Irina Komarova and Katerina Ryndyk are successful business coaches and professional TV hosts and journalists who have worked in the TV industry for many years. Their К Cubed method uses a camera to discover the strongest sides of each participant's speech and image to build the personal brand, taking into account how the speaker is viewed by others. The training session provides specific exercises and tips for self-presentation, participating in any talks (including crisis negotiations) and speaking before a large audience. This is a unique chance to see yourself as you are seen and heard by others. The idea behind the К Cubed method is that each leader should discover his own strong features and be able to use them. The methods are customized for each leader; what's important here is not the general advice but the axis of the personality that the public image is based on.

The ability to speak so that you are heard - not just correctly and logically, but boldly, with expression and even inspiration - is especially important in the finandalindustry. First of all, the financial issues are quite complex, and then, we are living in the era of financial crises and instability, when the trust in banks is vanishing. Moreover, few Russian bankers dare speak about anything personal in public, talk about their goals, victories and disappointments - but this is important for a complete personal brand of a modern manager and leader. We shared this idea with Mr. Tosunyan, President of the Association of Russian Banks, at a conference. He then told us that he was worried about the increasing bankophobiain the Russian society. Quite often bank officials fail to present themselves well not only in the media, but even to their own customers. This is why he hardly hesitated to agree to our risky experiment: answer tricky questions without any preparation and then discuss his answers. This is basically one of the exercises of the К Cubed method, called 2+1, when one coach asks questions that may be interesting for the general public, while the other monitors all the little details of the situation at the interview. The goal of this exercise is to show that each answer is a chance to be heard that can be either used successfully or not. Now, this is how the К Cubed method was put into practice: Irina Komarova asks questions, Garegin Tosunyan answers immediately, Katerina Ryndyk shares her first impression of the answer and then everyone discusses the results. We simulate a situation when the public interview may be seen by employees, partners or an audience of any size.

THE MOST VALUABLE IS INTERNAL COMFORT AND HARMONY WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD

I. KOMAROVA: Mr. Tosunyan, what are the material values that are a luxury for you personally?

G. TOSUNYAN: The most valuable is internal comfort and harmony with the rest of the world. This is what I have to spend a lot on. Among such values is having a choice - that I could choose where, with whom and how I could go...

I. KOMAROVA: But speaking of material things, do you really not dream about famous paintings, brands and cars?

G. TOSUNYAN: In that sense, I can be a bad example because I am in a way ascetic.

I. KOMAROVA: Do you not want anything or do you already have everything?

G. TOSUNYAN: I am not interested in any products or valuables. If I buy a painting, it's the one that I like - maybe at a flea market. The price is not a choice factor for me. For instance, if I like a painting, and it's cheap - that's even better. If I like a painting but it is expensive - I will buy it if I can afford it. Or, for example, the comfort of my car is more important for me than its prestige.

E. RYNDYK: I think we should discuss this answer because the question was intentionally tricky. We have two goals here. First, too often people with a high status look swaggering and haughty on TV. I think you've managed to avoid this. It's great that you did not say anything specific such as a car brand or a sum of money. Don't let anyone look into your wallet. For speakers and public persons, the important thing is to define limits and taboo topics.

I. KOMAROVA: My questions certainly were deliberately provocative.

E. RYNDYK: We wanted to start with personal questions. Before we speak about any financial issues in details, it's important for the readers to understand what kind of person they are dealing with and what his inner world is like.

G. TOSUNYAN: This is a very important question. And let me briefly go back to my answer. An important part of material wealth is to help your close friends, relatives and children of deceased people you knew. Help with studies, for instance, if a person wants to study but cannot afford this, and that's where you can help.

I. KOMAROVA: That's already a personal story. Personal questions are an opportunity to look as being not merely a professional. Let us continue. Mr. Tosunyan, what are the reasons that you can be late for work?

G. TOSUNYAN: I don't have any boss who would force me to be on time. However, for many years I would come to the office earlier than anyone else. Now I try to never be late, too, although it depends on the circumstances.

I. KOMAROVA: I would speak more about the reason here.

G. TOSUNYAN: For instance, my child recently fell ill with high temperature late in the evening. He slept well at night and the fewer eased in the morning. Otherwise I would have been late for work, because my children are the most important for me and everything else is secondary.

I. KOMAROVA: I think you just used the opportunity that I suggested and spoke about personal things.

E. RYNDYK: You told that you have a small child and that you are a caring father. If you tell a concrete story, people will remember it, because that is what the right hemisphere of the brain records. It would not record the general words about how you are your own boss and may come to work when you want to.

I THINK THAT MANY PEOPLE HAVE A WRONG POINT OF VIEW: STABILITY IS SUPREME, AND DEVELOPMENT IS SECONDARY

I. KOMAROVA: Let us finish with personal questions for now. Why is it Sber-bank's ATM that you have in the hall of the ARB?

G. TOSUNYAN: Because our salaries are paid to the bank account rather than in cash and Sberbank was the first who offered their services. What ATM do you want us to have? If you have your own ATM, we can put it there, too.

I. KOMAROV: Instead of Sberbank's?

G. TOSUNYAN: Instead of or along with.

E. RYNDYK: Good and humorous response. This question cannot be answered seriously because it is a provocation.

I. KOMAROVA: It's great that you answered this question with a question. The interview is not an interrogation, and you can ask me questions just like I ask you.

E. RYNDYK: Any provocation should be answered. And that's how you answer: if you sense irony in the question, respond in the same way. Never try to be defensive.

I. KOMAROVA: Is there any figure of authority or a person in the banking industry who is important and influential for you?

G. TOSUNYAN: It's hard to say. I do not remember the name, but there was one banker who went into several bankruptcies but later managed to find his creditors who already forgot about him by that time, and repay their debt. This made him one of the most authoritative bankers in the world.

I. KOMAROVA: Do you feel respect for Sergei Ignatyev (Chairman of the Bank of Russia - editor's note)?

G. TOSUNYAN: Yes, the deepest respect. He is a decent person. For a government official to be that decent is surprising for me. Unfortunately, leaders like him are scarce.

I. KOMAROVA: Do you say that just to keep good relationships with the regulatory body?

G. TOSUNYAN: The Bank of Russia is not a regulatory body for the ARB. And everyone knows that my opinion of Mr. Ignatyev is sincere and objective. I deeply respect him, and late Andrey Kozlov (ex-First Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia - editor's note), and now resigned Gennady Melikyan, and many other colleagues from the Central Bank, even though we always have disputes and discussions with Mr. Ignatyev and other senior officials of the Central Bank. For instance, I believe that many of them have a wrong point of view: stability is supreme and development is secondary. I am strictly against this point of view and have always argued with Mr. Ignatyev about that.

E. RYNDYK: The question concerning a certain person was asked for a reason.

I. KOMAROVA: But you cited an interesting story about a businessman who went bankrupt for several times and repaid debts. By admiring that person, you let us know about your own personality.

E. RYNDYK: As for Mr. Ignatyev, it is more complex. The easiest thing is to talk about events or trends, the general topics. Talking about specific names and people who are alive is much more difficult because you may provoke anger with somebody, as such people may have enemies.

G. TOSUNYAN: I agree here, although I could not avoid being specific.

IT'S BETTER FOR THE BANK TO KEEP THE CUSTOMER AFLOAT. WHY SINK HIM AND THEN SEARCH FOR A REPLACEMENT?

I. KOMAROVA: By the way, Sergei Ignatyev predicts that the banking industry will experience tough times soon. Do you agree? If yes, then how can it affect the consumers?

G. TOSUNYAN: Where did you hear that Mr. Ignatyev predicts tough times? What he says is that even if such times occur, the Central Bank has enough tools to minimize the problems. Speaking of consumers, they are having troubles just like the rest of the world now.

I. KOMAROVA: So could you clarify whether you agree with Mr. Ignatyev or not?

G. TOSUNYAN: Indeed, the Central Bank has enough tools and proven anti-crisis measures to deal with possible problems. At the same time, I should say that the tough times are already here. I am against panicking, but I want everyone to understand that we have entered another phase of development of the economy that will not be over soon. After several years of calm seas, we have a permanent storm now. True, this is not a tornado, it will not crash all the boats. But sailing in the financial seas is now much more difficult.

I. KOMAROVA: Will many of your users sink?

G. TOSUNYAN: By users, do you mean banks?

I. KOMAROVA: Let me criticize you a bit. When you started speaking about Mr. Ignatyev, you told about why you argue with the Central Bank about stability and development - and that was unnecessary. This was not in my question, and so you confused me as a listener and made your answer longer.

E. RYNDYK: We mainly mean people. What will banks do during the storm to make their customers' lives easier or harder?

G. TOSUNYAN: Let us be objective. The bank, as any other business, acts for its own benefit. It is not profitable to just make people's lives easier. In business, you cannot count on charity.

E. RYNDYK: Everyone is in the same boat - both the banks and their customers. This is really important to understand.

G. TOSUNYAN: This is something different. It is in the bank's interests that you do not go bankrupt, because then it will lose you as a customer. Neither does the bank sit there and think about how to improve your wealth. The key goal of any business is to earn profit.

I. KOMAROVA: Can you at least tell us that the bank does not sit there inventing ways to push the customer out of the boat to sink him?

G. TOSUNYAN: The bank certainly does not do that. The bank earns profit if the customer stays afloat. Why would we sink a customer and then look for a replacement?

E. RYNDYK: Then what should be the policy of a strong bank with regard to the customer?

G. TOSUNYAN: You'll be surprised, but the banks are truly interested in reducing their lending rates and increasing the amount of loans, as they can earn more on a bigger turnover. They do not do it for charity - they just want to have as much solvent customers as possible. This is why we raise the issue of bailing out the customers, not the banks, so that they could survive the difficult economy.

I. KOMAROVA: These were the questions concerning your profession. And honestly, I liked your first answers more, when you used vivid images and spoke about a boat, calm seas and a storm. We even played along by asking who is going to sink. We have one big common ship for everyone. But the second part was about interest rates and so on, a kind of bank jargon that may be unclear for most of your listeners and readers.

E. RYNDYK: Actually, at that point I stopped listening to you. Please understand that it is a normal reaction for a listener from outside the banking industry. As a customer, I realized that I will not hear anything concrete.

LENDING SERVICES AND LENDING RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE BOOST THAT THE WHOLE ECONOMY NEEDS

I. KOMAROVA: Mr. Tosunyan, banks are often called the blood of the global economy.

G. TOSUNYAN: Money is the blood and banks are blood vessels.

I. KOMAROVA: Let us assume that. But for Russia, we must point out that our economy, unfortunately, is not so well-developed. We mainly mine oil and gas and look more like a digestive system rather than a whole body. Do you think this may be the reason why Russian banks now serve exclusively the physiological needs of the underdeveloped body that the Russian economy is?

G. TOSUNYAN: You know, for the body to survive, satisfying physiological needs is very important unless you want it to die.

I. KOMAROVA: But the hands and legs of our economy whithered already.

G. TOSUNYAN: Legs wouldn't walk without a good digestive system. If you meant your analogy to be an offense of the banking system, you achieved the opposite by pointing out its special importance.

I. KOMAROVA: I see that you are proud of the banking system in Russia.

G. TOSUNYAN: That's true. Why do I promote the development of lending services and lending relationships? Because they are an energy boost for the whole body. But as soon as we say "no, it is a physiological process, it has to be reduced", the whole body starts fading and dies out.

I. KOMAROVA: My question is whether banks ever start lending to other industries except mining — such as to small businesses, to set the hands and legs moving...

G. TOSUNYAN: When we speak about the digestive system, hands and legs, we should remember that there is also the head. When the head realizes what to do for the whole body to develop, it will develop an appropriate management system. I mean the money and lending policy and the financial management policy, when long-term development of banks, infrastructure, transport, communications and roads is stimulated on the level of the government. When the government provides all conditions for long-term development, every part of the body will work just fine. So it is not the banks that you should ask about insufficient lending to non-mining industries.

E. RYNDYK: I would like to make a comment about that answer. I think it was good because you started playing our game. We defined the terms such as hands, legs, digestive system, and you made a smart move by introducing the head.

I. KOMAROVA: Even before you spoke about the head, you made a good point by saying that the bank is OK with attending to the physiological needs.

E. RYNDYK: I listened to your answer about the head and it was completely clear. You basically said that it is the head that prevents banks from boosting the hands and legs. I think we need some kind of concrete solution here, we would like to hear your own answer to the problem. The reason is that when the blame is shifted to someone else, the listener is slightly dissatisfied.

G. TOSUNYAN: I tried answering your question. The banks now do the most important task: they enable people to implement their ideas regardless of the circumstances. I could tell you about charity and research by banks, but this is all insignificant comparing to the main goal, which, as I said, is that banks help the society to make it's own choices.

SECOND AND THIRD TIER MANAGERS COULD USE TRAINING AS MUCH AS THE TOP OFFICIALS

I. KOMAROVA: Is your career spectacular?

G. TOSUNYAN: I would say that I have no career in the traditional sense. A career is when you are granted an administrative status. At some point I wanted to build a career but this is probably something I would not like. I used to work in the government but then realized that I'm a stranger to these corridors. So I do not have a career per se, not to mention a spectacular career. I think I am a person of science and business. This combination is what I find best for me.

I. KOMAROVA: When a banking figure answers questions, it is also important for him to be interesting as a person. This is a secondary or tertiary goal that you should have at any public appearance.

E. RYNDYK: It's not even that important WHAT to say compared to HOW to say. You will achieve the best results if you combine features of a personal and business talk.

G. TOSUNYAN: It should be pointed out that when we speak in public, we come across a lot of negative attitude towards banks. I invite my colleagues to learn how to speak in public and with the media. At the Association of Russian Banks, we try hard to make our colleagues realize that it is not only ARB's task to deal with bankophobia. Together we must admit that our business has many rough features and many claims against us are fair. But we still perform an important function, and it is important that we are viewed not as enemies but as a significant and essential part of the economy. If my colleagues realize that after the training they will be viewed properly by the society, this will help not only their own business. This is a kind of a civil duty. And second and third tier managers could use this school as much as the top managers.