Composed Volcano

This is a guest post by V V Rajan, Head of Media, Impact & Echo Advertising Co., Kuwait and blogs regularly at Random Thoughtz. If you are interested to guest post on this blog please check on the guidelines.

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety

These are the timeless words penned by the world renowned poet “William wordsworth”.

When I first heard this poem during my boyish days in school, all I used to remember was how to mug up the entire poetry and worry about the meanings later. The words “The child is the father of the man” is the only line I remember till date. As a kid, I used to dismiss this thought thinking that this was some made up line just to fill the gaps in the poems flow of words.
But this truly remains the highlight of this world famous poem. I am sure this would have created quite a stir amongst the literary circles during the times of Mr. Wordsworth just as it brings in abundance of thoughts into the minds of great men even today.

As right as it was written, there’s so much to be learnt from kids even by the greatest men of the world. Its only as we grow up in years, we tend to look down upon kids merely as toddlers not understanding that more than they learning from us, how much can we still get life’s lessons from them.

Here are just a few of them that come to my ageing mind at the moment:

Art of negotiation
(This is the first thought that comes to my mind since I always lose the battle when it comes to the needs, wants and desires of my little champ.)
Have you ever seen a child negotiating with his/ her parents?
It’s not easy to get yes from any person. For a kid it’s as easy as a cake walk. At the end of the day, they walk away getting what they want and moreso by knowing very well whom they are dealing with. Yes, they do all naughty things. Mess up big time and still walk away with their hands full.
Step1: Pretend that you are scared
Step2: Keep quiet for some time (Let the dust settle)
Step3: Keep looking here and there (Try coming out of your shell)
Step4: Start making eye contact (With your parents of course!)
Step5: Flash that million dollar smile (It’s worth anything in the world)
Step6: You are just about to blow your bucks for some awesome gift for your child
Mission accomplished!

Perseverance
Tell “No” to your kid and then see what happens.
You are watching your fave match, movie, reading newspaper, talking something important on the phone (Long distance call or your fiery boss)
They will catch you then and there. It’s also the art of nagging and nagging well.
Do we ever get to win? That’s the eternal question we always ask.

How to create the best “First impression”
We must give in to our kids for this one.
Remember their first smile.
Their first gesture. Their first rendition of a song. It’s way too good to be true.
And the impression they make on you, so much that you live with it till death does you apart!

Art of Managing people
You don’t need a background in management to learn the art of managing people.
Just sit back, relax and observe how your kid manages to get its job done and at the same time tip you off with a hug or two and blowing few kisses away.
I am so amazed at the way a kid conducts itself with the people around it. Kids are smart enough to know who will do what for them. For instance, when the mom gets angry, the father is the anchor person and vice-versa. If there are grand parents at home then the parents usually come in their least of priorities. After all who will take to their whims and fancies and all the stories worth their fancy!

How to put passion into your work
Watch a kid who is building his Lego set or a drawing or writing something on the wall or on the bedroom doors. Yeah for sure they would be messing your place all over but take a moment to see their eyes roll up and down and all over to bring out the best in what they are doing. I am sure you will leave all aside to fall into their fantasy world. A world that is full of colors, stories and all that would make you feel good.
Having said that, a story or a poem as simple as “Thirsty crow” or maybe “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” see the way they recite them… it’s next to pure bliss!

Know your audience
If you know you know your kid well… well, think again!
Probably you don’t know them well enough although you think you do. Well, you may know his date of birth, his vital stats, what he basically likes/ dislikes etc… what you really need to know is what he really needs. As parents, most of us tend to get carried away to give them the best just because we didn’t get any! Do you know something? Your kid knows this way before you realize this. Why do you think they nag you so much (Read perseverance). It’s all in there… their so called natural traits.

It’s all about engaging your audience
One of the important pillars of presentation is engaging your audience.
This somehow comes very naturally to a kid. You take any kid and give them some space and ease them out, get friendly with them. Then you tell them to narrate you a story or sing a song, see how they engage you. They will look into your eye and do their act. Now this is very important. If you want your audience to get engaged, look at them in the eye and then do your act.
The same goes to their overall attitude. If they lie or are caught doing some mischief, they look straight into the eye. They do not know the rights from the wrongs. And this is what makes them genuine and innocent.
The same applies to us. If you want to engage in a topic of discussion or anything for that matter, just look in the eye and talk.
Got you engaged!

Use some logic!
I remember my ex-boss telling me once, that in our field (Media planning) it’s all about logic and applying it to our day-to-day planning.
If we apply logic then we will always end up with rational answers. Your assumptions may be right or wrong but your thinking structure will always be logical. And that’s very important.

Talking of logic… you learn to use them to the best of your abilities from a child.
I am really talking about the basics out here.
As simple as
“The table is on the floor. An apple is on the table. So the apple is on the floor” or lets say “a=b=c therefore, a=c”
You learn the concept of logic very well from a kid.
They are so good at it. So good that you can’t defeat them at it.
For example you are talking a walk with your kid and he asks you “Dad you said the world is round. How come it’s flat as we are walking?” You can’t expect a 5 year old to know about gravity n all but be sure to answer them correctly. And they have a logic to say that the land they are walking is indeed flat! And if you apply simple everyday logic to your work, you can really get away easily with anything and everything.
So my dear media planners, I am sure you understand what I am talking about!

Be inquisitive
If you have lots of questions ask them!
Look at a 5 year old kid. They have so many questions. So many of them unanswered.
The most successful people in the world were probably the ones who found answers to almost all their unanswered questions. They were inquisitive and that’s what they had as traits that took them places. If they didn’t chase to find out answers to their questions they would end up being very normal people.

I always take back some thoughts while talking to my five year old toddler.
All that I am as a parent today in all modesty is to do with my understanding of what he means with any of his actions.

There’s so much to learn from kids. Forget yourself for a moment and try seeing things with them on a different plateau. You will find simple answers to everyday problems.

Well this is my thought. What’s yours?