Grooming, Hygiene, Communication, Body Language and Etiquette

IMPA Mumbai kicked off its activities on the auspicious occasion of Gudi Padwa (31st March), with a 90 minute session with a group of young girls at St. Catherine’s Home. Sweets were distributed for the entire home including staff and this gesture was much appreciated by the sisters who run the home.

The consultants are working with a group of 32 girls who have appeared for their X or XII board exams. A structured program was worked out in advance, with emphasis on grooming, hygiene, communication, body language and etiquette.

Day 1 was dedicated to getting the girls comfortable with the consultants and understanding their levels of communication and understanding. 4 more sessions were scheduled for the month of April.

The consultants started with a round of introductions, first the consultants and then the girls. Apart from stating name and interests, each person had to use at least one adjective to describe herself. This generated a lot of laughter and acted as an ice breaker. Then they embarked on a story telling session where the consultants sat in a circle and started off a ghost story (by popular demand!) and the girls had to carry on the thread. Everyone had a lot of fun doing this and the consultants were amazed at how imaginative some of the girls were. This was followed by a round of Dumb Charades with a difference. The girls split into pairs and each pair had to come and act out a situation. They again surprised the consultants with their spontaneity and enthusiasm.

The consultants ended the session setting them tasks for the next session.

Image Consultants involved in the activities for Day 1: Taraa Vermaa Senguptaa, Mamta Deval, Greeshma Thampi, Aanchal Rathee, and Devanshi Gandhi.

Day 2
The consultants started with the 1-minute speeches, a task assigned to the girls the previous week. Having assumed that most of the girls would finish in less than a minute, the consultants were amazed when the first girl spoke for more than 7 minutes! Her story was so lovely and poignant that it moved everyone. The girls spoke about all kinds of things – their friends, interests, ambitions, school, elections, to profound topics like Aaj ki naari, corruption, and silence!

They then sang and danced beautifully, holding everyone spellbound with their talent and creativity.

These sessions have been immensely enriching for the consultants.

Image Consultants involved in the activities for Day 2: Devanshi Gandhi, Greeshma Thampi, Aanchal Rathee, Mamta Deval, and Taraa Vermaa Senguptaa.

Day 3
A room filled with 30 odd bubbly teenagers in little clusters, squat on the floor engrossed in rehearsals. They hardly noticed that we had even come in. Each group had a news story to present to us. So from international and Indian news to sports and movie reviews, we got it all via different presenters of the team and the support of vibrant props and drama. Feedback/tips on how one could maximize on their verbal, vocal and visual skills were given almost immediately.

Other topics covered for the day were poise and posture in various situations from one at an interview to a chat out with friends. How we sit, stand, walk or carry ourselves was taken by Devanshi Gandhi. Suunil Kini stormed in with vital dos and don’t during an interview, keeping the girls quite attentive and may I add, entertained. I handed out a score ’10 on 10′ card in grooming without which one must never leave home. Here the importance of hygiene and personal care was drilled home with some key examples. Mamta Deval graciously got the girls up and about for every activity while keeping track of time.

For assignments the girls were asked to spring clean their dormitories and personal spaces for a check by us next week. Also, they were asked to prepare of a mock personal interview keeping in mind all that was taught during this session.

Sister Julie walked us out thanking and reassuring us of the need for self-presentation in the world today. She said she was grateful for this kind effort put in by us for the girls at St. Catherine’s. Sister, the pleasure was all ours 🙂

Day 4
The activity for the day was to guide the girls on ‘Interview Skills’. Aanchal Rathee, Jyothi Prakash and Gauri Gupta from IMPA participated in the activity. The first half hour was spent on educating the girls regarding the expectations of employers, hygiene, grooming & dressing for the interview. Greeting, self-introduction and initial conversation with the receptionist was explained in detail. The body language & etiquette while waiting for their turn, entering the interview room, greeting the interviewers, sitting posture & handling oneself during the course of interview was demonstrated, to enable the girls to grasp all the details visually. Mock interview sessions were held thereafter, to further reinforce the learning.

The girls were very responsive and attempted the interview sessions, making an effort to speak in English throughout. We appreciated the same and gave positive feedback to each of them to improve their body language, posture & interactive skills.

Tips were also given on developing a good resume and the key factors to be mentioned therein. The homework for next week was to develop a one page basic resume.

Thereafter we proceeded to check the arrangement and organisation of their cupboards and personal belongings, which was their homework from the previous week. Sister accompanied us personally and we found them all arranged neatly and in order. Sister was very happy with the session and personally thanked us for reiterating and reinforcing practical aspects of hygiene, habits & etiquette. All in all it was a super session!

Day 5
The session started with checking resumes written by the girls. They had all made a genuine effort to put in all possible information, which was great. We wrapped up with a recap of all they had learnt and the girls explained how the sessions would help them in their lives.

The surprise element of the day was a one-hour cooking session with Abhinanda Bhattacharya of Peppercorns – a gourmet caterer. The girls participated enthusiastically in making sandwiches and bread rolls, which was a lesson in making tasty items utilizing leftover food.

The girls handed over a beautiful ‘thank you card for all of us. Sister Sagaya and her team were very appreciate of our work too.

‎Session conducted by: Gauri Gupta and Taraa Vermaa Senguptaa