Time to 'think on your feet'

William Berbach has once stated, "The truth isn't the truth until people believe you, and they can't believe you if they don't know what you're saying, and they can't know what you're saying if they don't listen to you, and they won't listen to you if you're not interesting, and you won't be interesting unless you say things imaginatively, originally, freshly." This quote expresses the essence of the extreme need for effective communication and networking, which have become paramount in today's fast moving society in order to inspire people, share knowledge and in turn achieve a rapid career growth.

The Gavel Club of the University of Moratuwa which is an affiliate of Toastmasters International has been in operation within the University, honing the communication skills of the undergraduates and taking them to new heights of professionalism. After the completion of two successful intra-university speech contests, the Gavel Club is heading for organising 'Think on Your Feet-2007', a workshop for presentation skills and professional communication skills which will be held on Saturday, August 18 at the auditorium of the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa.

This fascinating event is organised as a sense of duty that they owe to the society as a whole, which would unleash the true communication capabilities of its participants. Just take a look at the world and our country. Many misinterpretations are made by people and the results can sometimes be detrimental.

Furthermore, if a person comes up with an innovative piece of work, he will have to prove himself not only by showing his creation, but simply by letting an inspiring set of words flow out of his mouth. Therefore, all of this converges to the simple fact that today's scientific and economic development would not be cast for the advantage of the country unless the forerunners of the country as well as every corporate personality sharpens their skills in expressing themselves effectively.

As Martin Luther King has stated, "In the end we are not worried about the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends". Therefore it is apparent that the silence of the right people can do immense harm to the whole world, just as the wrong people who are good communicators can. As a country we are trapped in the same position for ages with lack of soft skills of Sri Lankans as one prime factor.

Therefore, the major intentions behind this event are promoting presentation skills and enhancing professional communication skills of the participants as well as providing a learning opportunity for Club members. When it comes to the topic 'communication', it is universal to everyone.

Therefore this event will be open for a wide range of professionals such as managers of organisations, engineers, lecturers, industrial working teams, teachers and anyone else who are interested who may be even university students, school prefects or students. An able set of speakers comprising Niranjan De Silva, a competent toastmaster and CEO of Metropolitan Computers Pvt. Ltd, M. Z. Saleem, Advanced Toastmaster Bronze and General Manager of SLT, Dev Wijethunge, Advanced Toastmaster and professional trainer, and Dian Gomes, Group Director of MAS Holdings and head of MAS Intimates will be educating the gathering on the topics 'How to do a winning corporate presentation', 'Think differently', 'Communicate with confidence' and 'Leadership and building world class teams', respectively. The sessions would be interactive sessions, and the participants would be awarded with a certificate at the end of the program.

The hereditary fact of being stuck in the same old 'ordinary communicator' tag has now been stamped out from practice. A new era of effective communication has begun, and harnessing the power of effective communication has become yet another target as important as gaining technical or management expertise. This can range from proving yourself in an interview to a corporate presentation to inspiring an entire country on something worthwhile that you truly believe in. Therefore, spending a bit on such an event would undoubtedly be a worthy investment for any organisation or individual.

Aravinda Dassanayake