Ian MacDonald

November 2010

In Search of the Asian Willie Stark: What Attributes are Valued in Western Public Speakers and How do they Compare with those Valued in Asian Cultures?

A Supplement to the presentation: From West to East: Adapting Presentation Models, Methods and Techniques to Account for Audience Culture, delivered as part of the IBScientific Workshop on 26 November, 2010.

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The characteristics and skills we value in a Western public speaker may well be different to those valued in many Asian and Far-East societies. For example the ability to speak directly, the custom of explicitly highlighting the needs of an audience and demonstrating that those needs coincide with the position of the speaker, the tendency to address the individual they are each examples of recommended techniques and methods that can be found in public speaking and presentation training programs in Western or, perhaps more accurately, Anglo-Saxon societies. If we can accept Lustig and Koesters definition of culture: a learned set of shared interpretations about beliefs, values, norms, and social practices, which affect behaviors of a relatively large group of people (2006: 25), then we may hypothesize that where cultural differences exist there should also be related differences in practice. Therefore, this paper sets out to explore the cultural patterns of Western (primarily Anglophone) and Far-Eastern (essentially Confucian Heritage Cultures) countries with a view to establishing whether respective public speaking practices do in fact differ in line with identified cultural differences. The paper uses the character of Willie Stark as a model of an effective Western presenter and attempts to identify his Asian contemporary.

Almost fifteen years ago I became somewhat consumed with what made a great public speaker or presenter. A client who wished to train his sales executives had pitched the question to me, whilst suggesting that I might like to come and listen to a presentation that his European Director was giving to important customers. To this day it remains one of the most dreadfully boring presentations that I have ever had to sit through. In fact, it was so bad that my client apologized rather sheepishly. After recovering from my initial disappointment, I realised that although I was no further forward in answering the clients question, I was at least aware that seniority alone did not guarantee proficiency in public speaking. The long and short of this experience is that I went on to research and write the Presentation Skills Profile (MacDonald, 1997) - PSP for short - and, in doing so, I became intimately familiar with what made a public speaker effective. In the last twelve years, with sales of the profile exceeding 30,000 copies, I have increasingly wondered just how appropriate my model of effective presentation is when used in nonWestern cultures. After all, I read and write in English so my research was naturally
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restricted to Anglophone cultures. My recent studies of intercultural communication, and related teaching practice, have prompted me to develop major concerns about the efficacy of the PSP model in the aforementioned situations. So what did my research reveal about effective presentation?

As a British expatriate living and working in Central Europe, and someone who has had the chance to travel the world, including long trips to Asia and the Far East, I have never been entirely oblivious to cultural differences. Perhaps this is why when I review the research and theories that underpin the PSP model, I can say that overall it seems to do a reasonable job in accommodating non-Anglophone cultures. That said, even when one considers the thoughts of various experts on the benefits of becoming a better presenter or public speaker, one suspects that there are some deep-rooted differences. For instance Kalish (1997:5) say that presentations are an opportunity to sell yourself whilst Pike (1995) states that presentations represent a great opportunity for individuals to stand out from the crowd. Holtz (1985) suggests that professionals often leap at the chance to speak publicly as a substitute for paid advertising. Each of the above seem to underline the tendency toward individualism in Anglophone cultures and where such motivation might be mildly alien to middle Europeans, one can only wonder how difficult it would be for collectivist-oriented Far Eastern Asians to confer on this thinking. In fact, Gesteland (2005) warns that over-praising ones product or company in Japan can have negative repercussions.

The PSP model explores six dimensions of presentation: Objectives, Audience, Presentation Structure, Aural and Visual Impact, Visual Aids, and Staging (of a speech or presentation). Regarding Objectives, Matson (1997) argues that presenters should consider what they want their audience to do and how the presenter will convince them to do it. Meanwhile, Hendricks et al (1996) remind presenters that they must evaluate by asking whether the audience caught what was thrown at them. The underlying assumption is that the presenter must do something to, or initiate some action on the part of, his or her audience. In other words, if only temporarily, the individual is to lead the way and show his or her audience what actions they should take. Implicit in this is
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the idea that it is the presenter who must be the catalyst for consensus. Clearly this is consistent with the individualist nature of many Western societies and contrasts with collective cultures where, personal opinions do not exist: they are predetermined by the group (Hofstede, 1997: 59). The latter suggests that consensus, and thereby, the route to decisions and actions is different in Far Eastern Asian societies. Perhaps this suggests that presentation goals are more likely to concern informing and/or encouraging discussion rather than persuading.

Concerning Audience, Cosnett et al (1990) believes that the knowledge speakers have about the people they are speaking to can make the difference between outstanding success and a colossal failure. Connecting with your audience is not only a preparation issue according to Antion (1997), one also has to assess how ones speech is being received and when necessary take appropriate action to ensure the audience remains engaged. Macnamara (1996) likens the use of jokes to a golf fairway dotted with sand traps, suggesting that you need to know your audience well so as not to offend. However, there is considerable literature that talks up the value of jokes as a way of helping an audience to get your point and they can often be heard in public speeches and presentations in Anglophone cultures. Gesteland (2005) is forthright when warning that opening a presentation with a joke is considered disrespectful to both towards the topic and ones audience in Japan and South Korea. Kalish (1997) suggests that audience involvement is more likely if one keeps eye-contact with the audience members. However, Gesteland (2005) advises that strong, direct eye contact may be misinterpreted as anger of hostility in Japan or an attempt to intimidate in China. Saphiere et al (2005) writes that what is considered acceptable eye contact varies across cultures.

Turning to Structure, practitioners and experts place emphasis on making the speech or presentation easy for the listener to follow which is consistent with the ideas proposed by Hinds (1987: 141-152) about English being a speaker-responsible language as distinct from many Asian languages which are listener-responsible. It is not unusual for an Asian speaker to bury the thesis in the passage (Connor, 1996) and Japanese
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speakers will often refrain from identifying the specific point they wish to convey but instead delicately circle it to imply the domain (Cahill, 2003). This evokes the idea of face work in high context Asian societies, a practice which is brilliantly demonstrated by the wealthy Indonesian family that invites the parents of an undesirable fiance to their home and serves friend rice and star fruit to indicate disapproval of the potential marriage (Lustig and Koester, 2006: 111). Not only are most Anglophone cultures lowcontext and reliant on words for conveying their messages but English is also considered to be a linear language and this is distinct from the non-linear structure of a number of Asian languages such as Japanese and Hindi (Kachru, 1988: 109-137). This no doubt fuels the universal agreement that effective presentations in Anglophone cultures should have a beginning, middle and end (MacDonald, 1997).

Language issues are understandably to the fore when one considers how to create appropriate Impact with the spoken word. Jay (1993) remarks, that it is possible to confuse your audience through a poor choice of words. Perhaps more importantly for this paper, Kalish (1997) stresses the need to write for the ear and make speeches conversational. Huey Long, the American politician upon whom the Willie Stark character is based, revealed to his close friend Bozeman after participating in his first ever school debate that he had learned a very important lesson: the most effective way to speak is not to orate but to level down and talk naturally (Williams, 1969:38). Gaulke (1996) and Hendricks et al (1996) both press the need for speakers to be energetic and emotional. However, for most Asian cultures where harmony is a widely held value, people are typically far more reserved (Lustig and Koester, 2006) and therefore unlikely to heed such advice. Far Eastern Asians, including the Japanese, Chinese and Koreans, place emphasis on the value of silence and saying as little as is necessary (Kincaid, 1987). Although Gaulke (1996) highlights the value of silence and pausing as a presentation technique, one need only listen to a handful of public speakers to know that this is not a natural mode for Anglophones. In fact, in my training practice, many inexperienced speakers start at the opposite end of the spectrum, often making themselves breathless through speaking too intensely and quickly. Does this suggest a natural and somewhat irrational fear of silence? Certainly one can sense a
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degree of discomfort amongst many Western public speakers when they are not filling the air and their audiences ears with their words.

When it comes to making a visual impression there are many who advocate the importance of dress (Matson, 1997 and Jay, 1997), active gestures, definite eye contact (Gaulke, 1996), infectious enthusiasm (Holtz, 1985) and deliberate on-stage movement. However, to reserved Far Eastern Asians such advice may well contradict cultural norms. On the other hand, one senses that Asians will have much less difficulty with the idea of incorporating imagery, metaphor, analogy, symbolism, anecdotes and stories into their public speeches. In fact, as our earlier example of the fried rice and star fruit indicates, Asians may well be masters in this particular art. From experience, it seems that only the more proficient Western speakers have aptitude in this area and it certainly requires much determined practice to command this skill.

Given the sheer volume of research (Brody and Kent, 1993; Hendricks et all, 1996; Malouf 1988; and Macnamara, 1996) confirming the positive impact that Visual Aids have on audience retention, there can be little doubt that in Western cultures such practice is advantageous. Gesteland (2005) strongly advocates extensive use of visual aids when giving presentations in many Asian cultures although it is not clear whether this is because it is the cultural norm or simply that when presenting across cultures and languages, graphs, diagrams and other visuals are helpful for supporting the message. Holcombe and Stein (1996), urge presenters to eliminate all unnecessary design details and text from charts and this clearly sits well with the Japanese design principle Kanso that calls for simplicity and the elimination of clutter.

The final element of the PSP concerns the Staging of a presentation. This breaks down in to three sub-elements, namely, Preparation and the Use of Notes, Rehearsal and Managing the Facilities and Scheduling. The essence of much of the advice concerning notes and preparation is aimed at achieving the natural delivery that was discussed earlier (Cosnett et al, 1990 and Gaulke, 1996). Likewise with rehearsal, the onus is placed firmly on being fluid, confident and professional to create a positive impression
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(Macnamara, 1996; Minninger & Goulter, 1991). Finally, in respect of Facilities and Scheduling, there is advice about ideal room size (Jay, 1993), seating arrangements (Holcombe and Stein, 1996), air conditioning and ventilation (Macnamara, 1996), lighting and timing (Hendricks et al, 1996). Without doubt, room size and seating arrangements, and the implications for personal space, can vary according to specific cultures. Personal space is treated at length by Edward T. Hall (1966) who coined the term proxemics to refer to how people from different cultures hold different preferences about space. In Japan, according to Yamauchi (2005), the desu/masu (broadly formal/informal) style of addressing people indicates how much personal space one should provide those who are being engaged thereby suggesting that one also needs to consider the more universal issue of intimacy. Meanwhile, Morrison and Conaway (2004) make the point that in most Asian societies, perhaps due to over-crowding, people gravitate towards other people. In fact, if one is standing in an otherwise empty lift in the Philippines, should anyone else enter they will almost certainly stand right next to you, regardless of the available space.

It is pertinent at this point to explain why Willie Stark, the principal character in the film, All the Kings Men, should play any role in this paper. For many years I had searched for a way to demonstrate some of the principles of effective presentation and public speaking to my students. In particular I wished to show what it means to connect with and engage an audience or, as Huey Long remarked to his friend Bozeman, how to level down and be natural. When speaking in the scene at the County Fair (the relevant part of the script is reproduced in the Appendices and can also be found, virtually word for word, in the Robert Penn Warren novel (1946: 127-132)), Willie throws away his prepared let me tell you what this state needs notes, and instead levels with his audience and tells them what he really believes. In doing so Willie adopts a more conversational and less formal approach, addressing individuals in the crowd:
You over there... look at your pants. Have they got holes in the knees?

After few more questions, Willie proceeds to tell his audience a story, a story about Willie himself, about how he is just like the members of his audience:

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(how he) knew what it was to get up before dawn and get feed and slop and milk before breakfast... and then set out before sunup and walk six miles to a one-room, slab-sided schoolhouse.

It should be borne in mind that Willie Stark is a politician and the initial reaction of his audience is one of skepticism that gradually turns to interest as the members of the crowd realize that this is not a normal political message or delivery. After informing his audience about his attempts to better himself, Willie admits that:
He didn't start off thinking about the hicks and all the wonderful things he was going to do for them but that, he started off thinking about number one.

This message appears to further enhance Willies credentials with the audience; for we sense that the listeners know that all politicians are in it for themselves but that Willie might be different. Part of this belief is driven by Willies impassioned pleas and dramatic delivery and he grabs hold of the audience when he reminds them about how he fought the politics rotten brick that left a batch of young school children dead and mangled. Here, as one might expect in the context, Willie invokes God in the form of a metaphor, because it came to him:
with the powerful force of God's own lightning

that he could not do anything without the support of the people, the very people standing in front of him. Willie is not finished and he reveals that he too has been the victim of corrupt politicians and public officials. He further reveals that they have tried to use him to split the hick vote. Like his audience, Willie says he has been fooled a thousand times. Willie concludes stirringly:
But this time I'm going to fool somebody. I'm going to stay in this race. I'm on my own and I'm out for blood.

Willie Stark ticks so many of the important boxes of the PSP model but above anything else he managed to fully engage his listeners. Quite frankly, if he were a student of mine I would be filled with pride. However, rather than reveal in detail everything he manages to achieve with his speech it is timely to give the floor over to T. Harry Williams, whose biography of Huey Long, the real Willie Stark, won the National Book Award in History and Biography as well as The Pulitzer Prize in Biography. William
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(1969) writes off Long as a speaker who never rambled but followed a logical plan of organisation that was clearly a result of preparation. Long tailored his speeches to his audiences, appearing suave and sophisticated before an urban or university group but before a rural crowd, a completely different man. He would begin by telling jokes and stories before advancing different themes until he found those that connected with his audience. Bystanders claimed they had never believed it possible that people could be so spellbound by a man. Willie was also capable of using dramatic devices to lure his audience, in one famous example setting up series of questions with destitute farmers about socks, going from silk to cotton to cotton socks with holes in them and ultimately removing his shoe to show a large hole with his big toe sticking out. As Williams states, this man was theirs.

Geert Hofstede (1997) said that culture is, the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group of people from another. For this reason there can never be an Asian Willie Stark. Quite simply it would require the supremely unlikely amalgamation of a set of beliefs, values, norms, and social practices that exactly mirror those that produced Willie, and more accurately, Huey Long. As we have seen from this short paper, whether the argument is truly convincing or not, there are real differences between Anglophone and Confucian Heritage Cultures and a number of them specifically impact on the way that a member of that culture might present or speak in public. For example, a Japanese politician might ask his audience whether they feel a draft on their knees but would certainly never highlight the holes in the knees of his listeners pants. It would surely cause an unacceptable loss of face for most, if not all, Asians to be asked directly if their children were growing up ignorant as dirt, ignorant as you. There is also doubt about whether in the collective societies of Asia a politician would ever address an individual and ask such questions. There is then the issue of Willies passion which might seem a little alien to Asians who are typically more reserved and, of course, his anger, which would be totally at odds with the Far Eastern Asian pursuit of harmony. This is not to say that Asians cannot experience anger, merely that it would highly unusual to express it in the way Willie did. At the same time, there are elements of Willies approach to public speaking that might be performed
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more effectively by a skilled Asian speaker. For example, it is perfectly possible to envisage an Asian politician speaking out regarding corruption but in a much more coded and dignified manner. The mirror reaction in the audience might also be less openly rapturous but no less supportive of the speakers program and aims. By the same token, the public humiliation of (Tiny) Duffy might be conducted in a softer by an Asian speaker but be equally damning in the minds of the Asian audience.

The search for the Asian Willie Stark does not stop here, in fact this may be considered the beginning of that search. Although much has been written about cultural differences between East and West - and in this paper we could have explored the subject further through numerous culture comparison theories - there still remain significant research opportunities that can aid us in understanding how cultural differences show up in approaches to presentation and public-speaking. It is these opportunities that I hope will serve as a basis for my ongoing studies.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Antion, T (1997) Wakeem up! How to use Humor and other Professional Techniques to Create Alarmingly Good Business Presentations Landover Hills, MD: Anchor Brett, J M (2007) Negotiating Globally (2nd Edition) San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons Brody, M and Kent, M (1993) Power Presentations: How to connect with your audience and sell your ideas. NY: John Wiley. Cahill, D (2003) The Myth of the Turn in Contrastive Rhetoric in Written Communication 20 2003, 170-194 Connor, U (1996) Contrastive Rhetoric: Cross Cultural Aspects of Second Language Writing Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Cosnett, G, Donnet, N, Anderson, J B & Whiteford, S (1990) A survival guide to public speaking in Training & Development Journal September 01, 1990 Gaulke, S (1996) 101 Ways to Captivate a Business Audience NY: AMACOM Hall, E T (1977) Beyond Culture Garden City, NY, Anchor Hall, E T (1966) The Hidden Dimension Garden City, NY, Anchor Hendricks W, Holliday, M, Mobley R & Steinbrecher, K (1996) Secrets of Power Presentations Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press Hinds (1987) Reader versus Writer Responsibility: A New Typology in Writing Across Languages: Analysis of L2 Written Text, ed. Ulla Connor and Robert B. Kaplan, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1987, 141-152 Hofstede, G (1980) Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Value, Beverly Hills CA: Sage Publications Hofstede, G (1997) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for Survival New York: McGraw Hill Holcombe, M W & Stein, J K (1996) Presentations for Decision Makers NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Holtz, J (1985) Speaking for Profit: For Executives, Consultants, Authors and Trainers NY: John Wiley and Sons Jay, A (1993) Effective Presentation London: Pitman Kalish, K (1997) How to Give a Terrific Presentation NY: AMACOM Kachru, Y (1988) Writers in Hindi and English in Writing Across Languages and Cultures: Issues in Contrastive Rhetoric, ed. Purvis A C Newbury Park, CA: Sage 1988, 109-137
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Kincaid, D L (1987) Communication East and West: Points of Departure in Communication Theory: Eastern and Western Perspectives, ed. Kincaid D L, San Diego: Academic Press, 1987, 337 Lustig, M W & Koester, J. (2006) Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal Communication Across Cultures (6th Edition) (ed. R M Kanter), Boston: Allyn & Bacon. MacDonald, I (1997) Presentation Skills Profile King of Prussia: HRDQ Macnamara, J R (1996) The Modern Presenters Handbook Sydney: Prentice Hall Malouf, D (1988) How to Create and Deliver a Dynamic Presentation Brookvale, N.S.W. : Simon & Schuster Australia Matson, E (1997) Now that We Have Your Complete Attention in Fast Company, 124-132, February/March, 1997 Minninger, J & Goulter, B (1991) The Perfect Presentation NY: Doubleday Morrison , T & Conaway, W A (2000) The Problems of Proxemics in IndustryWeek, January 2000 Pike, R W (1995) High Impact Presentations Des Moines, IA: American Media Saphiere, D H, Mikk, B K & De Vries, B I (2005) Communication Highwire: Leveraging the Power of Diverse Communication Styles Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, Inc. Waley, A (1939) Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China (1982 paperback edition) Stanford CA, Standford University Press Warren, R P (1946) All the King's Men, (1st Harvest Edition, 2001) San Diego, Hardcourt Inc. Williams, T H (1969) Huey Long (1st Vintage Books Edition, 1981) New York, Random House. Yamauchi, S (2005) Proxemics: close or distant in The Daily Yomiuri June 2005

Film All the Kings Men (1949) Robert Rossen, 105 min., Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. All the Kings Men (2006) Steve Zaillain, 123 min., Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

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