Mangaluru: Public Relation Council of India (PRCI) and Young Communicators Club (YCC) Mangaluru Chapter organised a Talent Hunt Webinar on the topic ‘Network is Net worth’ on Saturday August 21 at 11 am.
Dr. Raghavendra Holla, Chairperson, PRCI Mangaluru Chapter and Pooja Rao, member of YCC Mangaluru were the speakers for the event.
The programme was hosted by Ananya Hegde, Student Head of YCC National Committee.
10 PR professionals with more than 30 years of experience were the panel of jury members for today’s event. They included G.S. Bhawa, Former General Manager PR of the Airports Authority of India, presently secretary of PR Society Delhi, Secretary General of Air Travellers’ Association and executive member at the Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism, Vijayalakshmi, Former General Manager PR Air India, presently Director of Hoverning Council of PRCI, Dr B. K. Ravi, Former Registrar of Bengaluru University, presently Chairman, Board of Studies and HOD, Department of Mass Communication in Bengaluru University, S. Narendra, Former Principal Information Officer for Government of India and Former Information Advisor to the Prime Minister, B. K. Sahu, Former Chief Public Relations Officer of the Kolkata Port Trust, Member of Chartered Institute of Public Relations London, Senior National Vice President of PRCI, Yogesh Joshi, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, TATA Group, Naresh Kumar, Senior General Manager, Corporate Communication of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. and former Chairman of PR Society, Delhi, Sam Reuben, Former National President of PRCI and Former Chairman of the Governing Council, R.T. Kumar Ranganadan, CEO of Oyster Advertising, Former National President of PRCI, Ravindran, Former General manager, Corporate Communication at NDPC and Senior National Vice President of National Executive and the Secretary of the YCC Board, Dr. T. Vinayakumar, National President, PRCI and Jayaram, Chairman and Chief Mentor, PRCI.
Ravindran, Former General Manager, Corporate Communication at NDPC announced that the total marks for the show will be out of 50 which has been conveniently divided into various segments like attendance and promotions.
Starting off the session, Dr. Raghavendra Holla said that this session will help the viewers to understand what is network and what is their actual net worth. He spoke about how it is important to network ourselves with the society.
“We are connected to each and other and today we will learn about how we can develop these connections. If you have a good network then people will identify you and would want to be associated with you,” he said. If a person brings in a network, that’s their net worth in the society, he added.
Dr. Raghavendra went on to explain that networking is not a list of contacts. “It is a two-way street and it is not about selling anything or collecting business cards. Networking is about generating connection, goodwill and mutual benefits,” he added. This leads to a relationship being continued in the future also.
He went on to explain that it is not based on the number of connections that one has but the number of people you have a connection with and can be recommended.
“Why should I do it is the first question that some ask but this will not lead to any connection. When we are in our comfort zone, we tend to ignore what others need because it can force us to give up our current and comfortable situation. The greater number of times you help others, the more will the trust develop and this in turn leads to connections,” he said.
To build trust, one has to keep in touch and stay involved, explained Dr. Raghavendra. “If you take up a responsibility for them and do it on time, then they will feel confident in you,” he said. Being interested in other also helps to build trust, he added. “Show that you care and understand about their perspectives also,” he said.
“Whenever you are meeting a person for the first time, or whenever you want to build a connection or that trust, the first thing we do is to introduce ourselves. This introduction plays a very prominent role,” explained Pooja Rao.
She explained that the introduction should be short and interested and make them involved in your conversation. “The most important aspect should be added first and with lot of energy and enthusiasm. You should be proud of what you are,” she added.
“You make a deposit when you do someone a favour and the amount of the deposit is the perceived value by that person. If you ask for a favour you make a withdrawal from that account. Always have a positive network bank account so that people would want to do you a favour,” said Dr. Raghavendra.
During the question-and-answer session, both the speakers answered various queries from the jury and the viewers.
To one particular question on how to delete or manage a particular relationship, Dr. Raghavendra said, “it should be done in a positive way without making them aware that we are winding up the relation with them.” He also said that the network should be from the heart instead of from the mind.
