Affirmed thirteen years old Sudiksha Chunduri from Hyderabad before pressing record for her speech on “Reading In The Digital Age” for the GEMA Student Speaker Competition not expecting to be hailed the winner. In a post-event interview with GEMA, Sudiksha shared her experience and insights on how she prepared and how she feels about her win.
Representing Prerana Waldorf School, Sudiksha opened up about her love for public speaking claiming she loves speaking her heart out to people but still admitting that despite her lack of stage fright, she was nervous about missing out on important details in her speech.
Who helped you prepare the most?
Sudiksha expressed gratitude towards her father, sharing how his thoughtful insights helped her refine her tone and clarity and supported her until she gained confidence after practicing line-by-line until picture perfect.
“He taught me how to express my thoughts in a way people would want to listen.”, Sudiksha expressed. “He played a very important role in helping me out.”
She opened up about her surprise at having won the competition as she didn’t expect to do so out of nervousness and fear of having missed out essential details in her speech. Nonetheless, the whole experience to her was refreshing and exciting as she got to research on an interesting topic and putting her thoughts down was one of her favourite parts.
What else would you like to win a prize for?
Apart from being an excellent public speaker, Sudiksha has a keen interest in singing and would love to be able to participate in singing competitions and hopefully win a prize. She recounted her passion in singing ever since a young age and is now being professionally trained in traditional devotional music.
And to anyone who’s planning to participate in the competition next year, Sudiksha wishes them well acknowledging GEMA as a platform that recognises people’s efforts which would help them refine their communication and speaking skills.
As the curtains close on this year’s International Student Speaker Competition, Sudiksha’s intellectual mind and thoughtful nature proves her ability as a natural speaker and a bright mind of the future.
Watch Sudiksha’s full interview with GEMA here.