14 – Building Trust In an Untrusting World – Shiv Shiva Kumar #PRAXIS8

Shiv Shivakumar is the group executive president, corporate strategy, Aditya Birla group. At PRAXIS we got an opportunity to learn about trust and inclusion from his session.

Trust is the crux of everything, everything revolves around trust. Brand, individual, or company. Trust is the essence of all relationships.

At an individual level, A student does well if their teacher appreciates the overall performance of the student, Employees showcase the best work when their boss appreciate them.

Words which are associated with Trusts are:

  1. Faith 
  2.  Reliable 
  3. Commitment 
  4.  Responsibility 
  5.  Confidence 
  6.  Assurance 
  7.  Benefit 
  8.  Conviction

Right now, the world is in an unrusting mode because of:

  1. Poor leadership 
  2.  Doing the wrong thing 
  3. Rapid change and inability to cope with it 
  4. Fake news 
  5. Greed- pay inequality 
  6.  Not bothered about me 
  7. Nothing permanent 
  8. litigation

Poor Leaderships – A lot of countries are running under poor leaderships that arent growing and surviving somehow just because they don’t have proper leadership.

Fake News – Every politcal party is in this dirty game, not only the Indian level but on the global level too, the rise of fake news is drastically high.

Greed-Pay Inequalities – The rich get richer and the poor get poorer this is so disproportionate.

According to one of the foundings which Shiv Shvkumar shared he mentioned: “Only 33% customer says they trust the brand which they use”. 

  • .As PR Leaders SPIN is a SIN.
  •  Tell the truth
  •  Don’t dribble in information
  •  All leaders are not good spokespersons
  •  Media has a job to do

Be authentic and transparent while communicating about your brand.

13 – Words of Wisdom – Pradipta Bagchi (Head of Corporate Communication – Tata)

Masterclasses are the best part of SCoRe. In our every masterclass session we get an opportunity to meet the veterans of the Public Relations business.

Last week we met with Mr. Pradipta Bagchi who is the head of Corporate Communication at Tata sons. He shared various intriguing and insightful stories of his career span in Tata.

I am listing down some of his pro tips and life lessons-

–         Journalism and PR go hand-in-hand, both are storytellers, both are interdependent.

–         Journalists are always on deadline. Make their job easier.

–         PR professionals and Journalists can work cordially together to create a mutual understanding as a fellow professional.

–         Prepare your stories, facts and data beforehand. So, when a journalist asks for any information regarding your client or product you can entice the journalist by having detailed information ready!

–         Journalists don’t like to hang on.

–         If there is anything available in the public domain, give it to them. Make their job easier.

–         Engage, engage, engage. If you engage a journalist show them data, reports. Give them something exclusive, help them with a story or lead. This will help them in the longer run.

–         Be believable, if you can’t be authentic no need to go for that pitch, that’s a motto.

–         Be curious, be curious to learn more about your sector, global market, rival’s strategy.

–         Sometimes when you are running out of idea’s, keeping yourself updated with what your competitors are planning, will give you more insights and ideas.

–         That’s what Madan Bahal sir also told us. Keep evolving. 

–         Game of Public Relations has been changed over the years, keep learning and keep evolving.

–         The role of communicator is also evolving. There is a lot to learn and grasp as PR is an emerging profession apart from handling external communication.

12 – Public Relation, Mythology, and Devdutt Pattanaik.

Devdutt Pattanaik is the best selling author, speaker, and mythologist. At PRAXIS we got an opportunity to learn and understand analogies, stories, and mythologies behind Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Wisdom is overheard, not told – In most of the Hindu Vedas and Puranas, wisdom is overheard by someone and spread around everywhere. Sages used to transmit the wisdom which they heard.

The problem with everybody nowadays is people don’t want to listen, they just want to tell they don’t want to listen and without listening one can’t communicate. In Ramayana, Ram is saying listen to the people.

Everybody wants to tell a story but no one wants to listen to a story, they all want to be good, but the answer is to, good for whom?

Stay away from the people who smile all the time. They may be a psychopath or they might be faking it, no one is as happy as they pretend to be.

Chanakya always talks about spies, he used to advise kings to use spies to propagate stories. In ancient days brahmins used to known as Pathak. Pathak means he one who memories and chants as brahmins used to learn and chants Vedas, Puranas, and Shlokas. When you read a book, you must find out that the person who wrote the book is an author, librarian, or postman of the book.

Diversity is the most complex subject, westerners are trying to adopt it but in India, we live it. Each one of us should learn a language to communicate, if I speak Hindi and you speak Tamil we won’t be able to communicate, to understand each other, we must learn the language in which we want to communicate. Diversity is all about how much you are willing to sacrifice to live peacefull together.

Diversity is inefficient and business is all about efficiency. it’s about knowing not everyone will like you or want to hear you.

11 – Being Part of The PRAXIS8 Organizing Team

No event or summit is possible without the help of the volunteers and organizers who work tirelessly. As PRAXIS is the largest PR summit and over 700 delegates and PR practitioners were going to attend the summit, a lot of volunteers were assigned to a different set of tasks to make things smooth and hasslefree for the attendees.

I am listing down my learnings by being a part of PRAXIS Organizing team –

  1. The briefing is a must thing; Briefing is the most vital part, no one can start working without knowing, how to start, where to start and what to do. 

 as we had no idea about the location, work, and timing, our dean briefed up about everything.

2. Teamwork – Base of every successful campaign or event is teamwork when you have to complete humongous tasks in a limited amount of time, you need a bunch of people who can work efficiently. In PRAXIS, I learned how to work together and help each other out.

3. Accuracy – The task which was assigned to us was to prepare ID cards, PRAXIS goodie bag’s which consist of various things which we have to put int the bag together. 700 bags and cards we prepared for the attendees with 90% accuracy, just so no one faces any issues.


4. Be energetic and active – We all were sleep-deprived, Yet, we all were working and running around grasping as much as we can, meeting as many as people as we can, we all were trying to stay energetic as the promise foundation volunteers were.


5. Multitasking – A PR professional has to learn and hon the skill of multitasking, the skill which is difficult to learn as you have to select which thing to prioritize, we also had to manage a lot of tasks while interacting with the PR veterans and practitioners and to attend the keynotes and while taking a break in between for lunch and dinner.

10 – PRAXIS- The Largest Public Relation Summit.

PRAXIS; Largest PR Summit of India where all the reputed and notable PR experts, practitioners and global leaders come to share their wisdom, knowledge, and insights.

I remember, a few months back when I talked to Amith Prabhu, sir and told him how much I am excited to be a part of PRAXIS as I used to follow it on twitter, I used to read about Fulcrum awards, and I used to think that someday, I might get a chance to attend it.

 It was a dream come true moment for me, Attending PRAXIS meeting the one’s whom I admire the most; PR veterans, CEO and CCO of India’s various conglomerate’s companies.

 Our trip and my learnings of the PRAXIS started on the same day 26th of September, as I have never traveled by flight, I was a bit nervous as well as excited. The first person whom I met while boarding the flight is Mr. Girish Balachandran founder of On purpose Communication.

 I introduced myself and he recognized me, which I wasn’t expecting, he was very humble and down to earth, as our mentors asked us to meet as many people as can, make as many as connection you can and collect business cards as well, and I did Shree Ganesh (Starting of something good) of  business card collection, started with Mr. Bala who gave his business card without any hesitation.

  1. Most important thing which I learnt is don’t be hesitant to ask for, it Doesn’t matter if you already know that person or not.

  2. If you won’t ask the answer is always will be, no.

  3. Be Humble; As I mentioned earlier, I met a lot of global CCO and CEO and corporate communication heads, what I admired most about them is how humble and down to earth they all were, their attire, nature, way of speaking everything was admirable.

    I will add more points and key takeaways in my next blog.

09-How can we mobilize public opinion to get people to demand climate action and change lifestyle habits and behaviours to reduce carbon emissions?

97% of climate scientists say that the Earth is getting hotter and humans are to blame. Climate change was a thing of past, it’s climate emergency which is what we are experiencing now. In the UK they already declared it, yet in India, at least, large segments of the population continue to think that global warming doesn’t exist.

Indian Government and citizens are still unaware of how floods, extreme rainfall & heatwaves are affecting our lives, and things aren’t good for our future either.

 We can learn a lot from ‘Greta Thunberg’. Greta Thunberg is the one who started an international youth movement against climate change. Her strike has inspired students from around the world, thousands of students from Germany, Japan, the UK, Australia and many more to joined and raising voice to save mother nature.

Here, I am listing down some ways to mobilize people and reduce carbon emission –

Let me explain first of all what carbon footprint is – Our carbon footprint is the estimated amount of carbon dioxide given out as we travel, buy food, heat our homes, and As our population is going exponentially it is a major concern for us because nothing consumes carbon like a human.

1.     Air Travel – Now that everyone can fly, we are avoiding other means of transport, Air travel is the largest component of carbon footprint.  Short flights produce more carbon emissions. Traveling by train is much better, the government must ensure to introduce ‘Bullet Trains’ just like in Japan and China were traveling by train is faster and economical than Air Travel.

2.     Go vegan – At least eat less meat as Cows and sheep emit methane, which is a global warming gas. A vegan diet or less lamb and beef in your diet is might help the environment, we can aware people by telling the benefits of being vegetarian.

3.     Public Transport – Government must provide better and cheaper public transport so that people can rely on and opt for public transport instead of traveling by their vehicle to avoid air and noise pollution. If want to travel by your vehicle, go for an electric vehicle at least more efficient electric vehicle.

4.     Halogen out LED in – LED are much better and brighter instead of using old halogen bulbs, opting for LED bulbs is the easiest way to reduce your carbon emission, In my hometown, Indore, the government provides cheap LED bulbs with a warranty which is appreciable and commendable as people are buying and using it.

5.     Go Solar – Solar panels on the roof is beneficial and economical and it does not create any waste or emissions, it’s a renewable energy source.

 Our population is now crossed seven billion on this planet. Food prices rising, oil is ending, we are facing water scarcity, heatwaves. When our resources end in twenty years, how are we going to survive? #SaveMotherNature.

08 -BOOK REVIEW – PR2020

Title –The Trending Practice of Public Relations.

Author – Rita Bhimani

Length – 243 Pages.

The book is written by Rita Bhimani, and according to Dr. Shashi Tharoor, she oozes both style and substance, two words which sum up Rita Bhimani.

Her father used to work with the PR division of Tata steel in Jamshedpur. After graduating with English Honours from Loreto, she moved to the US where she did a Master’s in Journalism, with four papers in Public Relations.

When she moved back to India, she started working for Tea Board, a semi-government set-up as the first Press and Public Relations Officer.

It has been almost a hundred years since Edward Bernays, the father of Public Relations defined PR. He combined social science and human psychology to become one of the most influential social architects. Another great name is Ivy Lee who came before Edward Bernays and advised industrial corporations and did a lot of pro bono work.

PR is about six Cs:

•             Convince their publics about their credibility

•             Convert customers to their products

•             Construct a bridge with the media

•             Create new perceptions to keep abreast of a changing economic Environment

•             Customise their communication precepts

•             Capture mindshare in a vastly competitive situation

The area which occupies considerable amount of time for any Public Relations department is the relationship with media and journalists. Many people think, this is the only function for a Public Relations professional. However, the media scene has changed a lot in recent times. Garnering goodwill and building of relationships with media persons has been a key role for  any corporate communicator. PR professionals build and maintain relationships with key people from print and electronic media.

06 – BEACH CLEAN-UP DRIVE

I read and write a lot about Climate Emergency, Plastic Pollution and I always wanted to do something to make this world a better place by doing more than just reading and writing about it.

At SCoRe, I got an opportunity to volunteer and work for a social cause. Thanks to our Dean Amith Prabhu, and Faculty Shreya Krishnan, I got an opportunity to make a difference!. Our first task was to clean up the Juhu beach, on Independence Day with several other volunteers.

I was very excited as I have never visited a beach before though, I have heard that Juhu Beach is the dirtiest beach of Mumbai. I reached there around 5.55 am. A lot of people were gathered there with the high hopes and enthusiasm to clean the beach.

I met a lot of college students, social workers and RJ’s. RJ Archana introduced me to Neha  who is the Brainchild behind the organization “India for Oceans” who organized Beach cleaning activities. That morning I realised, how much we are damaging our water bodies by just dumping garbage here and there and not respecting mother nature.  Garbage and plastic which we throw on streets clogs up our drains and in the end, we suffer because of our own actions.

My key takeaways from this are:

1.      In the UK, the Government has already declared Climate Emergency whereas, in India people are still unaware of Climate Change which has become a Climate Emergency now.

2.      In Top 10 most polluted cities of the world, nine are from India, which shows how irresponsible we are, and we are still doing nothing to curb this pollution menace.

3.      The world is adapting ways to recycle plastic and we are still dumping plastic in our water bodies.

4.      We can’t blame just the citizens, but our government is also equally responsible for everything.

5.      Last week, in our session with Dr. Mukund Rajan, He mentioned for any social cause, Mobilization is very important. So, the Government should take some robust steps to mobilize projects and resources and make every citizen of the country aware of the grave issue.

05 – Hong Kong Crisis

People of Hong Kong are fighting to preserve freedom. Hong Kong is a former British colony, and Britain gave them a special status which is ‘One Country, Two System’ which gives them.

Freedom of Press.

Freedom to Vote.

Freedom of Assembly.

In 2047, Hong Kong will become part of China, but the Mainland Chinese government isn’t waiting for the rule to be expired and pushing back to dissolve it as soon as possible. Hongkongers are protesting an extradition bill, it all started with a murder incident which happened in Taipei in 2018, where the accused, who is a citizen of Hong Kong killed his girlfriend in Taipei while they were there on a vacation. The accused however, can’t be arrested as the countries don’t have an extradition agreement.

This makes Hong Kong a haven for fugitives,  Due to this Hong Kong government proposed the extradition bill which sparked the protest. Hongkongers don’t vote for their leaders and leaders doesn’t make the law. Legislative Council of Hong Kong consists of 70 seats, Hongkongers vote for 40 seats and remaining seats are for Industry leaders who handle major industries in Hong Kong, and they are all  pro-China.

 Protesters think that their leaders should be elected democratically rather than following Chinese government tactics. Protesters including lawyers, activists, journalists and business figures joined the movement; they won’t stop until their demands are met. Carrie Lam who is the Chief Executive of Hong Kong suspended the bill after the demonstration turned ugly but protesters are demanding to fully withdraw the bill instead of just suspending it.

04- Digital India and Digital Skimming.

On the day of 8th November 2016, India’s Prime Minister announced the demonetization of all 500 Rs and 1000 Rs currency notes, which created havoc and chaos amongst people.

Reasons for the demonetization were –

1. To flush out all the fake currencies which were circulating in the system.

2. To flood out the black money, which mostly corrupt people were hoarding or stashing.

3. To increase digital transactions and start the cashless culture.

Digital transaction and digital payment market show robust growth, as people were out of option and they had to opt for digital methods for money transactions. As things can’t be hunky-dory, all the time and people started facing a lot of problems with digital transactions, though the worst was losing all the money or savings from their bank accounts.

This attempt to curb and expose black money led to another issue. The sudden increase in digital payments and transactions led to an increase in digital frauds and cyber scams. Cyber Hackers and scammers had access to a lot of data online and could hack and steal data from web browsers, cell phones or card cloning machines. 

How people fall prey for it-

Unfortunately, not everyone is technically sound or smart enough to deal with Cyber Hackers and they target all those kinds of peoples.

1. Fraudsters pretend to be bank employees or bank managers and act that your bank account is blocked, or you won a prize and you need to share your details to unblock your account or to get the prize. People fell prey very easily to this trick and they started sharing everything, from personal information to their bank account details.

2.E-commerce scammers – As India is one of the fastest growing E-commerce markets, giants like Amazon and Flip-kart have made the life of its consumers easy. While individuals can now order anything from anywhere, nothing comes easy and sometimes they have to pay a hefty price for it.

3. There are lookalike E-commerce websites, where people share their account details expecting it’s an original website. It may sometimes be hard to identify the real from the fraud and people get duped by scammers.

4. Fake numbers – When you want to order something, look for something or you want to search something, what you do? You immediately, start searching on google. Though, most of the contact number which you will find on the google pages are fake, they will pretend they are from a real company to solve your query or grievances but actually they are cyber criminals, who can easily manipulate you or make you share all the valuable information which they need to steal your money.