Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Be thee modest

The other day, I had an interesting experience. I was hearing an important person speak about his organisation. Out of his allotted time of thirty minutes, he spoke for about fifteen minutes about his contribution to the growth of the organisation. The speech was peppered with "I" and "me". I could hear the audience snicker and grumble. The token applause from them encouraged the speaker to boast some more.

At the end of the speech everyone was unanimous in condemning the speaker. They wondered why he had to blow his own trumpet this way. Was it his insecurity? Or was it a wrong value system? In any case, his speech had an exact reverse effect from what he intended.


Many a times, we tend to fall in this trap. We feel that our services are not recognised and we need to publicise it. We feel that others who promote themselves end up getting all the accolades and the rewards. We feel that unless we talk about our achievements, it will be missed out or forgotten.

However, in my view, this is absolutely unnecessary. People do notice even though they may not openly acknowledge or praise the doer. Someone who is actively performing is always recognised. Modestly is a virtue that we should all cultivate. If someone praises us openly the correct response would be to down play our achievement and include others for the recognition. Such a response is agreeable and positive. The more one demurs, the more is the value given to that person.

What are your thoughts?

6 comments:

AS said...

The art of oratory is not natural to all. With time a person matures.But in principle what you say is right, a good orator does not publicize, they speak and let the audience remember it.

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Respect, according to me, can neither be demanded nor commanded! It has to be earned and one of the many steps of doing that is to be modest!

Pramoda Meduri said...

Hello VIsh.. thats so thought provoking.. i started practicing it..it feels good.. as the above comment says, people mature over time and that helps..

Nice post.. and nice to read to aftre a long time..

Have a good day..

Anonymous said...

Very thought provoking..One must share ones accomplishments in a modest positive way,bragging about it only shows ones arrogance..When we practice humiltiy and modesty we gain the respect of others and our success will be more valuable..
" A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle."

Tyaagi

Sonal Raisinghani said...

The orator here, was openly praising his own self... All because he wanted to show how important he was.. He had an inflated EGO... Such speakers
are not accepted by the audience... and when audience fails to get along with the
speaker, various discussions start....we should try not to
be part of it..
The key to this I suppose would be the orator getting along with the team / here the audience.. give them equal chance to speak. Be modest...cultivate modesty.

Anya said...

Happy New Year!!
We wish you a joyful life
full of healthy, happiness and pleasure :)

Hugs Anya

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