THE PUBLIC SPEAKING & DEBATING SOCIETY – PSDS

The Public Speaking and Debating Society (PSDS) is an integral part of H.R. College of Commerce & Economics. Dedicated to fostering the development of public speaking and debating skills, PSDS offers students a platform to engage in a wide range of debate competitions, MUNs, social and cultural events, as well as hosting various seminars and events. Its primary objective is to empower students to express their opinions effectively.

PSDS strives to equip students with the necessary tools to overcome stage fright, step out of their comfort zones, improve their communication skills, enhance their confidence, foster critical thinking, expand their vocabulary, refine their diction, and achieve fluency in public speaking.

By providing these opportunities, PSDS aims to create a supportive environment where students can grow, learn, and excel in articulating their thoughts and ideas. Through their active participation in PSDS activities, students develop invaluable skills that will benefit them in various aspects of their personal and professional lives. PSDS remains committed to nurturing and empowering students to become effective communicators, critical thinkers, and influential voices in their respective fields.


ACTIVITIES 2023-2024

INTERCOLLEGIATE WIN: FINACC’23

August 11-12 2023         Participants: 29

Organized by: Accounts & Finance Circle of R. A. Podar College

The Accounts and Finance Circle of the R.A. Podar College of Commerce and Economics (Autonomous) hosted Finacc; a cutting-edge financial festival that offers information on a variety of topics, including government finance, start-up economics, corporate finance.

The participants from the contingent of PSDS secured the following positions:

  • Overall Position: Winners
  • Events Won at Finacc:
    • Moneyball: First Place
    • Quiz-o-Ccounts: First Place
    • Between The Lines: First Place
    • Fundaaz Apna Apna: First Place
INTERCOLLEGIATE WIN: ENIGMA ENVISAGE

September 1-3, 2023         Participants: 105 Participants

Organized by: R. A. Podar College of Commerce and Economics

ENIGMA is one of the biggest cultural festivals of Mumbai, organized by R.A. Podar College of Commerce and Economics. It was a 3-day journey of energy, excitement & exuberance that brought together some of the finest talents under a single roof. The festival is the meeting of minds and is designed in such a way that it helps students carve a niche for themselves and experiment with their abilities. The Public Speaking and Debating Society of H.R. College participated in the festival and won many events.

Events won at Enigma Envisage:

First Podium:

  • War Of DJ’s
  • Montage of Moments
  • Lyrical Odyssey

Second Podium:

  • Unveiling the Unheard
  • Chess
  • Debt Dynamo
  • Arm Wrestling
FRESHERS’ DEBATE

September 26,27 & 29, 2023         Attendees: 40

The freshers’ Debate was an effort by PSDS to give the first-year students a glimpse into the PSDS World. The first round was conducted online on September 26, 2023. The participants showed amazing impromptu argumentative skills along with showcasing their creativity and on-the-spot thinking abilities.

On September 27, 2023, 14 qualified participants engaged in an offline round. The participants were quick to exercise their brains and think on their feet to deliver some clever assertions. On September 29, 2023, the final round had 8 participants, all psyched up for fierce combat on the topic ‘Who was the better leader?’. The debate ended with one winner and two runners-up.

INTERCOLLEGIATE PARTICIPATION: SHASTRARTH

September 30, 2023         Participants: 12 (6 teams)

Shastrarth, a national level intercollegiate debating fest, organised by Sarla Anil Modi School of Economics, NMIMS, witnessed large scale participation from all over the country. It was a festival which gave students a chance to challenge their debating skills and learn from other debaters. It proved to be a platform where the participants discovered their own talents of expressing and defending their views. PSDS represented H.R. College of Commerce and Economics and participated in a host of events.

Two-Day National Workshop on ‘Image Building’

November 6&7, 2023         Attendees: 130 Participants

H.R. College of Commerce and Economics, in association with The Public Speaking and Debating Society, organized a Two-Day national workshop on ‘Image Building’, with 130 participants. Both days had renowned speakers, Dr. Preeti Shirodkar and Ms. Kamalrukh Jal Baria, who provided insights on creating a well-crafted image and its benefits in various walks of life. The workshop was successful and aided a lot of students.

Public Lecture - The New India In Contemporary Indian Chick Lit

18th December, 2023         Attendees: 100

The Public Lecture on Indian Chick Lit was organised by Public Speaking and Debating Society in collaboration with the BMN College of Home Science. The guest lecturer for the seminar was Dr. Delphine Munos who specialises in Post-Colonialism in Belgium. The lecture began with Dr. Munos speaking about Rushdie’s famous Midnight’s Children in reference to the different trends and phases of Indian Literature in English. After which, she clearly defined the term Chick Lit to us and what they should be perceived as, as compared to the reality.She expanded greatly on how the term Chick Lit has evolved to become books with ‘pink, aqua and lime’ coloured covers, with cartoon women having long legs.

OFF D’CUFF 2024

DATE: 7th and 8th January, 2024.

Precedent to OFF D’CUFF 2024, the Public Speaking and Debating Society organized its Model United Nations in our very own H.R College. Held on the 7th and 8th of January, 2024, it was an offline event consisting of quality participation from intra collegiate participants as well as from inter college; in both our committees - The Lok Sabha and the United Nations Security Council. We kicked off the first day with our wonderful chairpersons – Mr. P Ajit Rao and Mr. Dhairya Shah who presided over the UNSC and Ms. Guaravi Dubey who was our Lok Sabha Speaker. During the course of two days, amidst many heated arguments, surprise agendas and motions and agreements, the two committees witnessed a fruitful discussion over the many current and ongoing turbulences in the nation and abroad.



PUBLIC SPEAKING & DEBATING SOCIETY Photo Gallery


ACTIVITIES 2022-2023

FRESHERS’ DEBATE 2022

September 30, 2022         Venue: H.R. College of Commerce & Economics

PSDS organized its Flagship event - Freshers’ Debate with great zeal and enthusiasm. Spread over 3 rounds, the Debate competition with its unique style aimed at encouraging the freshers to express their thoughts and defend the same while being able to understand the perspective of others. The six finalists geared up for the Final Round after having battled in the previous elimination rounds.

Following the Frank Anthony Debate model, they prepared for their stand, either for or against, on the topic of Creative Thinking v/s Logical Thinking. The opening speeches were well illustrated with a plethora of examples. The Rebuttal rounds involved intrigue questioning including a few questions from the judge herself. The closing speeches given by the finalists were coherent and conveyed their final thoughts comprehensively.

The winners were declared based on various judging criteria including presentation skills, body language etc. After having delivered their acceptance speech, the winners were congratulated by everyone and appreciated for their efforts.

First Position: Ria Parker
Second Position: Mit Prajapati
Third Position: Eshita Sarawgi

TWO DAY NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON RESEARCH REQUISITES

December 5-6, 2022

The Public Speaking & Debating Society hosted a Two-Day National Workshop on ‘Research Requisites’ exclusively for teachers. The workshop was organized in collaboration with the IQAC and the Department of English of H.R. College of Commerce & Economics, as well as the IQAC and the Department of Business Communication of SIWS NR Swami College and Smt. Thirumalai College of Science.

INTRA COLLEGIATE ORGANISED

ITIHAAS KI AAWAZ

December 4, 2022

The Public Speaking and Debating Society of H.R. College of Commerce & Economics recently organized a spectacular and distinctive intra collegiate event ‘Itihaas ki Aawaz’.

A total of 12 teams registered, out of which 6 teams qualified for the next round on the basis of the duration and tasks covered in treasure hunt. Participants were asked to prepare a presentation in an hour on notions like ‘what if a product or service from the twenty-first century like air conditioners, etc. was accessible in times of war?’ Participants had to persuade/present a notion about how convenient people's lives would have been if a good or service that we rely on now had been around at the time. The judges for the event were Ms. Anindita Chakraborty and Ms. Rinkal Shukla. The product pitch began with creative PowerPoint presentations by the contestants. The event concluded on a successful note by paying tribute to 75 Years of India’s Independence.

INTERCOLLEGIATE ORGANISED

OFF D’CUFF 2023

February 24-27, 2023

Off D'Cuff 2023, the 10th edition of the International Literary Extravaganza organized by H.R. College's Public Speaking and Debating Society, was a phenomenal success. This 4-day inter-collegiate fest, themed “A Marvelous Multiverse,” featured 13 exciting events, attracting participation from international and national colleges. B.K. Birla College claimed the inter-collegiate winner title, while the Investment Club of H.R. College emerged as the intra-collegiate winner. The event showcased the creative talents of the dedicated student team, elevating the reputation of the Public Speaking and Debating Society.

INTRACOLLEGIATE WIN

IRIS 2022

October 1-3, 2022

An event reviving childhood memories, IRIS offered diverse experiences to enhance decision-making and self-assurance. Expect the unexpected and embrace any challenge. The participants from the contingent of PSDS secured the following positions:

Overall Position: First Runners Up PR Activity: First Place

INTERCOLLEGIATE PARTICIPATION & WINS

SHASTRARTH

November 5, 2022

NMIMS’ Sarla Anil Modi School of Economics hosted the 12th edition of its inter-collegiate debating fest entitled Shastrarth. PSDS represented H.R. College of Commerce & Economics and participated in a host of events.

SPCE ANNUAL DEBATE 2022

November 12-13, 2022

The PSDS participated in the SPCE Annual Debate 2022, an inter-collegiate event by SPCE, with a team of three members. The debate format followed was - Modern Asian Parliamentary, Government vs. Opposition.

On Day 1, PSDS participants debated in opposition to the topic - ‘The House believes Muslim women should be allowed to wear Hijab as a mark of protest’. The result was a tie. Team PSDS of H.R. College of Commerce & Economics was one of the teams which qualified to move to Day 2. Though the team missed grabbing the podium by a slight margin, the coherent arguments made by them were well appreciated. This event proved to be significant in honing the public speaking and debating skills of the participants.

SPOKEN FEST 2022

November 19, 2022         Organized by: Kommune

PSDS participated in The Spoken Fest 2022, organized by Kommune bringing pride to H.R. College of Commerce & Economics by securing the First Position in story-telling.



PUBLIC SPEAKING & DEBATING SOCIETY Photo Gallery


ACTIVITIES 2021-2022

WORKSHOP ON HONING LIFE SKILLS

September 21 - 23, 2021

The Public Speaking and Debating Society of H.R. College in collaboration with the Department of Business Communication of SIWS College conducted a webinar on 'Honing Life Skills' on 'Zoom'.

Day 1 - September 21, 2021 Participants: 140

The event started with a brief introduction by Caelean Tavares, followed by Mrs. Geeta Sahu, faculty in charge of PSDS. Dr. Pooja Ramchandani, Principal of HR College, and Dr. Usha Iyer, Principal of SIWS College, addressed the audience on the importance of life skills and effective communication.

Mr. Bhagat imparted some knowledge on a few lessons on life not taught in school or college.

He shared a presentation explaining 4 Different life lessons, as follows:

  • There is no logic in life, it's only magic. We find logic in everything in our life, whereas in reality, life has no logic, but only magic – learn to laugh at the illogical things happening in life.
  • There is no fixed formula to live – Everyone's path is unique.
  • Enemy, war, and result will always be unexpected, unknown, and uncertain to you.
  • Everything is temporary. Learn to let go of things.

Mr. Bhagat further discussed some points on how to be successful just like our role models. He emphasized the ability of the mind to think something bizarre, interpret things in a wild way, and see things differently from others.

Day 2 - September 22, 2021

The second workshop was with Mrs. Santhini Govindan who imparted some knowledge on Writing - The Right Way to Write. She explained how writing is an important skill that is about communication and presentation.

Mrs. Santhini discussed some points on how to be a successful writer. She emphasized how words are a very powerful tool and writing can cleanse our minds and help us feel free. She discussed different topics such as plagiarism, self-publication, and how to approach different publishers. She stressed the importance of reading and using punctuation marks in our sentences

Day 3 - September 23, 2021

Mrs. Sucharita Sarkar was the guest for the evening on the last day. She explained how blogging is like a personal diary and blogging is one's key to sharing with the world personal opinions, activities, and experiences. Mrs. Sucharita further discussed some points on how to be a successful blogger. She demonstrated the making of a blog of blogger and WordPress. She stressed the main challenges of blogging, the concept of Search Engine Optimization and its importance to increase reach, and the different ways in which bloggers can make money. The engaging round concluded with a Q&A session.

THE FRESHERS' DEBATE – PSDS' FLAGSHIP EVENT

November 20 - 21, 2021

The Public Speaking and Debating Society hosted its flagship event 'The Freshers' Debate 2021', on the platform, Zoom.

This debate was exclusively for First Year Degree College Students, to provide them with a platform to voice their thoughts and opinions and overcome stage fright whilst carving a niche for themselves in college at a nascent stage itself.

The PSDS Freshers' Debate was a capped event witnessing participation from chosen 60 enthusiastic Freshers', debating on a multitude of topics including:

  • Is globalization the reason we are forgetting our culture?
  • Does the world require a second Renaissance?
  • Is LinkedIn promoting hustle culture? And various other topics

The topic for the final round, which consisted of 8 Finalists was, “Is Feminism Inclusive of equal rights for the LGBTQIA+ Community?”

The Judges For The Final Round Were:

Mr. Farrhad Acidwalla: Farrhad, an alumnus of H.R. College, is a technology and media entrepreneur, investor, and four-time TEDx speaker. He started as one of the world's youngest entrepreneurs in his early teens.

Ms. Swati Khanna: Swati is an Advocate who has studied Law at DU. She has a high litigation experience in Civil, Criminal, Commercial, Matrimonial, Corporate, and Arbitration matters.

The debaters presented their strong opening statements, engaged in an intriguing round of rebuttals, and gave convincing closing statements.

The Winners of the event were:

1st Place - Sara Bapna
2nd Place - Harsh Murarka
3rd Place - Maria Mister

Intercollegiate Organised 2021-2022

IMPROWISE

September 3-4, 2021

The Public Speaking and Debating Society organized ImproWise, a national-level improv storytelling extravaganza. This event had two rounds: the eliminations round and the grand finale, held over two days.

The Winners of ImproWise event: -

1st 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞: Team Comicstaan (Sophia College, Mumbai)
2nd 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞: Team Stranger Things (Don Bosco College of Hospitality Studies, Mumbai)

OFF D’ CUFF 2022

February 26-28, 2022

The 9th edition of ODC was a landmark one for the team as it was held on an International Level. About 30+ colleges from all over the world participated in this fest, making it a grand success. The colleges include prestigious institutes like IITs and Barton Peveril College, UK.

The Winners at ODC 22’ were as:

Inter-collegiate:

Winner: Hala (Mithibai College)

Runner-up: Maleficent (MU Law University)

Intra-collegiate:

Winner: Riordanverse (Investment Club of H.R. College)

Runner-up: Darkover (General Event Management Society of H.R. College)



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ACTIVITIES 2020-2021

1. UNMUTE ME
October 16-20, 2020

The Public Speaking and Debating Society of H.R. College hosted a one of its kind inter collegiate Poetry Extravaganza with active participation from 300+ students from colleges across Maharashtra whose poetic masterpieces were absolutely scintillating and on issues whose discussion was the need of the hour.

The participants were given the creative liberty to write in the language of their choice out of English & Hindi. The topics given were:

  • Social Causes (Including but not limited to the themes of crimes against women, war, mental health, climate change etc.)
  • Emotions (Including but not limited to the themes of love, sorrow, anger, ecstasy, death etc.)
2. OFF D' CUFF 2021
January 2021 to April 2021 had 1000+entries.

The Public Speaking and Debating Society of H.R. College launched its Flagship, one of a kind, National Intercollegiate Literary Extravaganza - OFF D' CUFF 2021 in a never before seen National series framework in January 2021, conducted over the span of four months.

There were around 90 colleges, including prestigious institutes like IITs, BITS Pilani, Lady Shree Ram College, Christ University, Jai Hind College, Mithibai College, Narsee Monjee College, NMIMS amongst others and active participation from students all over the nation as well as international participation from countries like Kyrgyzstan.

Premiered in a never before seen National format having 5 National Events, namely:

  • Talk of the Town - A National Level Talent Night.
  • The Funny Bone - A unique All India Stand Up Comedy Competition.
  • Duel Of Disputes - A National Turncoat Debate.
  • Spill The Ink - An All India Essay Writing Competition.
  • The Imitation Game - A unique, never seen before National Character

Debate wherein participants had to mimic various fictional/book/movie characters and had to debate as the character would.

The Extravaganza witnessed esteemed judges including Harvard Alumni, Celebrities, Film Industry Veterans, Youth Sensations, Best Selling Authors, Social Media Influencers, International Pop Stars, Ivy League Graduates, Poets, Stand-up Comedians & Actors to name a few.

3. The Art of Formal Communication: Your Lifetime Membership to The Success Club
September 9, 2020

Mr. Himanshu Dev, whose holistic counselling has resulted in his students reaching Harvard, MIT, LSE, Cornell, Oxford etc. with over 350 attendees; covered topics like Job Application Letters, SOP Writing, CV Building, LinkedIn Profile Writing and Effective Communication in the Corporate World.

4. Public Speaking 101: The Language of Leadership
September 26, 2020

Mr. Rishabh Shah, an alumnus of the college, covered topics like Confidence Building, Improving One’s Communication Skills, Overcoming Stage Fright and Debating & MUNning.

5. For Students by Students Initiative
September 2020 to May 2021

A Communication & Soft Skills Enhancement Initiative was taken up by the students of PSDS to become adept at public speaking. A series of videos were created garnering more than 95,000+ views enlisting some tips and tricks on a myriad of topics including but not limited to tips for group discussions, job interviews, effective debating and MUNning; commonly mispronounced words and misused phrases; and how to write winning speeches and many more.

6. FRESHER'S DEBATE 2020
November 9, 2020

PSDS hosted its flagship event the 'Fresher's Debate' on Zoom exclusively for First Year Degree College Students, debating on a myriad of topics including - universal basic income, paternity leaves, social networking sites, role of over population in corona virus pandemic; to name a few. Spanning over three rounds, all incorporating different debating formats and the grand finale witnessed the Cambridge form of debating.

INTER COLLEGIATE PARTICIPATION / WINS BY TEAM PSDS 2020-2021.

  1. Brews & Blues - An OPEN MIC by Rotaract Club of K.C. College held on July 9, 2020. This was a multidisciplinary Open Mic Event that gave students possessing Performing Arts Prowess a platform to showcase an Array of Talents, such as Dancing, Singing, Elocution, Theatre, Declamation, Performance Poetry etc.
  2. Confronting Conflicts’ a Virtual Intercollegiate Debate - by Rotaract Club Jaihind intended to find out the various mindsets about key problems in society at large, held on July 20, 2020.
  3. Government of Maharashtra Virtual MAHA MUN - A Virtual Edition of the CASI GLOBAL NEWYORK Model United Nations Conference held on July 24 & 25, 2020.
  4. Seatown fest 2020 - PSDS Member Simran Panjwani secured the 3rd Position in the Slogan Writing Competition at the SeaTown Fest held on September 30, 2020.
  5. Why The Long Face – a part of KIRAN a KC College Fest where Vanshika Mithani secured the 1st Runners Up Position at The Crime Thriller Panel Discussion Competition held on January 14, 2021.
  6. SYNERGY - Reshu Agarwal, a part of the PSDS team, participated in a National level intercollegiate fest by department of Economics and Psychology of St. Xavier's, Jaipur and secured the 2nd Position in the event "Press Quest" which was a report writing and debating event, January 16 & 17, 2021
  7. ZION - Armaana Randhawa from the PSDS Team participated in a Debate Event called Bone Of Contention and secured the 1st position (Best Speaker) in the ZION Fest conducted by MITHIBAI College on February 8, 2021.
  8. BLAZE 2021 – PSDS team participated in the intercollegiate festival hosted by the Investment Club of H.R. College (ICHR) held on March 18-27, 2021.
  9. Blitz Creed 2021 - the Annual Literary Fest Organized by PSDS Sydenham College on April 2 & 3, 2021 securing the 1st position for the second consecutive year!
  10. Rostrum Spectrum - PSDS participated in the Flagship Intercollegiate Literary Extravaganza held by R. A. Podar College on April 12, 2021 where it secured the 1st & 2nd Positions in the Debate.
  11. Connexion 2021 - PSDS Team members Teesha Jain and Smrithi Rasur secured 1st position in the debate competition - War of words, as part of the English literary association (dept. of business communication) of Thakur College of Science (autonomous), held on April 10, 2021.

INTRA COLLEGIATE PARTICIPATION / WINS BY TEAM PSDS 2020-2021

  1. HR LIT FEST - the National Literary Arts Festival organised by the HR Speaks Club of H.R. College on November 7 & 8, 2020.
  2. CALLISTO - a two-day virtual intra-collegiate festival by the General Event Management Society of H.R. College, held on November 28 & 29, 2020.
  3. EKAYAN - Known as the fest of celebrating the human rights organised by the Social and Self Awareness Club held from December 10-14, 2020.
  4. ZIPCODE - organised by the International Programmes Committee of H.R. College, November 23 & 24, 2020.
  5. CELESTE - organised by Cascade Club of H.R. College held on 23rd September 2020.
  6. Change Is Us - PSDS participated in the Literary Arts Competition held by The Rotary Club of Mumbai Nariman Point, held on January 1, 2021.
  7. GDC JAM (Just a minute) - an Extempore Speaking Event Conducted by The Growth Development & Change cell of H.R. College, November 7, 2020.
  8. Poetry Writing Competition - by the Social and Self Awareness Club of H.R. College held on December 12, 2020.

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ACTIVITIES 2019-2020

Fresher’s Debate

The Fresher’s Debate is an intra-collegiate event conducted exclusively for the First Year Students. There were two rounds of Group Discussions conducted and the best performers from the two rounds competed with each other for a Classic Debate. The event was judged by Ms. Anaheez Patel, Marketing Executive, Conde Nast India.

The winners were of the Fresher’s Debate were:
1st Place: Manushresth Rao
2nd Place: Vraj Jain
3rd Place: Adith Herga

Off D’ Cuff

The Public Speaking & Debating Society hosted the 7th Edition of its Flagship Inter-Collegiate Literary Fest ‘Off D’ Cuff’ on the 20th and 21st of January 2020. The event was attended by colleges all over Mumbai. The trophy for “Best College Overall” at OFF D’ CUFF 2020 was awarded to D.J. Sanghvi College of Engineering for their outstanding performance at the fest.

Inter-Collegiate Wins

The students of PSDS participated in and had over 70 individual wins in Inter-Collegiate events.

BLITZ CREED 2020 - an inter collegiate event organised by Sydenham College

  • 1st Place Overall
  • BEST COLLEGE award at Literary Fest
  • Spell Bee : 1st Place
  • Debate : 1st & 2nd Place
  • Quiz : 1st Place
  • Tape and Tell : 1st Place
  • A Letter to Yourself : 1st Place

BHARARI - Organised by Sydhnem College - theme any social issue

  • 1st - Fashion Show
  • 1st - Debate Competition
  • 3rd - Rangoli Making Competition
  • Best CL Trophy
  • Best College - Runner up

LATE MRS. KAUSHALYA SANGTANI MEMORIAL INTER-COLLEGIATE QUIZ COMPETITION 2019 - by Manghanmal Udharam College of Commerce, Pimpri, Pune

  • 2nd place overall
  • 1st runner-up in Quiz Competition


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