Benglauru-based branding expert Harish Bijoor, who is known for his branding consultancy and marketing skills, recently completed a landmark of sorts in India—he completed 15,000 hours of public speaking.
This strategic thinker, who has been helping organisations with brand building, completed his15,000th hour of public speaking at the Daly College in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on the topic 'The curious case of the complicated consumer and the crazy marketer'. “An irreverent take on the marketer and the consumer alike, it was fun, and loaded with unique brand and marketing concepts of mine, which I have researched, and used in the past,” remarked Bijoor.
It all started in 1990 when Bijoor had been invited for a talk by CII in Chennai. This branding expert's love for public speaking began at Bishop Cotton Boys School in Bengaluru. “My English teacher, Clifford Hicks, told me that my thoughts were different and clear. If only I could present it in speech, I would go far. He told me that a lot of people are good writers, but very few were good speakers. Debates and thought barrages have always held a fascination for me,” Bijoor told THE WEEK.
Bijoor had worked with firms such as Unilever and Tata Global Beverages Limited, and his public speaking skills got further polished. Later on, he started his own branding firm. “Today I speak to corporate bodies that call me in for their keynotes at their strategy break-out sessions. I also speak at industry bodies of every kind, covering the realms of business and beauty pageants alike. I speak at academic institutions and NGOs alike. On completion of my 15,000 hours recently, I have decided to do a series of talks to young people at management institutes all across the country. I aim to cover more than hundred such Institutions in six months; 31 of these talks have already been set up and time-tabled,” added Bijoor.
Bijoor has always believed that there are two types of keynote speakers. One that packs style and panache and the other that packs content. “I do believe style and panache is talking the talk. Content is all about walking the talk and then talking it. I choose to believe that I am in the latter class. I wouldn't want to be anything else.” said Bijoor.
Bijoor has always been a numbers-oriented person, and numbers have always excited him. When in school, he started writing to the 'letter to the editor' column. “My first letter was published in Deccan Herald in what we now call Bengaluru when I was in the 6th standard. The letter was all of four lines, but nevertheless, it had my name at the bottom of it, and it was a moment to celebrate for me. Ever since that day, I kept writing letters to the columns of every newspaper and magazine there was. My second letter was published after nearly a year, and then I loved keeping count. I kept count for a long time, and we were a clutch of contributors who took up civic and social issues, and who kept counting every published letter,” recalled Bijoor.
During his initial years of public speaking, Bijoor hardly kept any count of his talks, but later he started keeping a track. “I did not keep count at all for the first five years ever since I gave my first talk, but then I did a retro-check and was impressed that I had spoken all of 280 hours in some five years of public speaking”. From then on, he has kept a track in his cricket copy-book style.
During his preparation for talks, Bijoor has realized that a serious talk needs to be peppered with elements of humour to click. He would take very serious subjects and couch them with soft-cushions of humour that would make the concepts stay and linger in the minds they were being delivered to.
Bijoor has covered different subjects all through the years, which include tech-marketing, consumer behaviour, brand management, marketing, sales and distribution, retail, motivation, business-disruption, business-strategy, consumer research, leadership, food and beverage, digital and social media, traditional media and startup catalysis among others.
Bijoor makes it a point to work on every talk passionately with an aim to bring in new elements that are important for the business, the problem or the issue he addresses. “For me every talk is new, and every talk has to speak the new. I avoid repeating myself, as that would get boring even for me. Every talk has to be made from scratch for me, custom-made. My talks are about learning. I do not believe in the empty and fluffy talk that is fun to hear, but leaves nothing back as learning or attitude change,” said Bijoor.
Altogether Bijoor has spoken in some 41 countries to date, and is aiming to cover some more countries where he has not been. “I look forward to speak in countries I have not been to yet. My talks have taken me to exotic locales I would never have been to otherwise. The gaps are many to cover and I look forward to that from now on. I have always believed that a keynote speaker is only as good as his last three keynotes. Therefore, I invest passion, sweat and energy into my keynotes,” remarked Bijoor.
