Round up your personas

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As they step out into the intoxicating, exciting brave new world of college, with months of learning-by-rote and exam stress behind them, teens who till now have only aimed for great grades suddenly find themselves flush with book-smarts but skint on street-smarts. As they embark on a new phase in their lives, many teens suddenly scramble to develop adequate soft skills to ‘round out’ their personalities before college begins.
“With everyone gunning for the top marks, hardly anybody thinks of taking part in extra-curricular activities,” says Anshuli Tiwari, 17, Sri Chaitanya Junior College, “There was no effort made either by the college or any of the students to focus on self-improvement and enhancing their communication skills. My own accent and English have deteriorated after my shift from an ICSE school to a junior college. Teachers speak in the vernacular language and even though you do know how to speak, you need others to speak to you in the same language as well, to continue speaking fluently. I made a conscious effort to actively participate in debates and elocutions though, and I can now speak with confidence.”
Quick fixes though, may not work. “Listening, gauging a situation, these are alien skills to the bookworms in my school who aren’t self aware. They can spew book knowledge, but ask them a bit about current affairs or general knowledge and they’re stumped. What use is it to learn so much and not be bothered to read the newspaper? Most try and pick up skills at training centres like TIME or Career Launchers. We had public speaking clubs, but hardly anyone took notice,” says Umesh Randhwa, a graduate of Bal Bharti School.
The fear of public speaking is by far the most difficult to overcome. The ability to be articulate is high on the agenda of these teenagers who have spent far too much time proving themselves on paper, rather than in person-to-person presentation.
Afreen Arastu, 17, says, “We would get criticised if we weren’t bookworms. Competition was fierce, but most toppers couldn’t even frame a proper sentence in English. Once out of school and whether in college or looking for part-time jobs, we have to show how well we carry ourselves. Taking part in social activities was thought to be a waste of time, but now so many flounder during group discussions and personal interviews. Thankfully, I kept in touch with friends from school and would polish my skills by interactions and discussion.”