Blog post -
TV interview is business as usual for Ho Meng Kit
We were spoilt for choice for this, the second last shortlisted nomination for the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards 2018, but in the end we selected the CEO of the Singapore Business Federation Ho Meng Kit.
His CNBC interview struck the right balance between delivering his key points about the results of SBF's latest index of business confidence, and answering difficult questions about the US-China trade dispute.
Read on below for more details about why I nominated him for the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards 2018.
_____________________________________________________________________________
We are now in the home stretch of the award nominations, and there is limited time for you to nominate yourself or another local business leader.
Nominations close Monday, April 30, at 5pm, with the winner announced in May. It is free to enter the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards 2018, and there is no obligation to buy tickets to the awards event.
We launched the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards to recognise local business leaders for their communications skills, and to showcase authentic and credible home-grown communicators. Here are our previous nominees:
Desmond Kuek: Will you resign?
Are you a demanding boss, Lee Lik Hsin?
Star Alliance CEO: Local business leader is a star media performer
Budget 2018: Iswaran balances selling it, and explaining it
Kurt Wee: you don't need to be big to be media savvy
Candice Ong: the whys and hows of strong new media interviews
Elim Chew displays a high Sensitivity Quotient in her TEDxNTU presentation
How to win at interviews, even if English isn't your first language
Ho Kwon Ping: no-nonsense media presence builds credibility
David Koh: Cybersecurity chief gives locked-down on-camera presentation
Cecily Ng: The right recipe for coffee with the boss
Razer CEO makes TV interviews look like child's play
Anthony Tan grabs our attention with interview about Uber merger
Liew Mun Leong lands his key points in airport surcharge interview
Appearing well in the media is part of our heritage
These are shining examples for other local business leaders to follow, and to build a culture of excellence in communication, to maximise the potential of Asian companies in the Asian Century.
Click on this link to enter yourself or another Senior Business Leader. You have less than one week left!
_____________________________________________________________________________
Here are the reasons why I shortlisted Ho for the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards 2018.
- Key message first - Ho delivered the key points of the Index right at the start of his interview. This set the scene for the rest of the conversation.
- Balance - My good friend Sri Jegarajah, who was my successor at CNBC, wasn't going to let Ho off the hook easily and kept probing on the very topical US-China trade spat. Ho provided insightful and valuable responses without getting drawn into taking sides.
- Statistics - Ho was armed with some interesting statistics arising from his survey, without getting too far down into the weeds.
- Natural delivery - throughout the interview, Ho appeared comfortable and authoritative, without being so polished as to appear scripted or choreographed.
You wouldn't expect a Senior local Business Leader such as Ho Meng Kit to be nervous.
But you don't have to have been Principal Private Secretary to then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, or to have headed the Singapore Broadcasting Authority, Land Transport Authority and Economic Development Board, to come across well in the media.
His credible, substantive yet relaxed approach sets an example all local business leaders (especially SBF members!) should follow.
