Hou Wey Fook aces financial television interview

The hardest part of being a guest markets commentator on financial television is to make yourself more interesting than the swarms of other markets commentators who have gone before you - often saying completely contradictory things but with an equal measure of conviction.

Hou Wey Fook manages this with finesse. He runs rings around the anchors' staple of run-of-the-mill questions. He doesn't apply traditional techniques, but he is sure to bring out his main message at the first opportunity.

Besides that, the CIO of DBS uses snappy quotes and coins a catchphrase to make his interview interesting to watch, which is why we have nominated him for the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards 2021.

Watch and read below for my assessment.

We launched the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards in 2018 to recognise local business leaders for their communications skills, and to showcase authentic and credible home-grown communicators.

Supported by the Asia Pacific Association of Communications Directors and joining us this year – the Investor Relations Professionals Association Singapore and the Public Relations and Communications Association - we highlight 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.

Nominations close October 31, 2021 at www.mediasavvy.asia.

Main Message, Bridging

Hou does not need any prompting to bring out his main message right from the start.

When asked what he thinks of economic third quarter woes and what the rest of the year would look like, Hou starts by saying the correction is not unwelcome before bridging quickly to his main message: a lot of his clients are still sitting on a lot of cash, when they should be investing it.

He follows up by saying there are three asset classes: cash, bonds and equities. But why are his clients sitting on cash, the most expensive asset now?

What a way to make an impact with the main message!

It's impressive how quickly Hou moved the topic to what he was there to say!

Catchphrases

An interview starts to zing when guests make good and snappy points and couch these in memorable terms.

Hou keeps mentioning the barbell approach, appropriate for the sophisticated nature of the audience. And Hou calls stocks “the new bond proxy”,

The anchor also picked up on it and repeated the phrase after Hou said it. Hou wins.

Not getting dragged into jargon

Hou makes it a point to avoid difficult words, even though his interviewers on Bloomberg are using a lot of financial jargon. He chooses to use simple and descriptive language instead.

Talking about how semiconductor companies are receiving more investments, Hou says: “…the race towards self-sufficiency has started, and the beneficiaries of that would be semiconductor companies, everyone is investing in factories. Come, TSMC, come Samsung, and build factories in my town!”

If you know Hou, share this article with him and congratulate him on being nominated for the Hong Bao Media Savvy Awards 2021.