Pratyush Bhaskar - Share The Common Vision Of Growing Society (Public Speaker & Journalist)

I love talking about the economy and how we need to understand key life skills like money management and cash flow. How financial security is as important if not more than other much talked about topics like food security, Energy Security and National Security. 

1. Tell us more about what you do and what led you to speak on this platform.

I am a Business Journalist by profession and now a financial trainer by chance. After having working in mainstream media primarily broadcast media for esteemed media houses like Zee Business, DD News, tv18, UTV, tv9, HT to name a few covering strategic beats like National, Political, Defense, Sports and Business, I have focused on creating financial literacy across India in the last 5 years. I have been lucky to conduct over a thousand seminar/webinars on financial markets at the top educational, administrative and financial institutions.  

I chose to speak on this platform as it deals with news, that too positive, something I have lived with all through my professional life and career. I wish to connect to a bigger universe of people who need to be touched with the notion of seeing financial empowerment as an important life skill. Since this platform deals with connecting to youth, I would love to pass whatever little I have learnt on the way through the dynamic field of media and communication.

 

2. How do you chose and prepare for a talk?

Being a media professional, mostly I am asked to speak on a wide variety of topics affecting a big cross-section of society. But lately, I love to address issues relating to financial education as I feel that is at the root of all evils and scams across the world at large. We all seem to have become free at some level or the other but financial freedom still eludes us.

 

3. How can one become a public speaker?

By understanding first your audience and what affects them the most. As the name suggests, one has to speak for the public and not just to the public. All the audience generally wants is someone speaking a friendly voice about matters pertaining to their life and beyond. In order to become a public speaker, one needs to have very good observation skills. Many feel one studying a lot on matters to be addressed is of prime importance.

Its sure is, but these days communication is much about what’s happening around and how one can relate the audience to it. For that books appear to a bit passive a source of info. I would suggest one should be able to sponge on and off all the possible info from around. Just keeping in mind that the information to be shared with the public should always be substantiated first and then distributed for consumption.

4. Can motivational speaking become a full-time career?

Yes and No. Yes because this has been a much-ignored area left mostly to as many call them wrongly shrinks. Most of us around abound in all the talent and hard work required to make it big in life, but we fail to do it mostly because of a lack of much-needed motivation in life. No, because in most places it’s not regarded as a full-time profession. Many like me do it along with something else on a full-time basis. It is still to gain recognition as a full-time career financially rewarding as well as career-wise secured.

5. Which is your favourite talk ever and how did it change your life?

It’s tough to pinpoint any single one as among the over 1000+ sessions I have been lucky to have conducted till now, most of them have been with very perceptive audiences. I love talking about the economy and how we need to understand key life skills like money management and cash flow. How financial security is as important if not more than other much talked about topics like food security, Energy Security and National Security. I think, if you don’t understand the business of business then business will kick you out of business. And the same applies to the business of life.  

I travel extensively for conducting the Investor Awareness Programs (IAPs’) on behalf of national-level bodies like the National Stock Exchange and Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and National Securities Depositary Limited (NSDL) in states like Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, MP, Chhattisgarh, UP, Bihar, North East States to name a few. I love

6. What are the best public speaking tips that have worked for you?

I haven’t been lucky enough to come from any school of public speaking channel or so. Most of my discourse borrows heavily from my days as a journalist, where I always felt like we journos were much like Sir Isaac Newton sitting underneath the apple tree. Everybody saw the apple falling on the ground, none questioned; we journo questioned and so got the answers to be shared with others as what we call as news. 

In our college times at Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, we were drilled with the idea of knowing the target audience for whom the story we wished to report on had to be decided upon. So in public speaking, I felt confident if I knew the background of the audience I was supposed to address.

Making eye contact while addressing an audience always helped. Engaging the audience in weaving common stories around them so as to drive home the facts related to their common problems.

7. What impact do you want to make in the world?

Shine the light on common issues of universal concern like economic inequality, lack of education, survival skill development. The financial impact of climate change, to name a few for the world at large. Share the common vision of growing society financially to a better-secured future where each one in the society gets enough to never think of stealing it from others.

I am also empaneled by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai to head the Media and Entertainment Department, where I got to teach in notable educational institutions like Mithibai, Xavier’s, Somaya, to name a few. At these places in the past 5 years, I have been able to train some wonderful future journalists who are continuing the vision I had of making business everybody’s business. Make the audience financially aware of the economics behind all the activities happening around us.

    

8. Which is your favourite book and why?

All Men Are Brothers: A Portrait Of Albert Schweitzer by Charlie May Simon. A book on one of the noblest figures of the 20th century who was awarded, Nobel Peace prize. I came across this book accidentally at home while clearing my shelf.

It took me into the life of a person who was a polymath hailed from a place called Alsace for which Germany and France fought all through the year for custody, whence one half it stayed with one and the other half with another country. He saw the war from up and close, so much so that he had to dodge bullets when he returned home to meet his family. His father was with the Church and he took a liking to playing the piano going on to become one of the few great proponents of Bach. Later at the ripe age of 35, he got into a medical school as he wanted to serve the people of Africa, where he was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for having devoted his life to Africans after having constructed a hospital from scratch in Gabon, Africa. 

Reading about him gave me a purpose to life that howsoever troubled our backyard may be at any stage and age in life, we can take up any vocation and turn it into life-saving for so many who need not be from the place we belong to.

When he got the news of getting the prize. He just closed his eyes and prayed to god after folding his hand. No wonder he was considered the noblest person of the 20th century. The book made me rethink how I would live my life. For myself or for others. Giving gives more joy than taking. 

- Pratyush Bhaskar (Public Speaker & Journalist)

A Bilingual Business Broadcast Journalist/Trainer/Media Consultant with over 20 years on-field experience of working and creating content for noted media houses like Zee business, DD News, tv9, tv18, p7 news, HT, UTV to name a few. I have covered strategic key beats like political, Business - Primarily Financial Markets, covering listing of companies, their AGMs’, product launches, Merger acquisitions & JV deals like Tata JLR; SEBI announcements as well rulings on many landmark cases like Sahara, Satyam cases, Interviewing the then SEBI chief; Banking - Bank announcements, RBI monetary policies announcements, Interviewing the then RBI governor, Insurance Sector companies, IRDA Regulator.

Recently was selected to conduct the Faculty Development Program on the BFSI sector at DMC College, Mapusa in Goa under the Ministry of HRD scheme of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching.

LinkedIn:- Pratyush Bhaskar

- Interviewed By Pratibha Sahani