Qommunity Voices: How Talksopedia is inspiring people, one show at a time

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Stories are powerful and some stories can empower and inspire people to bring about the change they want to see in their lives. Everyone needs a platform to lend their voices out, and one such platform from Qatar that brings on inspiring people and helps their stories spread to the masses is - Talksopedia.

It is a weekly online show started and hosted by Nisha Shivram, who is a transformational coach and a speaker. Started during the pandemic, this talk show has already amassed a loyal following on social media. The idea behind the talk show is to bring people together and inspire them through original experiences and stories from people around the world. In a short span, the show has had great success with many eminent speakers and personalities being featured on the show.

ILQ got in touch with Nisha to know all about her new online talk show and what inspires her to do what she does.

ILQ: Tell us a little bit about you and what you do.

Nisha: I am Nisha Shivram, an expatriate from Mumbai (India) living in Qatar for the last 13 years. I am a speaker, certified trainer and now an entrepreneur with my educational events company, SpeaknShine and also a host of weekly online free talk series, Talksopedia.

ILQ: What is Talksopedia and what does it do?

Nisha: Talksopedia is a weekly online talk series where speakers from Qatar and other parts of the world come and share their inspiring stories with the listeners. The talk series is mainly focused on people who have made a difference in society with their work. Talksopedia is a free series wherein there are no charges or registration fees for the attendees and also the speakers conduct sessions for free.

ILQ: How has Qatar helped in your journey with Talksopedia?

Nisha: Qatar and the people of Qatar have always been generous not only to me but anyone who wishes to fulfil their dreams. 89.6 one FM, Qatar’s Hindi radio station had helped me promote the series. An article about Talksopedia and its guest speakers was covered on Gulftimes recently and many speakers from Qatar had willingly accepted my invitation to be on the show.

ILQ: Who are some of the people featured on Talksopedia and why did you choose them?

Nisha: Some of the people from Qatar who were featured on Talksopedia were, Swapna Namboodiri, a contemporary artist, Durga Mavuru, an educationist, Abhay Potnis, an IT expert and on 23rd Oct we will have Nawaal Akram, the famous stand-up comedian from Qatar. Other than them, I had famous bloggers, teachers, Tedxspeakers from India. One teacher named, Rajeev Poddar from Kolkata (India) had joined and he inspired with his story. His body is paralysed from below his shoulders and has been confined to his room for the last 40 years. And then we had a retired Army Officer, Brig. LC Pattnaik, who shared stories from the war and gave some life lessons.

ILQ: What is the aim of Talksopedia?

Nisha: Talksopedia has a clear vision to transform people live’s with inspiring stories. Talksopedia is not focused on soft skills or professional training. It is purely based on heart touching, inspirational stories of ordinary people turned extraordinary. Through Talksopedia, I wish to motivate people to face challenges and emerge victorious. The tagline of Talksopedia clearly states its aim: Talks That Transform.

ILQ: What inspired you to start this series?

Nisha: The COVID-19 pandemic. Yes, COVID-19 and the lockdown inspired me to start the series as I felt that this would be the time when I can reach to as many people as possible and make a difference in their lives.

ILQ: How do you go about choosing the guest speakers on the show?

Nisha: As my target is not certified trainers or professional speakers, the task of finding the speakers become time-consuming and difficult. I spend a lot of time on Google and various sites to look for stories, inspiring people and thus find my speakers.

ILQ: Did you face any challenges while setting up the online talk show series?

Nisha: Yes, and those were all challenges related to technology. As I am the only one handling everything starting from finding speakers, preparing flyers, promotions on social media, hosting the show and then releasing the recording on YouTube (earlier I had a friend who helped with video editing). Technical challenges were there. But now it has become easier for me.

ILQ: How can people participate in the talk show?

Nisha: Through our Facebook, named Talksopedia, which has got more than 1000 members. All the details about the show are posted in the group and I also maintain a WhatsApp broadcast list for Talksopedia to invite everyone. The Zoom link is posted in the group and broadcast list for people to join.

ILQ: What are some of the events or workshops conducted by SpeaknShine?

Nisha: SpeaknShine was formed a month before the pandemic. So we never got a chance to do any physical events. So we switched to online events. We have done webinars on the English language, public speaking skills and effective communication.

ILQ: Are these workshops for all ages and how can they register?

Nisha: These workshops are only for students at the moment. They can register directly on the SpeaknShine website as and when the workshops happen.

ILQ: When does Talksopedia come out every week and where can people view it?

Nisha: Talksopedia comes out every Friday, 2:30 PM (Qatar Time) and people can attend it via Zoom or watch it live on our YouTube channel “Talksopedia”.

ILQ: What message do you have for the people of Qatar?

Nisha: Well, I would like to say that the train of life passes through dark tunnels and one day it definitely emerges into bright daylight. So hang on to your hope, passions and faith. There are ample opportunities out there to completely turn your life around. If you are not able to find any inspiration, then join us every Friday, 2:30 PM on Talksopedia or join our clan “Talksopedia” on Facebook!