Survival of the smoothest

Last month, I was invited to be a judge for a competition – nothing on the scale of Indian Idol or any of the grueling dance competitions on TV for which I don’t have the stomach to even be an observer, leave alone a judge. But it was a competition among post-graduate college students and at stake was a chance to travel abroad, in this to a much sought after European destination, for the international level competition. This was the second year for this event and I had been a judge last year as well. I knew what to expect in terms of the process but did not expect to learn what I did.

So here we had 6 groups of 6-7 students each, all given the same problem, resources and time, to arrive at a solution that was to be presented to the judges and fellow competitors. The job of the seven member panel of judges was not just to pick the winning team, but to pick 2 individuals who would then represent India in the global competition. We had an afternoon in which to watch, an hour to ask questions of the contestants and 20 minutes to reach consensus (we had a tight timeline due to the FIFA match where Germany ended up scoring a big win)!

Well, we did the best we could and objectively arrived at the winners. But what I learned in the process was the importance of communication skills. For the second year, I found myself veering towards those kids who spoke well, the ones who were able to get their ideas across. I am sure there were many with superior reasoning ability and intellect but what use were those thoughts, locked up in brilliant minds, if they were not made accessible to others? In general, the students pursuing MBA’s fared better in this category. Being of the firm opinion that a business administration education is not necessary to be successful in life, I eagerly looked for candidates pursuing post-graduate studies in science, law or other fields. But unanimously, the MBA’s did better.

In all honesty, I think people who pursue science education think of themselves as being on a higher level, compared to students of other streams. We think logically, focus on data and arrange them in order to draw valid conclusions –that is why we are scientists! Then why do we not do well in front of an audience?

Does better communication ability come from having pursued a different stream of education? Is it necessary for all science graduate needs to add a business degree to do well? No, but they certainly need to start acquiring presentation skills, communication abilities and be comfortable interacting with others. Being cooped up in a lab, wearing a lab coat and watching equipment does not translate into visibility. It is as important to explain to a lay person what exactly you do as it is to impress your thesis committee on the intricacies of your dissertation. Until we as scientists are unable to walk both paths with ease, the once with the gift of the gab will always walk away with the accolades.