THE SPIRIT OF FEARLESS SPEAKING
Photos: courtesy
If you have the fear of public speaking, you are surely not alone! Stage fright is a very common phobia indeed. Even many influential politicians and comedians have suffered from it. Of course, it is not just politicians and comedians who have to speak in public; people from all walks of life, at some point or another, need to address an audience, be it when delivering corporate presentations or when making speeches at banquets and parties.
Take the case of Md. Raihan Khandker - who is currently a final year student at the Department of Marketing, University of Dhaka – as an example. Having participated in many business competitions, he realises that one of the keys to success is to be a confident presenter, a good orator.
With this in mind, in January 2015, he founded Podium, a free idea sharing platform. Together with Vice President Moontaha Mahfuz Tohfa and General Secretary Taj-E-Solaiman - and all the team members - he runs the stage where students come and give speeches and hone their public speaking skills.
If you are an university student, you probably have to give presentations in the classroom anyway. But the number of those presentations is, in many cases, not ample enough. This is where Podium can help you: it gives you the opportunity to practice public speaking and cultivate this skill.
Currently, Podium operates in five universities. "The idea is to work on a single platform," Raihan, the Founder and President of Podium said. "If we work together in an united fashion, many things are possible."
It doesn't really matter which university you are from. You can sign up and speak at the Podium regardless of whether your institution has a Podium wing or not. "We hold two Podium sessions a month," Raihan informed.
Each student gets about three to four minutes to share their ideas. The Podium is also graced by many eminent personalities as guest speakers, from CEOs to comedians.
All the speeches are uploaded on YouTube. "Other than providing the opportunity to develop your public speaking skill, another objective of Podium is to give you a scope to enrich your CV," Raihan says. "When you are submitting your CV online to a company, you can copy and paste the YouTube link to your speech and promote yourself to your potential employer."
But it's not all about public speaking or getting a job. Essentially, Podium is a platform for students to share their experiences and ideas. From speaking up on sexual harassment to sharing your notion of what 'happiness is…' the organisation is a hotbed of sharing and exchanging thoughts and passions.
On the other hand, Podium has a sister concern, named Crash Course, which runs in-depth courses on different topics. And this is not like typical workshops, where you just listen to the experts and then get a certificate at the end. You have to give an exam that will gauge your learning, and certification is given on merit.
Podium wishes to expand into more educational institutions. "We don't want to be limited to universities," Raihan said when talking about future plans. "We want to expand to schools and colleges too."
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