Finding Your Voice: A Skills Session with Mohammad Karim

My name is Oluwakayode Junaid, and I am a History and Politics student at the University of Warwick. I have a strong interest in public policy and government affairs. I find that the empowerment of young people, through seminars and opportunities like those with the Patchwork programme, helps build confidence in their desired fields. This leads to an impactful diverse political landscape that considers the opinions of the next generation of leaders and brings them into the conversation.

Starting Strong

The skills session with Mohamad Karim was very impactful; in this session, Mohammad shared key tips on how to communicate effectively. It encouraged me to gain a deeper understanding of how to illustrate myself in a variety of public settings. What stood out to me was to start strong in order to set the tempo for the remainder of your speech/presentation, since it immediately engages the audience. The use of hand gestures provides even more visual stimuli to make sure the audience doesn’t lose focus. This also resonated with me, specifically, as a reminder to always appear confident and calm, even when facing a big crowd of people.

Starting strong in a speech also increases your momentum and can serve as a confidence booster in itself, thus setting the tone for the rest of your presentation.

Art of Persuasion

I also appreciated how Mohammad mentioned the importance of persuasion. I learned that for politicians, persuasion is a vital part of their rise to power, as they need to be able to communicate their ideas and policies in a manner that captures public approval and recognition from voters and other politicians alike. Their ability to communicate with a vast number of individuals ties into their personal brand and how well they can convey their ideas with the public. This can be seen in the electoral successes of Prime Ministers such as Tony Blair between 1997 to 2005.

The art of persuasion can also be used for one’s own personal benefits. For example, in anyplace of work if you are able to portray your talent and communicate that effectively to your bosses these skills  can help you obtain promotions and recognition. 

Simplicity 

I learned it is always important to know what you’re talking about, drawn from Pathos (facts) and you don’t always need to present them in a robotic manner, instead allowing yourself flexibility to reach out to the audience and engage them so they don’t lose interest. This includes personalising your speech and being vulnerable. 

Giving a well-rounded speech or presentation doesn’t necessarily mean perfection. Here I learned that the ability to change your delivery style based on the audience further enhances your skills as a great communicator. 

Message to the speaker: “Thank you Mohammed for the wonderful insight and tips on public speaking and breaking down each way to enhance our confidence skills”