Coaching in public speaking for netas

Kochi: Gone are the days when politicians were great orators and crowd pullers. Several aspiring netas have approached personal trainers with political parties scratching their heads to find suitable candidates for coming civic elections,

A city-based firm said at least 100 potential candidates belonging to major political parties are undergoing training under them.

Another institute here claims it has so far trained more than 200 leaders up to district committees.

Karthik Krishnan, the chief faculty at Leaders Academy, said politicians approach them to improve their skills mainly in public speaking.

"Some are novices. Some are experienced. But all those who approach us seek to present themselves to the public with clarity,” he said.

“All the politicians want to reflect their personality through their speeches but these days many lack the gift of the gab. So we give them confidence through training”.

Many top politicians in Kerala are students of the academy, but he refused to reveal their names for obvious reasons.

Left, right or centre, they have no hesitation to admit to nervousness and stage fright.

The academy was started by none other than the late Sukumar Azhikode, one of the greatest public speakers of Kerala who himself had tried his luck in electoral politics but failed It started functioning in 2007.

According to Prof M. K. Sanu, public speaking skills of politicians is important but they should perform their duties. Mere training will not get them desired results or votes, he added.