COMMUNIQUE- The Intercollegiate Communication Workshop

”Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing.”
Rollo May, American Psychologist

The basics of good and effective communication remain the same, no matter what the age; and in today’s world where we have multiple means to communicate (think mobiles, SMSes, social network sites, e-mail and so on) it is ever important to make it count.

That’s the point underscored by the unique Inter-Institute initiative from Club Rhetorix—The Communications Club at IIPM Bangalore which hosted ‘Communiqué’ 2006, a fun filled workshop on communication which comprised of a seminar, a debate competition as well as a Dumb Charade and writing competition.

The idea behind the whole exercise was to highlight the basics of good and effective communication, each event focusing on one particular aspect: Verbal (Debate), Non Verbal (Dumb Charade), and Written (Creative Writing).

The event was supported by Post It®, the presenting sponsor, who gave away prizes worth Rs.15,000 to the winners of the events. ‘It was a perfect brand fit’ said Mr.Jitender Singh (Marketing Manager, Post It Brand) who was present at the event, ‘since Post It’s brand promise is also about communicating and organizing yourself.’

All the events were preceded by a seminar on ‘Communication’ where Ms. Pushpa Kumar, Director, Grey and Brown (Ad Agency) spoke about importance of correct communication and its role in creating impact. Reviewing famous ads she elicited how they get the message across keeping in mind the very base truth of communication—the message must be interpreted by the receiver in the same manner that the sender intended. And that, she said, was the key to great communication in the corporate world.

Following her, Dr. Amrita Saxena (Corporate Training Consultant, IIM Bangalore), who also happens to be a three time All India Intercollegiate Debate (Organized by the Indian Parliament) champion spoke to the students about ‘Effective Public Speaking’.

With well over 500 in attendance and 250+ students from 15 colleges across Bangalore (both Graduate and B Schools) including big names like Jyoti Nivas College (JNC), ICFAI Business School, St. Joseph College of Commerce, Christ College etc. listened in rapt attention as Dr. Saxena elaborated and demonstrated how the fear and hurdles in Public Speaking can be overcome.

After the rollicking session, the students from the other colleges played the ‘Networking Game’ The Dream Team and the combined team from JNC and BIMS (Bhavan Institute of Management Studies) took the honors of forming the team fastest taking 17 minutes.

This was followed by Rhetorix—The Debate Competition, where IIPM reigned supreme despite about 50+ contestants slugging it out in a battle of intellect and wit. Gishnu S of the FW200507 batch took the first prize thanks to his passionate effort. Mrs. Pansy Parmar, an adjunct faculty at IIPM and a communications counselor judged the event and gave participants useful feedback after the contest.

In the meantime, the other members got to participate in a contest called ‘Post A Thought’ where they had to post (on a Post It® Note, of course!) a few wacky words on what they thought of communication. Arun Chatterjee of BIMS walked away with the prize for the most creative entry.

The ‘Sights Sans Sounds’—the dumb charade challenge was won in a close fight of 23 teams by the team from BIMS. The clues ranged from Management Jargon to books, words and movies.

In the last event of the day, participants were shown a video of Post It® ads and asked to design a new campaign idea in 200 words for the Post It® brand. Rohit Singh’s creative linking of social causes and spreading the message through Post It notes took the first prize and Sai Prasanna’s (IIPM) idea of a Fashion Designer getting more organized in her work thanks to Post It products took the runners up.

At the end of an action packed day, the participants received gift hampers from Post It® and certificates from IIPM to laud their efforts. And hopefully, everybody left IIPM after the event, in some manner a better communicator.

EXPERIENCE THE BREAKTHROUGH!!!

 "Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after."

On February 16th, The BBA batch and the Rhetorix Club of IIPM Bangalore explored into a new foray of communication. The ability to resound the silent screams of panic and anxiety; to the twisted laughter of fear and fun were the experiences left behind by the students after their 'Outbound Communication Program' which took place at Breakthrough - an HR Outbound consulting firm. During this program, the students were sprinted through a series of energizers and activities which tested their body language, team building and leadership skills. These exercises sparked up their interests and it eventually gained momentum when these exercises spilled over to the  training ground outside; completely equipped with High & Low rise rope courses, rappelling, zip-lines and several other high tension activities.

These exercises ensured the complete participation and experiential learning for every student. The program executed had been a culmination of inputs from the Executive Communication faculties and the Rhetoric's Club, thereby focusing on the precedent problems and situations which the students face everyday. The importance of self-esteem, not discounting individuals, team work and communication were the priority factors dealt upon during the 'Outbound Communication Program'. The day concluded with a lunch, snacks and T-shirts from the co-coordinators.