Public speaking is a skill that can be honed and it is important in the corporate world as a leadership tool. SMU Associate Professor of Corporate Communication (Practice) Gregor Halff said that corporate leaders must have specialised knowledge and be familiar with the content of their speeches. He said that public speaking is not about conveying information, as the company can issue pamphlets for that purpose. A good speech is about building and deepening the relationship with the audience, and this is the key of success behind many leaders. He added that local business leaders can listen better than their western counterparts, and attributed it to the influence of Confucianism. He also said that in our globalised world, there is no particular standard that forms the best speech, and audiences from different regions would have different demands.