Best speaker Magazine Issue 2 - December 2017 | Page 29

for hours in front of the mirror. There I
was talking to another person, but that
person was also me. I felt comfortable and
relaxed. The next morning, I managed to
scrape through the ninth screen test and
that was how I got to the television screen.
What a journey this has been.
Q
What inspired you to write the
books Lester by Lester and
Irangani?
Three people I look up to are Dr. Lester
James Peiris, his wife Sumitra Peiris and
Iranganie Serasinghe. I love them and that
is why I ‘ghost’ wrote their life stories. The
Sumitra Peiris story is still in the making.
Q
Tell us about the birth and
content of The Bonsoir Diaries?
inspired by France under the theme
‘Nostalgie” (available on my website –
www.kumardesilva.com), I’m a founding
member and on the Board of Directors of
the Alliance Francaise de Kotte which is
the only one in the city of Colombo which
is fully recognized by the Government of
France. And so, my Francophone journey
continues. Q
Q It is all a case of evolving and being able
to adapt to the fast-changing trends. If you
stubbornly do not, then you’re left behind.
Here is an example. I was happily
retired from television and concentrating
on my Personality Development and
Corporate Etiquette Training sessions
for school leavers, undergraduates and
Sri Lankan corporates. It was a casual
and first-time chat with Janeeth Rodrigo,
General Manager - Digital at TV Derana
at Oktoberfest last year which successfully
talked me out of self-imposed retirement
to make a comeback. He proposed a
half hour celebrity talk show on pulse.
lk (the English Language Lifestyle arm
of TV Derana), with parallel visibility
on Facebook, YouTube, and across all
social media. This I thought was WOW.
I won’t be confined to a television set on
a particular day and at a particular time,
but, instead with the literally limitless
flexibility by being on Digital, we’re always
on. Any day, anytime, anywhere! This is
what I mean by evolving and adapting.
Do you believe that a person
who can speak well can e xcel
in many areas in life? What is your
personal view on this?
Well these are two different things. A
person who speaks well can also con his
way through life.
That is not what he or she should be.
The ability to speak coherently is a huge
It is Bonsoir that is primarily responsible
for my public image and public position
today. The other shows simply fell into
place. When the internet arrived, Bonsoir
gradually became irrelevant. The show ran
for 25 years and I’m happy to have been
part of the first fifteen years, along with
Yasmin Rajapakse, and others. And this
was called the ‘belle epoch’ (the glorious
era) of Bonsoir. When the show finally
closed down in 2010, I looked for the
old programmes to get copies for myself.
There was nothing left. My successors had
done away with all of them. A large chunk
of Sri Lanka’s television history was gone
for good.
Hence, the birth of The Bonsoir
Diaries in which I relate stories about the
birth and journey and making of several
of those shows. The print edition is almost
sold out I believe. It is also available
as an audio book at ‘Lisn’ and can be
downloaded onto your electronic devices.
Q
You were made a “Chevalier
dans Ordre des Arts et des
Lettres” (Order of Arts and
Letters awarded for significant
contribution to the enrichment of
the French cultural inheritance),
in recognition to your efforts to
promote French in Sri Lanka. Could
you share with us the activities done
to improve French in Sri Lanka?
Primarily with Bonsoir through
which we were able to actively promote
and popularize the French language and
culture in Sri Lanka over several years and
that too in the pre-internet era.
After quitting Bonsoir, I didn’t stop
there. I’ve done five successive black
and white photography exhibitions
Social
media
and
other
digital media have come to a
level where it has revolutionised
journalism at the present age.
As a person who has successfully
embraced the transition from
traditional media, what do you think
about the recent improvements?
Q
What do you recognize as the
common element in public
speaking, poetry photography?
Simple – an unbridled passion for
doing things I enjoy doing and those
which warm my heart.
Q
plus. That along with a sound education
can take someone to many heights.
Q
How have your public speaking
skills aided you as a journalist
and in your career path?
Being able to talk and not stutter has
made all the difference in my life. I speak
a very basic Sri Lankan English with no
fake accent. And I’m proud of it. A finely
polished public speaking skill helps you
to express yourself well and connect well
with people.
If you are to change two social
aspects in Sri Lanka, what
would you change, to bring better
welfare for the people?
Retire every single politician and run
this country like a company with greater
focus on profitability and staff welfare,
and effectively implement the death
penalty on all those found guilty of child
abuse and rape.
Q
What’s your message to all the
young speakers out there?
Get
yourself
educated
and
professionally qualified. Learn at least
one foreign language. Speak a clear and
coherent English with no fake accents.
BEST SPEAKER MAGAZINE 2017
29