In the midst of the World Cup action, Dhoni and Raina were fielding questions from teenagers at the Oxford Bookstore. Sample this: “When did you hit your first six?” and the answer was a cryptic, “As soon as I started playing cricket!”
Okay, they were not the real Dhoni and Raina but two kids doing role play at the RJ workshop conducted by Oxford Bookstore and Kid's Café in association with 104.8 Chennai Live.
The week-long workshop saw kids being trained on the various aspects and nuances of radio jockeying by RJ Sano of ChennaiLive. The sessions were lively and pumped with the energy of the enthusiastic kids jumping at every opportunity to speak or ask questions. Sano did manage the high-energy bunch quite adeptly with activities. One such was the role play activity where I met “Dhoni” and “Raina”. The concept was a dial-in show where the callers could ask questions to the celebs on air.
“On the first day I wanted to find out why kids wanted to spend their precious summer holidays in a workshop, because for me summer holidays are precious. But I found out that all of them were passionate about public speaking and no one was here because their parents wanted them to attend it,” said Sano.
“Kids today are well connected with what's happening around them. They have a lot of information. I just helped with making that info interesting and taught them how to grab other's attention,” she added.
The seven to 16-year-olds will get to do more than just learn techniques. They will go on air for two hours on ChennaiLive and will put their learning and talent to use. Sano says that they will get an opportunity to express their talent. For instance, a show based on the India-Sri Lanka World Cup final will have kids reading out a poem they have written, sing, rap or do cricket commentary based on their interests, because RJing is not about expressing yourself just by talking, she shares.
KARTHIK, VII, Chennai Public School: I have also attended the VJ workshop. I am now confident about boldly speaking in front of an audience. I have also improved in terms of speaking fluently and thinking quickly. I am now inspired to become an RJ.
AKSHARA, III, Bhavan's Rajaji Vidyashram: Earlier I used to be scared to talk before a crowd but now I am quite confident. I can see good improvement in myself.
FAAIZAH, VI, PSBB: After the workshop, I am able to speak boldly and confidently. I was told that I need to work on my clarity and speak slower.
Participants share some tips on public speaking:
Prepare beforehand and memorise the main points
Do not repeat the same thing over and over again
Communicate properly and do not use words that others might not understand
Do not move constantly while talking
Talk freely and enjoy yourself
Don't leave a long pause in between
Try to have fun while talking; do not be serious
