Imparting confidence

On a fine Tuesday morning, Gayathri Rashmi Nair is on her way to a summer camp in Thiruvananthapuram. A student of HH The Maharaja’s College for Women, Vazhuthacaud, she is a volunteer there. This is just a part of her journey. She will be doing a public speaking workshop for children between 11 and 16 at The Reading Room in Thiruvananthapuram on May 24. A college-level public speaker and debater, writer, storyteller, marketing head at TRR Consultancy and executive editor of the college-run literary magazine, Gayathri is a girl who loves experimenting with her talent.  

She chiefly associates herself with The Reading Room in their activities. “I have been working with this reading-cum-community building space for the past two years,” she says. In the upcoming workshop titled Rhetoric 2.0, she will be discussing different aspects of public speaking. “We will teach them basic body language, content building exercises and language presentation skill,” says Gayathri, who has been into public speaking since her school days.  She, in fact, believes that school days sowed the seeds of public speaking in her. “I did my schooling in Dubai. My teachers always encouraged me to try different avenues, and I found public speaking interesting. Hence, I decided to pursue it,” she says.  

It was the influencing power of public speaking that brought her close to this. “We could make a huge impact with a few words. That is the magic of public speaking. I was drawn to that,” she recalls. Though her first attempt turned out embarrassing, Gayathri says, she continued it because of her teacher. “I was in Class VI then. I was told to speak at an event held there. My teacher helped me with content. But, on stage, I dropped the mic and ran to the back stage. My teacher asked me to return to the stage and do it again. Whenever a difficult decision pops up, I recall this incident. It inspires me,” says Gayathri, who believes public speaking is a life skill.  

In her opinion, it helps people streamline their thoughts and express ideas properly. “It also makes you careful about words. Mode of public speaking differs from person to person. Some are comfortable with extempore, while a few others want to jot down points and speak accordingly. I train people according to the nature of their talent,” says Gayathri, who is also working on her book of poetry based on the theme ‘magic’. “It is because I believe there is magic in every small act we do,” she says.  

Ask her about future plans, she says, “I want to continue to be a part of the startup. I also want to venture into the publishing industry. What we lack is good content. My aim is to make good content available at affordable expense,” she concludes.