Halfa Kucha – Anirudh Seshadri

The Halfa Kucha Presentation was eye-opening because it confirmed a long-held suspicion I had regarding my ability to communicate.

I always seemed to talk better than I wrote and it became clear to me while working on the Halfa Kucha that it was in fact the case. While writing essays/papers, I find myself having decent ideas for arguments, however, those thoughts can never stay in my head for more than two seconds before devolving into something incoherent and round – aboutish. When asked to say my arguments out loud, my ideas come together and make sense to a listener whose next question would be, “Why can’t you just write that?”

The Halfa Kucha allowed me to utilize my strength in explanation and verbal communication to make an effective and coherent argument on Stitches and Sabrina’s investigation into trauma and healing.

The process of preparing for the presentation was enjoyable as I had not had to give a speech in front of people in over two years. I was somewhat disappointed in my actual presentation as I felt I prematurely removed certain aspects of my presentation that had helped me during my practice sessions and even some technical difficulties at the beginning threw me off my rhythm.

Regardless, coming back to my first point, I felt my argument came through clearly and everyone was able to understand it well.

The final thing I would like to reflect on is the uniqueness of the Halfa Kucha style of presentation. Forcing myself to stick to a 20-second time limit prevented me from rambling on and making my sentences more concise and informative. Overall, I would love to present in this format again.