About Dhruv Raj Sharma

Dhruv Raj Sharma

Founder, & CEO,

Logophilia Education

D  hruv Raj Sharma (pronounced: [ˈdhrʊv ˈrɑːdʒ ˈʃarmə]; born September 5th, 1983) is an etymology educator, and the founder of Logophilia Education Pvt. Ltd.  He heads Facilitation, Design, and Research at Logophilia.

---

Dhruv has unique qualification in Psycholinguistics, and in Ancient Classical Latin Vocabulary. His Masters degrees in Applied Psychology and Cognitive Science lend a strong academic rigour to his approach to English Etymology facilitation. On the other hand, his extensive experience in the counselling of adolescents and young adults does wonders to his handling of young learning minds, making him a powerful, yet a very sensitive, facilitator.

---

Early Life, Education, & Etymology Education Beginnings

D hruv was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, to two professors of English Literature – Prof. Bandana Sharma & Prof. Lakshmi Raj Sharma – on the 5th of September, 1983. He attended the Boys’ High School, Allahabad from standard 1 to 12, wherein he graduated with the Tresham Medal, given to the “Best All-round Achiever” and the Head Boy of the school.

As a 12th-grade student in school, Dhruv started to develop a keen interest in noticing differences in students’ enjoyment of school. He noticed that while some loved school and holistically enjoyed participating in school activities, others found formal education to be tedious and punishment-like. Dhruv was very intrigued by these differences of perception and wanted to start a school of his own.

He went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Allahabad, where he read Psychology, English Literature, & Political Science. He furthered his education at the Masters level in Psychology at the Delhi University Department of Applied Psychology. Dhruv went on to get admission to the University College London Department of Psychology, and was poised to receive the 2005 Commonwealth Scholarship for Psychology, from India. However, the funds of the Psychology scholarship for 2005 were not carried forward, and Dhruv had to defer his UCL admission to the next year.

In the meanwhile, Dhruv took to teaching English Vocabulary to aspiring graduate students. He soon realised that teaching hundreds of words was a very challenging task, and required him to upgrade his own vocabulary skills. He took to reading in a big way during this phase and discovered that most of what he was reading was written in Greek & Latin vocabulary. He further discovered that when words are taught through roots (Etymology Education) students do not need to make unnecessary efforts to create a memory of what they learn: it happens automatically, and stays with them permanently without rehearsal. Dhruv found this to be directly the opposite of the rote learning methods so frequently found in schools. He could transparently see feedback in the eyes of his students.

In 2007, Dhruv Raj Sharma went on to study Cognitive Science at the Centre of Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences, Allahabad where he specialised in Psycholinguistics (the study of how the brain learns, uses, and comprehends language). During this very demanding second Masters degree, Dhruv did not see his passion for teaching Etymology wane. He graduated in 2009, declined a PhD. offer in Germany, and decided to follow his passion.

---

Public Speaking Career

 

T he beginnings of Dhruv’s penchant for public speaking lie in the training by his father – Prof. Lakshmi Raj Sharma. His father played a great role in the early days of his development as a stage speaker through training him for school elocution competitions; exposing him to theatre through the university plays that he used to write; and by getting him access to Shakespeare’s audiobooks.

Dhruv soon attained independence in his pursuit of public speaking by getting into debating on his initiative, without getting training from anyone, in the early days. It was his ability to deliver powerful debate performances that got him a lot of recognition at school. His iconic debate victory as the “Best Speaker” at the all Dehradun Debate at the St. Thomas’ College is still remembered as the start of the revival of big-stage extra-curriculars at the Boys’ High School, Allahabad.

As a second year psychology student, Dhruv started a Public Speaking Society in the Department of Psychology, where he took the lead to invite various public speakers to come and deliver their tips on what a public speaker should and should not do. This is now recognised by Logophilia as the point of conception for what is now the Logophilia Public Speaking Programme.

However, while he continued to collect accolades for his stage-speaking capacity, Dhruv’s education in Psychology led him to a deeper, more original, understanding of the value of public speaking. He started to realise that, one: while debating focuses on highlighting human differences, public speaking becomes much more powerful when it focuses on human similarities; two: that public speaking is so much more than just a stage performance. He started to see public speaking as something that doesn’t just happen when you go on the stage, but something that happens many times a day – through a concept that Psychology calls – Persuasion – convincing someone that your thoughts are worthy of being heard. Dhruv now runs an experiential programme called the Logophilia Public Speaking Programme, which trains participants in developing the self-esteem and self-awareness required to persuade powerfully.

---

Celebrated Speeches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

Find Dhruv online ↓