Communication Foundations
the week, on one page
Mentor Anju Lal (Mon–Wed on campus, Fri remote)
SOF leads Revathy · Najwa · Noel & Akshay
In support Program Residents
Credits 2.0 · first credited week
SOF leads Revathy · Najwa · Noel & Akshay
In support Program Residents
Credits 2.0 · first credited week
Mon
Anju
Audit · ACA · active listening · Mission 01 out
Tue
Anju
Presence · Pressure Lab · writing PM
Wed
Anju
Storytelling · stakeholder pitch · fireside
Thu
SOF team
India Lens · Four Doors · Finance 1–2
Fri
SOF team
Finance 3 · Showcase & mission close
The arc, in one line
Monday to Wednesday, Anju teaches fellows to be understood and to listen. Thursday grounds it in India's best communicators and opens Finance Basics. Friday, fellows prove the week with a stranger. Every classroom activity inside Anju's blocks doubles as a lab: core session and lab are fused this week, by design.
Anju's three days · daily shape: 10:00–12:00 core · 12:15–14:15 lab · lunch 14:15
| Monday | Communication Audit (fellows self-score on 5 criteria; returns Friday and at Term 1 close) then Architecture of Clear Thinking + Active Listening — ACA, The Corners, chai roleplay. At 15:15 Najwa briefs the Term 1 Capstone and Mission 01, The Stranger Conversation. Evening fieldwork begins tonight. |
| Tuesday | Presence, body language, listening exercises with record-and-review, then The Pressure Lab — fellows on camera, watched back with a partner, put on the spot. Scored on willingness to be seen, not polish. PM: Email Etiquette (Revathy), Writing Frameworks lab (Najwa). |
| Wednesday | Narrative & founder comms, then Story to Stakeholder Pitch. PM: Kill Your Darlings writing lab (Najwa & Revathy), fireside with Ashwin, MobMe. Before leaving campus, Anju flags participation standouts to the PRs. |
| Thu–Fri | India Lens + Four Doors (Revathy): Dhirubhai, Kalam, Zerodha, Amul — one question each, case pack is the pre-read. Finance Basics 1–3 (Noel & Akshay) across both days. Friday 13:45–16:30: Showcase, mission debrief circles, week close. |
Office Hours — new from this week
- One-on-one time with founders and mentors, starting with Anju. Private conversations; nothing said there is scored.
- Runs in the afternoon alongside other sessions — PRs pull 2–3 fellows at a time on a roster, so the room never empties.
- PRs own the roster and the knock on the door. Anju owns the conversation.
Mission 01 · The Stranger Conversation
- One real conversation with a stranger, evenings, anywhere in Kochi. Come back knowing something you couldn't have guessed.
- Guardrails per module page. Any uncomfortable moment goes straight to a PR.
- Friday circles ask three things: who, what you learned, and which second question unlocked them.
Scoring · all grading happens end of week
0.8
Participation
All five days. Anju flags Mon–Wed standouts Wednesday.
0.6
Labs
Pressure Lab + writing labs. Honesty over polish.
0.6
Mission
Specificity, tools used, insight, honesty.
- Mentors and PRs enter scores directly in Gravity — live by Friday.
- Friday judging: Anju and Prantik join remote; Akshay, Revathy and PRs score in the room.
- The line worth repeating: a conversation that went badly, told honestly, beats a smooth story that reveals nothing.
Ops checklist
- Rooms: open floor space Mon–Wed for The Corners, hot-seat chair, and the pitch gallery.
- Phones and tripods ready Tuesday for record-and-review; Friday showcase is recorded and uploaded to Gravity same day.
- Remote scoring access tested for Anju and Prantik before Friday morning.
- Case pack goes to fellows as pre-read before Thursday.
The School of Future · Cohort 1 · internal briefing, not for fellows · schedule of record lives in the SOF Weekly Scheduler sheet, tab W2 - Comms. If this page and the sheet disagree, the sheet wins.