Communication Style of the Honorable Lee Kuan Yew 1 COMMUNICATION SKILLS A prolic writer and speaker throughout his long career, r! Lee was a storyteller par none! He was articulate and con"incing, he always chooses the right blend of words, phrases and sentences to achie"e ma#imum impact! $he greatest e#ample of how r Lee wielded the power of words probably occurred occurred when he ga"e a series of radio broadcasts as part of the %attle for erger! $hrough a series of &' radio talks, scripted and spoken personally by r Lee himself, he was able to con"ince Singaporeans to encourage his cause! any would know that r Lee depended on his wife dm Kwa (eok Choo to assist in "etting his speeches! A master of the )nglish language herself, rs Lee worked close closely ly with with r Lee to produ produce ce stir stirrin ring g speec speeches hes that were were not only only simple simple to understand but memorable and impactful
2 STRAIGHTFORWARD COMMUNICATION *Lee Kwan Yew+s style of communication reects the kind of leader he is! He tells you straight what you need to do in order to lead a better life!. /dran 0unadi, Account 1irector
*/ grew up watching Lee Kuan Yew on $2 and at political rallies, and to this day, / ha"e not seen another local politician with the same re and force of con"iction that LKY displayed in the earlier years! He was always brutally honest and often contro"ersial! /f you were the opposition and facing him at a political debate, (od help you! any local correspondents ha"e shared that no global statesmen terried them more than our "ery own Lee Kuan Yew!. aureen $seng, 1irector of Client Ser"ices
Lee Kuan Yew displayed "ery direct to the point and "ery honest in his opinions!
3 SIMPLE LAYMAN LANGUAGE *My purpose in writing my books is to get the average ‘O’ level graduates … to read it and understand it. So, my wife was my scrubber. ou know, !’m an orator, or at least ! try to be." #$ So, ! have %oratorical& 'ourishes when ! speak. ou must have 'ourishes because then you capture people’s attention and you e(pand on it) then you’re able to go back and repeat it, but not in words. So she tells me, look * and she’s a draftsman) as a lawyer, she did all the drafting of agreements, contracts, conveyances and so on) so she uses words precisely * she says, ‘+hy do you want to write it like this -he ‘O’ level boy will not understand this. +hy not use a simple word instead of this polysyllabic word+
$his is how he began to write simple, clear, crisp, which means, no con"oluted, sentences! . Lee Kuan Yew in Con"ersations with Lee Kuan Yew3 Citi4en Singapore3 How to %uild A 5ation 6(iants of Asia7 He rened his writing style to be e"en more direct and concise, to write in short sentences and in the acti"e "oice so that the man in the street could understand what he wanted to say!
4 INSPIRING THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS )#cerpts from r Lee Kuan Yew+s speech to inisters of State and senior ci"il ser"ice o8cers at the 9egional Language Centre on :ebruary ';, &<;<3 ! want to convince you, rst, of the importance of clear, written communication) second, that you can master it, if you apply yourself. -he use of words, the choice and arrangement of words in accordance with generally accepted rules of grammar, synta( and usage, can accurately convey ideas from one mind to another. !t can be mastered, even though you are not an /nglishman." l$ He encourages go"ernment o8cers to do not write in code when writing notes, minutes or memoranda, so that only those informed to their thoughts can understand! He asked them write so simply so that any other o8cer who knows nothing of the sub=ect can still understand them! $o do this, a"oid confusion and gi"e words their ordinary meanings, he said!
He also belie"es in simplicity of sharing of ideas! He once said * 0ut somebody wanted to impress me by dressing up his ideas in many important words. 1e(t time impress me with the simple way you get your ideas across to me !- $his ser"es as e"ident how he was fond of simplicity and not ambiguous of his choices!
*! speak as a practitioner. !f ! had not been able to reduce comple( ideas into simple words and pro2ect them vividly for mass understanding, ! would not be here today.3 LKY
5. HIS STORY TELLING TECHNIQUES Lee Kuan Yew is famous for his story telling techni>ues like con"ersational language which is not so popular other famous politician! His classic e#amples3
Ane!"#e $"n %"& A'e()*n+ ,e(e)-e S)n*,"(e/ *$hey don+t know where Singapore is, they are not interested! $hey think of only ichael :ay, then maybe caning, chewing gum ? strange odd place this Singapore!. %ook, Con"ersations with Lee Kuan Yew 6arch &@, '&@7
C"n-e(+*#)"n*0 L*n*e
*You lose nothing by being polite! $he answer is B5o+, but please say it politely and gi"e the reasons ? )#plain to me why B5o!+ 1on+t change B5o+ to BYes!+ 1on+t be a fool! /f there was a good reason why it is B5o,+ it must remain B5o,+ but the man must be told politely!. at the 2ictoria $heatre, September @ &<D
. HIS CULTURAL VALUES AND ELIEF SYSTEM IN COMMUNICATION En bilingualism, r Lee practised what he preached . he took up Chinese lessons and made sure his children were educated in Chinese in their early years! He was clear that )nglish had to be Singapore+s language of business and administration but he saw the need for Singaporeans to learn a second language . andarin, alay or $amil . so that they could be rooted in their culture and "alues through their mother tongues!
I want to convince you, frst, o the importance o clear, written communication; second, that you can master it, i you apply yoursel F#ee $uan ew
A man bows as he pays his respects to late former Grime inister Lee Kuan Yew at $an=ong Gagar community club, in the constituency which Lee represented as ember of Garliament since &
