The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

Western India Regional Council

Communication & Presentation Skills

Kanu H. Doshi
Chartered Accountant
9th August 2011
Story of a Ten year
small town middle
middle class boy from
a vernacular medium
school
• Shy , Low esteem, below
average school exam record

• Got into great Commerce

College

• Stumbled into singing; Lost

stage fright; become golden
voice
• Got into CA articles against heavy
odds

• Wrote papers at CA students

Conferences ,won Prizes for Best
Papers

• Passed CA…Continued to write in

magazines & Eco Times
• Got invites to write Papers &
Talks by BCAS , ICAI , Jaycees

• Came CNBC TV 18 & invites

• Came Company Directorships

• That person is …..

 Surviving in Turbulent Times

21st century belongs to those who can

• Learn (Basics)
• Unlearn (outdated concepts/practices)
• Relearn (newly emerging trends)

=Tom Peters
 Success Mantra
• Be the first or be the best or be
different.
• Be distinct or be extinct
• Be awesome in something e.g.
case law, text of sections,
commentary, public speaking,
paper-writing, singing, sports…
but get…noticed.
• Goods are ‘consumed’
Services are ‘experienced’

• Goods are ‘visible’ (to see and feel)

Services are ‘invisible’ raw materials
‘time’ and ‘talent’ are ‘invisible’

• Relatives exploit over dinners invaluable

advice, ideas provided not seen
• It is not enough that we know our subject.
We have to let the world know what we know.

• In our gujarati language there is a saying :

‘Je bole tena bor vechay; je jor thi bole tena
thaliya pan vechay’.

• Life is like a fruit market. ‘Whoever talks:

sells his fruit; whoever talks smartly sells even
the hard nut* inside the fruit and also the skin
outside the fruit’
* Herbal qualities , wellness, fair skin
• Professional practice is proactive’.
• It is people driven than paper driven.
• It is a performing art than a perfect
science.
• Our profits come from ‘people’:
clients, client's people, our people
govt. people and not from ‘products’.
• People like wine , land , equity shares
appreciate in value as they ‘age’
• In the past, the ‘big’ ate up the ‘small’
• Now the FAST overtakes the SLOW.
• SMART V/S INTELLIGENT *
• Smart are strategic thinkers who act
fast, innovatively, creatively and out of
the box.
• Great speakers are not born,
they’re trained.
-Dale Carnegie

• Formal education prepares us to

make a living.
Self education prepares us to make
a FORTUNE!
• If I went back to college again, I’d concentrate on
two areas: learning to write and to speak before an
audience. Nothing in life is more important than the
ability to communicate effectively.
- Gerald R. Ford

• Communication is really all anyone ever gets paid for

…and if you cannot effectively communicate… you
will PAY…not get paid….
-Dough Firebaugh

• Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak.

Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
-Winston Churchill
• Good communication is as
stimulating as black coffee and just
as hard to sleep after.
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

• Communication works for those who

work at it.
- John Powell
Productive work in general and
professional work in particular as we
know it today is being ‘reinvented’
and modified’ drastically all the time
on an ongoing basis.
In 1970, it took 108 workers 5 days
to unload a ship full of ‘timber’. In
2000, it took 8 workers one single
day. In 2012, it could need one
worker one hour…
First revolution was agriculture (human
legs); second was industrial (human
hands);third is information technology or
knowledge revolution. (human mind:
Computers, Internet, World Wide Web,
Paperless Office, ‘borderless world’ in
which ‘geography’ became ‘history’.
Forth revolution is already upon us, that
is of ‘innovation’(human mind; heart,
soul: imagination, creative out of
box thinking, intuitive, robot, spiritual,
outer space).
It happened on the agri. farm, when the
‘tractor’ came. It happened on shop floor
when ‘fork lift’ came. It happened in the
‘accounts department’ all over the world
when ‘computers’ came. It happened in
libraries when ‘internet’ came. It
happened to fax machines when ‘printers’
came. It happened to telephones when
‘mobiles’ came. It happened to computers
when IPAD came. It happened to…(!)
when… came!!
• Life of a professional can not be
immune from the onslaught of
changes taking place in everything
that we are doing.

• A good professional gets respected

and rewarded for his informed
judgment. Informed judgment comes
from being ‘informed’ of all that
matters in human life.
As professionals, we do not have bosses.
We have a lot of personal freedom. We do
not have to be in a particular place every
day at a particular time …… Our
profession is a terrific way to spend time.
We work in small groups of highly
motivated, interesting people, addressing
ever-changing, complex problems where
there is a lot at stake. What could be
better?
• Public speaking gives visibility,
confidence, poise and sharpens thinking
instantly. It is power.

• In our long life, we get only one

opportunity to make the first impression.

• God created Woman but Hemant Trivedi

and Ritu Beri made her Miss World and
Miss Universe.
• God created man. Tailor made him
gentleman.

• Prosperity like beauty is in the eye of

the beholder.

• Why not then look prosperous and

dress well!

• Accessories*
• Entry of women in business and industry,
in offices, as clients, as professionals
gives a huge competitive advantage to
women over men.
• However, men need not lose heart. Good
news is : 85% of success comes from
positive attitude; 15% from domain
knowledge.
• Let us be therefore positive.
• Success in life is not everything….. it is
the only thing…..
 From Siemens Finance Director
MBA:
CA:
1. Excellent P & C skills
1. Good with depth of study

2. Great detailed reports 2 Talks & thinks big picture,

3. Traditional , Conservative 3 Mod, Innovative, Extrovert

4. Low profile , under dressed
4 Builds Teams, Uses Synergy
5. Loner, Shy, Introvert
5 Well dressed, smart grooming
6. Poor presentation skills

7. Frog in a well , ltd vision 6 Helicopter view of CEO

7 Dreams to own a business

Good news is ICAI
has addressed these
handicaps
Thank You