Newsround presenter Sonali revealed the secrets behind a successful television persona at The Manchester Grammar School's annual Bexwyke Lecture.
You have to be yourself, but you have to be a bigger version of yourself. Television tends to flatten your personality, so you have to think big.
Talking to over 300 children from independent and state schools across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, the 30-year-old Londoner said that an audience of children was far tougher than an adult audience.
Sonali, who has just returned from covering the Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka for BBC Sport, said: An adult feels an obligation to watch the news, but a child doesn't and will turn you off straight away if you don't hold their attention.
Therefore you have to appreciate every element of story so you can explain it simply and clearly without ever patronising your viewer. You also have to place the story in context. Many of the stories we cover can be quite scary, so you have ensure your audience knows that street violence or earthquakes are not necessarily every day events.
Sonali, who began her career in local hospital radio, was quizzed about getting a career in the media.
It is not an easy career path as it is very popular, so the first thing to ensure is that you get good grades. I studied journalism at Nottingham University, but it isn't necessary to study journalism. In fact some editors prefer a more traditional subject. But what is vital is getting experience.
I volunteered on hospital radio, print journalists might want to work on their local newspaper, would be cameramen should try and shadow a professional for a day or two. That way you can work out what you want and what you don't want to do and get that vital experience.
Sonali will leave Newsround when the programme relocates to Manchester after five years in the hot seat of one of the BBC's flagship programmes.
It's been an honour to work on a programme that children have grown up with for the last 39 years and of course the chance to see the world has been marvellous.
Linda Hamilton, Head of the MGS Junior School, commented: Sonali gave the children a wonderful insight into the world of a television presenter. They were particularly struck by the difficult conditions, when filming in war zones and areas of natural disaster. There was a palpable buzz in the hall and many probing questions from our enthusiastic audience. Perhaps Sonali has inspired some television presenters of the future!
CAPTIONS
Top: Sonali is pictured with MGS Junior School pupils from left to right:
Vikram Mitra, Ben Shepherd, Tiernan Drasdo, Riyaan Bhatti and John Moran
Middle: Local schools joined in the fun for the day
Lower: MHSG's, Emma Rowson, was the winner of the Poster Competition
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For Parents
