My formal “AoC” (Arts of Communication) journey began after a chance meeting with Mihir, when I was visiting Boston in 2016 for my global training at Bain & Co. I had attended Mihir’s workshop on Arts of Communication at Ashoka University the previous year, where I was a student. The 2-day workshop and Mihir’s presence charmed me, and helped me develop an interest in the field of communication, which I believe will last a lifetime. After our meeting, I started collaborating with Mihir as his teaching and research assistant, and over the last few years I have accompanied him at multiple Indian universities for the AoC course. Since then, every time I walked into an AoC class – it has been many a dozen times – I felt as if it was the first time! Mihir’s interactive, enthusiastic, and engaging teaching style made the content look fresh. I was glued, and would find myself on my toes waiting for the next moment to uncover. And this wasn’t just me. It was just everyone in the room. I doubt if many instructors could achieve such a high level of finesse and polish, and amaze all participants, including repeat ones! 

The course learnings weren’t just restricted to the classroom. As an instructor, Mihir designed a comprehensive package to make the course a memorable experience. For a full-semester course, every week there was a fun activity. Some days we learnt salsa and tango, other days we did Ceili dance or Bollywood freestyle. There were also Masterchef-like food preparation event. Sports was an integral part of the experience, and we played all kinds of sports from cricket, soccer, basketball, ultimate frisbee to name a few. For short boot camp-style courses, these fun activities happened everyday after a long day of classes. These out-of-class sessions helped build an AoC community, where members stood with one another both inside and outside the classroom. But the most important element which brought everyone together were the speeches. I saw more than a dozen groups – where the participants were initially only little acquainted with each other – come together as a family during and after the course. This created a safe space for participants to comfortably share some of the closest moments of their lives with the audience, which, in turn, led to a natural bonding. Hence a positive feedback loop got created. The overwhelming and heartfelt tributes, and the standing ovation which Mihir received at the end of the courses spoke for the cathartic and touching experience which everyone had. 

Speaking for myself again, this course holds a dear and special place in my heart. The days spent helping deliver the course have been some of the best days of the year for me. Being driven by a sense of purpose, and a desire to contribute through effective coaching and mentoring, I got the perfect opportunity to demonstrate leadership and provide motivation. I could use my knowledge and expertise to mobilize the participants to overcome their fear of public speaking, and emerge victorious. The enabling environment created by Mihir empowered me to be an effective friend and guide to the participants which comprised of diverse groups, from young college students to senior civil servants. Working with them hand-in-glove right from their first draft to the actual delivery was enriching and exciting. While coaching, I “travelled” with students through deeply personal and precious moments of their lives. It was a roller-coaster ride, and an almost transformational journey for me. Following their speech delivery, I enjoyed giving them on-the-spot constructive, actionable feedback which I peppered with tongue-in-cheek puns and jokes. It helped them feel relaxed, and the audience would anticipate my funny comments for the subsequent speakers. But the most rewarding part was when they would separately thank me to acknowledge my unique contribution to their preparation. The entire experience was always exhaustive and touching for me. After every course, it would take many days for me to come out of the "AoC Wonderland!” 

While you read this set of 80 carefully curated speeches, I hope you too go through an exciting and rewarding journey – one of introspection and self-reflection. May these stories of love, hope, resilience, faith, and courage help you live your life a little better, and make it more beautiful!