Having worked at India Today, Pratima S. Ratnani now empowers students, professionals, and individuals in communication, confidence, and interpersonal skills. She fought back from a crippling accident to inspire generations to rise above challenges and embrace every setback as a new beginning.

Pratima S. Ratnani is a Certified Soft Skills Trainer and an Image Coach, working professionally with various companies, corporate entities, hospitality establishments, media organisations and educational institutes under her training programme ‘Presence With Pratima’.

Pratima says her transition into training and coaching grew alongside her role as a homemaker and along with raising two children. Over the years, she turned her passion for training and coaching into a profession, drawing from her experiences to understand the importance of soft skills in everyday life. She believes that soft skills play a significant role in shaping one’s personal and professional growth and, therefore, should never be kept aside.

Talking about her training programmes and sessions, Ratnani shares that their duration depends on how much time an individual or group is ready to spare. She structures her sessions accordingly to suit their available time and requirements.

Describing further, she shares that while conducting training sessions for students and corporate professionals, she plans activities according to the number of participants in a batch. The activities are structured to suit the size of the group and ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to participate and engage effectively in the session.

She further explains that her training approach focuses mainly on activities, as she believes that experiential learning helps people understand and retain concepts better than by theoretical learning alone.

She builds her sessions on things like discussing questions from day-to-day life, be it a daily conversation between a maid and a housewife, current-scenario questions in a student’s life regarding studies, or situations in a corporate setting, such as how one can interact and present themselves in front of seniors. These are some of the areas she works upon.

Speaking about Image Coaching, Ratnani shares that she helps clients with dressing, body language, and wardrobes. To understand their needs, she spends at least two hours with them, followed by a training schedule that extends over a week to work on these aspects. On the other hand, if it is Soft Skills and Time Management, it depends on how much time she is provided with.

Tracing her professional beginnings, Pratima Ratnani shares that she started her career as a PRO with India Today Magazine. While working with the news magazine, Ratnani got opportunities to work with institutional clients like AHA (Academy of Hospital Administration), IIPM (Indian Institute of Planning and Management), and EMPI (Entrepreneurship and Management Processes International).

Later, with time, she was approached by these institutes to deliver academic lectures in their programmes. What initially started as an opportunity to share knowledge and conduct sessions for fun soon made her realise that teaching was something she genuinely enjoyed.

During the time when she was working as a Freelance Writer, she went through a period of introspection, trying to understand what she wanted to pursue. She found herself questioning whether she should return to the PRO profession or explore something different.

This inner conflict made her realise that Skills Training and Image Building were areas she felt were missing in her own life and that she wanted to explore further in those areas. She subsequently pursued certification in the field and has been working in skills training and image building for the past five years.

Sharing more about her work, Communication Trainer Pratima S. Ratnani shares that, as part of her social service, she prefers visiting government schools and conducting sessions with children rather than colleges and high schools. She feels that the need of the hour is to interact more with children from government schools and provide them with the guidance and exposure they need.

Coach Ratnani shares that she has observed stronger problem-solving abilities among children in government schools compared to those in high-standard private schools. She notes that while children in high-standard schools may take considerable time to approach a problem, government school children often arrive at solutions much quicker.

According to her, this reflects that these children have not yet placed their minds in a box and retain a greater sense of free will and curiosity to understand things better.

To further support and engage with these children, Ratnani makes personal connections with teachers and principals and stays in touch with them on an individual basis. Through these interactions, she continues to understand their needs and find ways to contribute meaningfully to their development.

Born and brought up in Alwar, Rajasthan, Soft Skills Trainer Pratima S. Ratnani shares that she completed her schooling up to Class 12 in Alwar itself. She further shares that while pursuing her graduation in Jaipur, she spent one year there as a day scholar. However, due to some family reasons, she left the course midway and went back to Alwar. However, to her pleasant surprise, she received a call from her Philosophy Teacher who suggested living in the hostel and completing the course. She went back to Jaipur and completed the course.

Pratima recalls that the call made her feel that she existed for somebody and could create a meaningful impact, which became a major turning point in her life. Following that, her approach towards studies changed, and she resolved to prove herself to her teacher. This determination ultimately helped her to perform well during her graduation and postgraduate studies, where she pursued her postgraduation in Philosophy.

Driven by her curiosity and desire to learn more, Ratnani joined Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) as a Mass Communications student. She later pursued learning at Arena Multimedia, where she learned Advanced Digital Graphics & Maya Animation, further expanding her skills over a period of four to five years.

As she explored different professional avenues, after completing her studies at JNU, she landed a job with India Today Magazine. She also worked as a VnA (Voice and Accent) trainer at IBM Daksha before shifting to Jaipur, where she worked as a PRO at Santokba Durlabhji Memorial Hospital (SDMH) until her marriage.

After her marriage, she worked as an Assistant Professor at Aravali Institute of Management (AIM) at Jodhpur. She remains connected with the institute and continues to conduct online communication courses for its students.

After having children, she left the job to become a full-time homemaker. However, after a sabbatical of a few years, she began reflecting on what she wanted to pursue next. Drawing from her interest and learnings in soft skills and image training, she decided to pursue a certification course in the field. Since then, she has been working as a trainer for students, corporate professionals, and women for the past five years.

Talking about the people who have influenced her, Coach Pratima Ratnani shares that she does not have one particular role model, as her sources of inspiration keep changing with time. She recalls that during her graduation, Socrates was her inspiration. One thought attributed to Socrates that has stayed with her is that he never claimed to possess knowledge; rather, he believed that knowledge exists within everyone.

At present, she considers Sushmita Sen her role model and is deeply inspired by the way she speaks, expresses her thoughts, communicates her ideas clearly and carries herself with confidence. Ratnani admires her as a combination of elegance, sophistication and confidence, and someone she aspires to be like in her own life.

Reflecting on the philosophy that has always guided her, Pratima Ratnani shares that her theory of life is to never give up and to keep moving forward. She says this principle has consistently worked for her throughout her life and has helped her navigate different tough phases and challenges.

Sharing a personal experience, Ratnani recalls her time at India Today Magazine, where she spent five years and received several promotions. With her work progressing smoothly, she became arrogant about her achievements, having emerged as one of the best performers on her team and receiving good promotions and salary increments. However, just when everything seemed to be going well, life gave her an unexpected surprise—a major accident on the very day she received her promotion.

Ratnani further shares that after the accident, she came to know that she had suffered a fracture in her thigh bone and had remained in a coma for three days. Her recovery was a long and challenging process, taking nearly two years before she could get back on track and resume work, as she initially found it difficult to walk properly.

Recalling that phase of her life, Pratima Ratnani shares that during her prolonged stay at home, many people advised her parents to get her married. She also remembers instances where people would do things like comparing the length of her legs following the injury, raising doubts about her recovery. It was during those difficult times that her belief in never giving up became stronger, and she resolved to face whatever life brought her way with determination and resilience.

Adding further, Image Coach Pratima shares that after having earned a salary of ₹1 lakh per month, she had to restart her professional career with just ₹5,000 at the BPO Company IBM Daksh where she worked as a caller. As sitting was the only option she could manage at the time, she continued working by doing online calls and selling products, especially for Citibank.

Despite facing negative remarks at work while working with a BPO, including comments such as, “You Asians are taking our jobs from here,” by Americans, Ratnani remained firm in her belief that something or the other would eventually work out. This experience further strengthened her philosophy of never giving up and continuing to move forward, regardless of the circumstances.

Speaking on a personal note, Ratnani shares that there are many such chapters in her life, shaped by the changes and challenges she encountered across different phases. She says that these transitions were not always by choice and recalls how her professional path took her from earning ₹1 lakh to restarting with ₹5,000. According to Ratnani, she has re-started her life three times and is currently living the fourth chapter of her life.

Pratima recalls a phase when she was a homemaker, spending time with her children. Although she was happy, she still felt that something was missing. This feeling encouraged her to restart her career for the fourth time, initially working without any remuneration while also pursuing courses for free.

She shares that she completed around 12–13 Diploma and Degree courses studying from home. However, despite that, she found herself struggling to identify a direction where she could put her learning into practice and work professionally.

This realisation led her to restart her professional career as a Soft Skills Trainer, initially offering her sessions free of cost. Ratnani shares that she is happy to train anyone who wishes to learn, and if someone is willing to pay for her sessions, they can contribute as much as they wish.

For her, the greatest satisfaction comes from sharing her knowledge and helping others learn. She believes that knowledge becomes more meaningful when it is shared, which continues to motivate her in her work as a trainer.

Pratima Ratnani shares that, as a trainer and coach, she loves explaining things to children, as she considers them the future. She also feels that the challenges she has faced throughout her career should not necessarily be experienced by others. This motivates her to guide children and help them develop skills that can support them in both their personal and professional lives.

She believes that while today’s generation is increasingly confident about accepting themselves for who they are, there is also a need for them to understand the importance of respecting others.

She also feels that respect is something one must give in order to receive it. This forms a basic part of her soft skills and image training—accepting one’s own presence while also acknowledging and valuing the person in front. According to Ratnani, this aspect is often lacking in today’s generation, and even a basic understanding of soft skills can help individuals perform much better in life.

Beyond her professional work, Pratima S. Ratnani is also inclined towards religious knowledge and enjoys reading about it. Reflecting on her readings, she highlights that Hindu scriptures teach people to develop simple and compassionate feelings towards others and to understand them better. She believes that these teachings offer valuable lessons in human interaction and communication.

She also adds that it is not only Hindu mythology; reading any such text can reveal how people communicated with one another and presented themselves with grace and clarity. She feels that these qualities are gradually being lost with time and believes that revisiting such teachings can help people reconnect with the values of understanding, respect and effective communication.

Adding further, Leadership Trainer Pratima says that people often struggle to understand how much to take from the blend of Western and Indian cultures, including what is beneficial and what may not be. She believes that through soft skills learning and image training, people can refresh and reconnect with the values and lessons their parents have taught them.

Career Coach Pratima shares that her aim is to make these learnings accessible to everyone, not just college students or corporate professionals. She wants people to understand how to strike a balance in their lives, making life easier for themselves while also creating healthier and more respectful interactions with others.

Reflecting on another significant experience from her professional life, former PRO at India Today Magazine Pratima Ratnani shares that she once witnessed a bomb blast while working with the magazine in Delhi. She also recalls witnessing the Jaipur bomb blasts during her tenure at Santokba Durlabhji Memorial Hospital.

She further shares that, as a PRO, one of her responsibilities was to communicate with people and inform them about the loss of their relatives. She recalls how emotionally challenging it was to deliver such difficult information while maintaining professionalism and sensitivity.

Through these experiences, she realised that one of the toughest things in the world is to tell someone that a loved one is no longer with them. Those moments made her realise that, whatever has been said or done, it cannot be reversed once someone is gone. She witnessed this reality at the hospital, where people were often left with nothing but regrets and a longing to say “sorry” one last time.

These experiences made her believe that whenever we interact with someone, we should ensure that a relationship does not end on a negative note or reach a point where it cannot be repaired. Instead, she believes in giving every relationship a positive ending.

Reflecting on today’s scenario, Ratnani shares that the present generation is very familiar with the concept of “ghosting.” She believes that once a person chooses to ghost someone, it can be difficult to overcome the emotional impact it creates. Therefore, instead of putting a full stop to a relationship, she encourages people to give it a positive and meaningful turn.

Conveying a message to everyone, Counsellor Pratima S. Ratnani shares that one must help others understand better ways of communication and use their words to bridge gaps. She believes that in any relationship, one should not allow bitterness to creep in and ruin things. With effective communication, even difficult situations can be given a better turn rather than bringing a relationship to a full stop.