GLS University’s Faculty of Commerce organised a two day workshop on Creative Writing & Public Speaking Workshop which was led by Ms. Ruhee Parelkar, the youngest Trinity Trainer, Writer & Poet on the 22nd and 23rd January,2025.
The workshop spanned from making logical arguments for debates to writing soul capturing poetries. She first and foremost said that research is the most important part, be it for debate or elocution or even poetry. Doing in-depth research to find hard facts and statistical data can help make an argument in debate credible. Real life examples help to convey the message in a better way in debates as well as elocution. The opening should always be strong to grab people’s attention, the data collected should be from trusted resources, using quotation and anecdotes can be helpful too.
Further she explained how body language, eye contact and the way of speaking plays an important role in debate, elocution, poetry recitation or any other public speaking situation. The hand gestures should feel natural and not excessive. As well as speaking in monotone should be avoided, one should facial expressions without overly dramatizing it. Using strong body language but one should know the difference between assertion and aggression.
While talking about Just a Minute (JAM), she said that as soon as one gets the topic, one should analyse and break it down into smaller idea quickly, thinking of key points related to the topic is important. While speaking one shouldn’t go too in-depth into the topic, instead they should cover more and speak longer.
Delving into the topic of poetry, she said that there are some building blocks that are used while writing a poem, these building blocks include structure, form, sound, rhythm, imagery, detail, meaning, emotion and diction. Putting all this together and creating, there are some things one should keep in mind like structuring it well, capturing the reader’s attention with a striking opening, the idea or the theme should develop in the next stanzas and ending with a powerful closing thought or message so that it leaves a lasting impression on the reader.
Going further onto poetry recitation, she explained that it is important to choose the right poem, one you feel a personal connection to, consider how complex it is, there should be some depth or meaning or that it tells a captivating story to keep the audience engaged. One should make note of the mood of the poem, is it joyful, tragic, dramatic, and accordingly set their tone for the recitation. Ending the workshop, she encouraged everyone to practice and read more to enhance their skills which can help them at various points in life.