We included Jamil Farshchi on our “Best Public Speakers” list because of his physical poise, vocal cadence, strong starts and closes, and use of analogies. Jamil is the Chief Information Security Officer at Equifax.
by Stephanie Bickel
We reviewed his best public speakers video about the next generation of cybersecurity leaders.
Jamil’s greatest leadership communication skills:
Strong starts and closes: Jamil opens with a powerful statement about the record number of people that left jobs in 2021. He brought the topic full circle and ended with these open roles creating the ability build the next generation of cybersecurity leaders.
Excellent visual leadership: He maintains a nice posture and direct, engaging eye contact to convey physical poise.
Great use of analogies and humor: Jamil references Alabama football and Nick Saban’s approach to reloading talent year after year. He even shares a bit of humor being an Oklahoma Sooner fan. Jamil easily translates the success of this approach to the cybersecurity space. (:33 - 1:00)
Vocal cadence and pace: He speaks in a controlled manner, using an emphatic tone to highlight important words and phrases. For example, “7th straight quarter of double digit growth. He also strategically pauses which creates the same effect.
What Jamil could do to improve his leadership communication skills:
Strengthen gestures: Jamil could incorporate more expansive gestures to highlight positive news. Grand gestures, which are gestures that expand outside the frame of the body, convey passion and energy. When he is using his hands, he could use more linear gestures. Any break in the wrist or bend in the hand is a weaker approach.
Use more expressive facial movements: He could benefit from moving his mouth more to articulate his words and project his voice more clearly. We also recommend that he smiles more, especially when adding humor, to further emphasize funny moments. (:33 - :40)
Word choice: At times, weaker language detracts from the power of his message. He uses some fillers and qualifying language. For example, “really”, “whatever”, “for real”, “I believe”.
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