Learning to RISE with Navhind Times

The Navhind Times workshop aptly named RISE, was held on Sunday, July 21 at Dempo House, Panaji. More than 150 students in the age group of 11 to 23 participated in the half-day workshop that was organised to help youngsters reinvent themselves, influence others, stabilise and excel in different fields. Conducted by Organizational Development consultant and certified Talent analyst, Kishore Shah, the workshop also had a few parents and teachers participating.

Shah began the session with a short video of the national anthem (without the vocals) by differently abled children which depicted the RISE theme with laser-sharp clarity. This was followed by an ice-breaker session, wherein participants were asked to appreciate their partners and to inspire them to raise the bar. He then explained the significance of the theme “RISE” (Reinvent, Influence, Stabilise and Excel) with examples which made understanding the concept easy even for the younger ones. Highlighting the importance of experiment as a part of our key life skills, he said, “It is vital to reinvent ourselves through experiments. We need to do things differently and in a better way because the law of diminishing utility keeps eroding the value of all things.” Through a few simulations, real life stories and anecdotes from his personal journey, he illustrated his point in a fun and memorable manner. His knowledge of the subject and his sense of humour had participants listening with rapt attention. By the end of the first session they were all on board and charged for the next part which was on building a strong foundation for “RISE”.

Through interactive exercises, case lets and experiments, Shah gave them a firsthand feel of the impact and significance of a strong foundation. Under this topic, he magnified the crucial role of observation skills, emotional bank Accounts, creating an environment and the importance of choice of words.

Once the foundation was in place the “STAR-POWER” life skill was shared; focussing on sequence, concept, clarity, application and impact. The first was on how to build “Personal Power” and using Marston Mouton’s DISC construct, an energetic experiment to understand the “DISC” personalities was done using balloons. The participants had fun not just blowing the balloons but also finding them in the game that followed. The laughter and energy was completely infectious! The experiment gave informative insight on personality traits, adaptations, stress management and career choices. This was followed by reward power, position power, image power and networking.

At the end a retention test was conducted and participants were divided into groups to recollect the learning and take away. Almost all the groups crossed 50 points but 2 groups stood out by listing 85 and 73 points they had learned from the workshop and were given prizes. An inspiring film on “Finish Strong” was shown to conclude the workshop.