike and Puma will not call on them. The few millions in Kenya shillings they earn in a year will never be millions of dollars.'

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Interview like a celebrity

I’ve watched number of interviews with prominent personalities both local and international and in this writers humble opinion there is much room for improvement . The ability to connect and build rapport with any audience is crucial and yet many lack this basic skill. I’ve seen everything from one word answers to innumerable ums and ahs (known as fillers), to people going off on irrelevant tangents or useless diatribes. I wonder how many of them actually prepare before they come into studio or even put some thought into what they are going to say. Great interview and communication skills can be taught and one trained – not to give rote answers but to put oneself in the shoes of the viewers or listeners. This also means looking the part and not like you were caught running to the kiosk to get some bread.

I watched John Legend the musician, being interviewed on CNN last week and was pleasantly surprised. He was insightful, funny and entertaining. He was dressed well, didn’t hide behind dark glasses and his body language showed that he was listening carefully as much as he spoke. And when he did, his voice was warm, well modulated and had sufficient vocal variety to keep us (the viewers) interested. His answers were not canned but well thought out and he engaged in an actual conversation and not simply yes or no answers. A halfway decent grasp of the language and a knowledge of a wide range of topics makes an interview interesting. I’m not saying you have to lyrically flow like PLO Lumumba or have a clipped accent like John Sibi-Okumu but speaking in ‘pesa nane’ English does one no favours. And here’s something you might not know – studies have shown that a deeper voice (think husky in women) is more pleasing to the ear of the listener. A high pitched voice is considered a big turn off, so men think Barry White when interviewing and for women the dulcet tones of Julie Gichuru.

And finally a quick word on acceptance speeches. I recently watched the Groove Awards, Kenya’s gospel music awards love fest. I paid particular attention to the acceptance speeches and saw the good the bad and the unintelligible. When accepting an award you need to be brief, gracious and modest. Reciting your family lineage or musical history is NOT the way to go. That goes for anybody receiving an award, be prepared just in case you do win that prize for person of the year.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Soft skills matter

Branding is important for the long-term success of a business. Therefore companies spend a lot of time and efforts building and developing a strong and credible brand. Companies have realized that their employees are their brand ambassadors not only in the workplace, but on the outside as well. In all corporations, especially in those where employees deal directly with the clients/customers, it is crucial that the employees “live the brand”. This means that they have to embody the brand’s qualities and deliver on the brand’s promise. In sum, the employees are the brand. Reduction of turnover in the workforce is a major area of focus of companies. Studies have shown that job satisfaction, which leads to the reduction of turnover, is closely linked to career development. Thus, most companies develop elaborate training sessions which are aimed at increasing employees’ proficiency. Unfortunately, most concentrate on developing technical skills, and seldom address the soft skills which are critical to an employee’s career advancement. The unarguable advantage of soft skills training is that it teaches people to be aware of organizational politics and about the advantages of self promotion.

Reprinted with kind permission from Kali Evans-Raoul of The Image Studios (www.theimagestudios.com) from her article entitled Why Soft Skills are important during tough economic times