April 17, 2017, by The Ingenuity Lab
Darinka Burovska: From Introvert to Public Speaking Champion
“Effective communication is delivering the right message, to the right people and at the right time” – Darinka Burovska (MSc Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Management)
Found it hard to blend in with people from different cultural backgrounds? Looking for tips to improve your communication skills?
This week, we invited our current student Darinka Burovska (MSc Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Management) the ”winner of Most Motivational Speech” of The University of Nottingham Speech Contest 2017 to share her experience of changing from an introvert to a public speaking champion.
Let’s get started…
Why did you choose to study Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Management?
I always wanted to start my own business but wasn’t brave enough when I was younger.
After graduating in Computer Science, my curiosity was still not satisfied, so I decided to enrol in a Masters in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Management, as the course offers unlimited opportunities in the business world. Combined with technical knowledge, you can make a huge contribution to every company, every startup, every institution and finally to the world.
How has this course helped you to develop your communication skills?
Effective communication is delivering the right message, to the right people and at the right time.
This course offers us a great chance to learn how to effectively “communicate” with and “speak” to our target market. Also, we had opportunities to participate in varied events, where we learned and improved our communication skills through communicating with entrepreneurs, investors and academics.
What would you say to international students thinking about studying abroad for their masters?
This experience offers much higher value than the degree itself.
It helps international students increase their cultural awareness and offers a great training opportunity for people to sharpen their “survival” skills and the ability to cope with uncertainty. Moreover, it helps students to grow and develop skills outside the school through varied activities, workshops and trainings. You get a chance to meet like-minded people from all over the world.
What piece of advice would you give to anyone who wants to improve their communication skills?
Communication skills cannot be learned from book. You need to practise through interacting and communicating with people, not only your friends, but also classmates and strangers you meet at events.
You have to take every chance to make “public” speech, be it class presentation, networking event, family gathering or startup competition.
For example, Ingenuity17 Competition offers you an opportunity to pitch on the stage in front of 300 students, investors and entrepreneurs. This is a great great “training” for public speaking and enhancing communication skills.
You were an introvert but now you are a public speaking champion. What was the toughest goal you set for yourself and how did you achieve it?
I am a person who always set tough goals for myself. The higher the goals are, the more motivated you are to achieve them.
I enrolled in the public speaking society the first week I came to Nottingham, as I knew I had to improve my communication skills.
At the start, I lacked so much confidence that I had to practise EVERY Monday evening with the mentors. I got involved with various public speaking events, as well as Ingenuity17 in order to prepare for my investment pitch. Through hard work and lots of practice, I achieved my goal of mastering public speaking.
If I can do it, anyone can – you just need to be passionate, persistent and brave.
Please tell us a fun fact about you or a secret talent you have.
Secret talent: marathon runner
Fun fact: can’t stay home alone for more than 2 hours
Aside from UoN Speech Contest 2017, Darinka Burovska also entered Ingenuity17 Competition and Universitas 21 Global Ingenuity Challenge.
If you would like to find out more about Darinka Burovska, you can check out her personal blog.
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