On 19th March 2024, I was invited to participate as a Judge and chief guest for a fantastic program called Bharat@2047 – Our Vision My Mission” – powerpoint based competition for youth.
This program was a part of celebrations of 77 years of independence of our country Bharat, by Vivekananda Kendra, Hyderabad Branch.
The volunteers of Vivekananda Kendra have been working with numerous colleges in Hyderabad including degree and Engineering colleges since December 2023 and have held college level and then filtered Eight top teams for finale which was held today at Babu Jagjivanram Bhavan, Kothapet, Hyderabad.
I was sitting as a judge and saw the young teams of boys and girls display their confidence, dynamism, vision for the country and also pride via their lovely presentations.
As a judge, I was in a conundrum when asked to score against the 5 criterias for scoring which were – Content, Concept, Design, Presentation and Team work.
Each team had done great research, they had planned and work collaboratively and also shared the sections each member of the team will talk about.
I had a immediate sense that I am looking at the future leaders of Bharat, They will be not only influencing people but also be the torch bearers of Nationalism and Patriotism. They will be future enterprueners, leaders and icons.
Since I wanted them to be perfect I shared some of my observations.
1) I introduced them to the technique of presentation called Pecha Kuchu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PechaKucha) which is a japanese form of presentation. the emphasis was to reduce the text content on slides and more focus on pictures and storytelling.
2) Teamwork translates to splitting the slides and talking over them. this has to be visible when the team presents.
3) Contrast background and text to make presentations more appealing.
4) Proper use of Font colors and Images which are not skewed.
5) Not reading the slides but infact talking more spontaneously on the topic of the slide.
6) Talking in 1x speed with control over breathing, pausing and making the punctuations heard.
These are skills that one can develop with practise and effort.
A great storyteller is a great presenter, A great presenter will certainly engage the audience and convince them.
I thoroughly enjoyed this event and congratulate the winners and the participants equally for the effort they had put. There is always a lesson to takeaway and I am sure these young minds will take it with a positive stride and excel.
I can now feel Bharat @2047 is going to be in good hands.
