Rashmi Salhotra on Finding Your Voice: From Kindergarten Classrooms to Corporate Boardrooms

Early in her teaching career, Rashmi Salhotra found herself surrounded by twenty energetic 3–4-year-olds in Punjab, all calling out at once: “Ma’am ji, Ma’am ji!”

In a classroom filled with finger paint, glue, and boundless enthusiasm, survival required one thing volume. A senior teacher offered simple advice: “Speak up or you’ll never be heard.”

Rashmi did exactly that. She projected. She asserted. She raised her voice.
And it worked. Order returned. Attention followed. Victory achieved.

But years later, as she transitioned into the corporate world, she discovered something profound.

The same strategy that restored order in a kindergarten classroom did not translate into influence in meeting rooms. Speaking louder didn’t command attention. It didn’t inspire engagement. It didn’t guarantee impact.

In classrooms, volume equaled authority.
In corporate environments, volume often meant interruption or worse, polite indifference.

Rashmi’s journey highlights a powerful leadership lesson: communication isn’t about how loudly you speak it’s about how strategically you connect.

Corporate conversations operate by a different rulebook. Influence comes not from projection, but from positioning. Not from volume, but from timing, credibility, clarity, and understanding unspoken dynamics in the room.

Her story underscores a critical realization for professionals navigating leadership spaces:
“Speak up” is incomplete advice.

The real question is:
How do you speak so that people want to listen?

From kindergarten chaos to corporate complexity, Rashmi Salhotra’s experience serves as a reminder that growth often requires unlearning what once worked and relearning how to adapt to new environments.

Because adults, unlike four-year-olds, don’t respond to volume.
They respond to value.

🔗 Connect with Rashmi Salhotra on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashmi-salhotra/