A public-speaking course in which the trainer does all the talking.
The Anurag Aggarwal Institute of Public Speaking is up a narrow staircase between two shops in Kamla Nagar market, Delhi, next door to the Delhi University. We were there for a “taster” session, advertised by SMS. The big instruction room was furnished with wall-sized smiling photographs of Anurag Aggarwal and his wife, and on one wall was the institute’s motto: “First you make an attitude then attitude makes you.”
There were about 10 participants in all — six MBA students and two other professionals besides us.
Aggarwal strode in, flamboyantly. “Good morning and happy birthday!” he said — since each day is “the beginning of the rest of your lives”.
Aggarwal told us he used to be shy and that a similar course had changed his life. This struck an immediate chord with the audience. Peppering his talk with jokes — mainly about marriage — he highlighted how his training would boost our confidence and improve communication skills. Sessions would involve some “competition”; by the looks of the gathering Aggarwal wouldn’t have to try too hard to rouse the competitive spirit. All he wanted was “100 per cent trust”, and the fee. Rs 20,000 buys you 20 four-hour sessions, over five months. Women get Rs 2,000 off. Extras include “off-site training”, river rafting, “team-building activities” — and salsa lessons.
Most participants also wanted to improve their English. Aggarwal was upfront about the time involved.
If the “base” was weak, it could take up to two years. To demonstrate his mastery, he shot off 72 sentences using six pronouns and 12 tenses in 30 seconds flat. If you can do that, he said, grammar will come naturally and you won’t fear making mistakes in public. Although we didn’t do any practice exercises, that didn’t seem to matter for at least two participants, who were ready to sign up.
As Aggarwal was handing over to his staff, the lone woman in the group asked how to approach an upcoming job interview. Aggarwal answered with an anecdote about fishing unsuccessfully in the Model Town lake, with ice-cream as bait. He had to, instead, lure the fish with what they like. The upshot? “Don’t say what is on the tip of your tongue, tell them what they want to hear.” The question is, do I want to hear more of him? I’d say he convinced me to undertake training. Only in another institute.
Score: 5/10. The trainer did all the public speaking
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