The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Communication is her forte

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 05, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Communication is her forte

— PHOTO: K. PICHUMANI

Nina John.

Armed with a management degree in marketing, Nina John began teaching soft skills after she was disappointed with the way marketing theories and practices were used to develop advertisements. She began mentoring youngsters and helped found the Toastmasters International’s Clubs in Chennai and Kerala.

In a chat with R. Sujatha she traces her path that brought her several laurels, including the JRD Tata Young Entrepreneur National Award of the Decade – 1992-2002 and the Melvin Jones Worthy Person Award in 2004.

Nina John wears several hats, all equally challenging: corporate trainer; visiting faculty at the Chennai Business School and MOP Vaishnav College; chairperson of the Bharat Yuva Shakti Trust; and industry representative on the Board of Studies at Women’s Christian College, are some of them.

Four years ago, along with 20 others, she founded the Toastmasters International’s chartered unit in Chennai. By July this year, the city will have over a dozen clubs, some of them community-based and others set up by corporate houses. The idea is to improve communication and leadership skills among the members.

“Techies are good at work but their communication skills are poor,” she says. “At Toastmasters International, we are trying to build a mutually supportive environment.” The ‘ice breaker’ and the ‘inspire your audience’ sessions are generally emotional as participants get involved in their speeches.

The club members volunteer to help new comers by becoming mentors. Each member has work to do: it could be master of ceremonies, time keeper, grammarian, evaluator, role player, and so on. There is also a person to keep track of ‘crutch’ words such as the pauses, the ahs… and the ummms… when a person delivers a speech.

“A person who has attended the club for six months will notice a remarkable difference in how he or she makes speeches,” she says. “Each one has a milestone. We had a computer professional who wanted to be able to string words into sentences and speak for five minutes.” An accident left him with a speech disability. Before the accident he could speak for 20 minutes, Ms. John recalls.

Anyone aged 18 to 80 can join the community clubs by paying the annual fees and can discontinue the programme once they feel that they have improved. In a couple of instances in the city, college students are heading the clubs. Following demand, a club has been started in T. Nagar too.

On April 19, the clubs from various areas will participate in a competition in the city. The winner will go to Colombo for the next round. The winner at this competition will go to the Club’s headquarters, Los Angeles, where the finals will be held. Two years ago an Indian from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, won the finals.

“We are aiming for a winner from Asia this year,” she says.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu