Bit of This and Bit of That

  My class teacher in grade 5 selected me to participate in an inter class elocution competition. All that was explained to me was that I had to give a ‘bhashan’ – a speech on the given topic.   With the excitement to learn something new and the pride of being among the selected few, I told my mother all about it. She too had little knowledge about what to do and how to go about it. Internet was not heard of in those days. She spoke to a fellow parent of my school who she knew could guide me. She obliged and wrote the complete speech and wished me luck. So, I assumed I had to mug it up and blurt it out on the D-day. And so, I did. Surprisingly, I even won a prize. This is how public speaking was introduced to me. I went on to participate in many such competitions and win a few. Over a period, I realized that there was something lacking in the way I spoke but was too naive to identify it. When I was working at Infosys, I heard about the Toastmasters’ Club where the members ho...