Sir Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of UK during the World War II, was a master wordsmith. Once, during the course of the World War II, he had a meeting with Charles De Gaulle, the French leader. Sensing the fact that Churchill didn’t go along too well with De Gaulle, Churchill’s ADC requested him to be polite in his conversation with De Gaulle. Churchill smiled and said “Very well, I will kiss him on all his four cheeks’

It wasn’t as if he couldn’t have replied his ADC in a plain affirmative sentence but a wit speaks to catch attention and thereby, to command respect. A delectable choice of words puts you milestones ahead of your peers and competitors in all phases of life, and yet it is a much neglected science. Don’t forget that a perceived response is a boring response.

A leader without good communication skills and the ability to articulate oneself is only as much effective as a knife in a gun-fight. Simply, look around yourself. If you are a person in a corporate setting, all the senior management in your company are by and large, possessing good expressive ability. And if they are not, they are relying solely on their positional power to demand respect. Their vulnerability eventually gets them.

Wit is a cornerstone of a person’s communication skills but all that has ever been taught in course curriculum is business communication whereas for seeking attention, it is a very narrow learning, quite like a plant depending on the candle-light for its sustenance. Though to a degree, it is an inborn talent but the right training and practice can make all the difference.