Hello to all the BMM and media enthusiasts (and to BMMites and faculty members who know someone who is looking for BMM-related info!)

Have you or your friends been considering joining a media course? Are you or other people you know looking at colleges in Mumbai that offer BMM but don’t know which one to go for? What does it take to do a media course? Are you cut out for it?

Do you wish to pursue Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM)? If yes, look no further!

Answers to these and more await you!

BMMBox.com has planned InfoBox 2013 – a Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM) Information Seminar for all those who are interested in securing admission in the various BMM colleges including St. Xavier’s, Jai Hind, KC, Wilson, UPG, Rizvi, Ruia, National, SIES, Thakur, and so on! This seminar is open to HSC, CBSE, ICSE, IGCSE, IB, or just about any other board that is equivalent to 12th grade!

What: InfoBox 2013 (BMM-Information Seminar)
When: Sunday, May 19, 2013

Where: KC College of Management Studies, KCCMS Building, Mahakavi Bhushan Marg, Above Ling’s Pavilion

Landmark: Cafe Mondegar Lane,Behind Regal Theatre, Colaba, Mumbai 400039

Time: 10AM – 4PM

Registration Fee: Rs. 1,000/- per participant* (Was Rs. 1,500/- for the first event and now Rs. 500/- off on every ticket!)

*A nominal registration/participation fee is being charged so that only genuine participants turn up at the event and to cover speaker, venue, and event organization costs. Parents/guardians can attend by taking an additional pass for themselves.
We prefer parents/guardians coming along so they also get to know more about the course and can guide their children further.

Seminar Agenda

Seminar Agenda

PART 1: Media Course 101
– Why taking up a media course makes sense
– Who should take up the course
– Skill sets required for the media industry

Part 2: BMM Colleges
– What makes a good media/BMM College
– Why getting admitted to a good media/BMM college is VERY important
– Points to consider when choosing a media college

Part 3: Entrance and Preparation
– Clearing the BMM-Entrance Exam confusion
– Which colleges are taking the entrance test
– How to prepare for those tests

Part 4: Media Industry Interaction
– Interact with both Ex-BMM students and top media professionals who are now working at advertising agencies, media and production houses, MNCs, public relations agencies, large publications, event managements companies, etc. They will give their perspectives on BMM and media industry

Part 5: Open Q&A
– Open Question and Answers session to ask all your doubts (if not covered during the sessions), and personal thoughts or apprehensions on taking the course.

If you wish to sign up for the event and still want to know the process of signing up and other questions, feel free to fill in this form below and our team will get in touch with you to help you out

Pictures from the InfoBox 2012 Seminar 1 held on April 17, 2012

InfoBox 2012

InfoBox 2012

InfoBox 2012

So, what are you waiting for? Come over to this first-of-its-kind information seminar and get all your doubts cleared. This will help you keep a clear focus on your goals about which college to join, how to crack the entrance test, what parameters to consider when choosing a BMM college, and much more.

If you have any questions about the seminar, feel free to email connect@bmmbox.com with subject line ‘InfoBox 2013′.

Some Number Crunching

Mumbai can accommodate only 3000+ odd students for Bachelor of Mass Media in approx 50 colleges.

Though the number of applicants is assumed to be more than 50,000.

Xavier’s BMM Department did not even a second list for BMM students…The quota of 60 students has already been taken by toppers and rankers.

All the top colleges have just 5-6 BMM seats vacant in the open category.

June 22 will be the last hope for all the students as the last list will be put up.

Flashback

Not a long time ago, BMM (Bachelor of Mass Media) and BMS (Bachelor of Management Studies) were considered as alternate options for Commerce students. The courses looked and sounded cooler than the usual Bcom route. But, times have changed and so have the perceptions. These decade old courses have now become top priority for students, not only in Commerce, but also in Arts and Science. Apart from these, the decision to scrap the entrance exams has affected student’s big time.

What has made Bachelor of Mass Media one of the most popular courses? Here are some of things that have got it in the limelight:

• Course Flow: Practical + Theory Approach makes it a hit.

• Course Structure: The course is divided into 6 semesters with new subjects each semester. Thus, teaching more than 30+ subjects in a time span of three years. Subjects are related to mass media and give the students an insight into the Media Industry.

• Faculty: A mix of In-house and Visiting faculty from the industry strikes a connection and makes the students well connected to the industry.

• Projects: Not to forget the amazing project work done during the three years. It really raises the bar as far as creativity and technology is concerned.

BMMBox Viewpoint

We all know how good it feels to actually get admissions into a top college that you always wanted to go to, but due to the limited number of seats in each college, this may not happen for now. BUT, don’t lose hope and read ahead:

• Apply and Opt for a college close to your residence, so you get more time to concentrate on your projects and have more fun 🙂

• Study well in your first year and you always stand a chance to change your college in the second year.

• You can study in any college and still enjoy BMM by being a part of all the BMM festivals that happen across the city 🙂

Cheers!!!

Goodluck.

Do let us know, what you think of the above article. You can just leave a comment below and we will surely reply back.

Read More BMM related articles here.

With the Indian job market halfway out of the septic tank and the academic year being only a few months away from conclusion, it’s possible that some people have already begun drafting their resumes for the various internships and jobs that lie ahead. To guide these early birds and others who’ve just got their eyes on the worm, listed below are some guidelines to be followed while ‘constructing’ a good BMM resume/curriculum vitae. Here goes;

1. Call me!

Mention important details like contact information first.

The person reading the resume will be most likely to remember information mentioned at the beginning and the end of the document. Therefore, mention your name, address, telephone, email, and date of birth (in that order preferably) so that it’s the first thing they see on your resume (they won’t mind scrolling down a bit to see the details that matter to them, so make sure that they also register the details that matter to you).

Note: Double check your contact details for typos/outdated details. It’s very annoying for an employer to make the much awaited call only to find that they’ve called the wrong number or that it is ‘temporarily out of service.’ Remember, we are BMM students – media and communication are our forte, so all communication media (telephones/email ids/mobiles) mentioned in the resume should be up and running!

2. Do you know who I am?

The personal details must be followed by the information most relevant to the application viz. your job experience.

The first thing to remember when penning down one’s job experience is that it HAS to be tabulated. Do not mention it in bullet points (it’s not an essay). Also, make sure that you mention the most recent job’s details first (such as current position; unless it happens to be ‘unemployed’ in which case you can give that a miss) and go backwards to the least recent job.

Give a brief gist of each previous post just highlighting the employer, post held, and duration. Please do not exaggerate/mention bogus postings just because someone’s agreed to give you an experience letter. That’ll only take you as far as the interview and decrease the probability of scoring any after you’ve been rejected there.

3. I studied hard JUST for you!

Educational details are next on the list after job experience

Needless to say, this too needs to be tabulated as it saves space and is more reader friendly. Your employer/potential employer wouldn’t like to dig past your 10th results to find out you’ve done BMM, so make sure you mention the most recent course, university, date of passing, and percentage/grade first. Go backwards from there on (same format). They will read what interests them.

Note: Do add in any courses, which might be relevant to the job sought. Your having done Level Two of Ball-room dancing is unlikely to create much buzz anywhere but the course in spoken Japanese would help if the company had an affiliation with a Japanese company. So if you are a six-week, off-the-internet, so-called ‘Microsoft certified’ hardware engineer applying for a post as Dietician, it’s more likely to irritate than help. Keep it short, keep it relevant.

4. And the award goes to…

Mention any significant awards/recognitions you’ve won over the years. It helps further the impression.

First in a class running race in 3rd standard doesn’t count. 2nd in a certain event at a BMM festival does. Unless you were a remarkable scholar/athlete in school (state level/national level Olympiad/athletics champ and the like) you can omit details of those exploits. Mention any awards you may have received after the 10th grade. And make sure these are also TABULATED and arranged in an order with the most recent on top going backwards to the least recent.

5. Say Cheese!

Photographs are not mandatory but they do no harm.

Even if the mirror does crack when you look at your reflection, there’s no harm in letting your potential employer know that. If it does matter to them, they’re not going to close their eyes while interviewing you (metaphorically, and literally). Include a photograph with a light background wearing attire that contrasts with the background (formals preferable).

6. Miscellaneous Points

– Mention details about any languages known to you. You never know when it’ll give you an edge.
– Do not bluff about current salary. Someone is likely to do their homework and come up with the correct figure. If you’ve bluffed, you’ve as good as lost the job. Not because you made them work for the data, but because you’re untrustworthy.
– One page is for personal details, one page for education and experience. Long lists of research papers etc. are unlikely to be perused. It can be clumped under – ‘have contributed to numerous research papers in ‘human Psychology’ with the notation that details will be provided if asked. Believe me, if you cannot make an impression in two pages, you aren’t likely to make it in four, except as a boring pedantic loser.

7. Resume Formatting

– Format your resume well. Use page borders. Do not make it flashy. Do not use fonts such as ‘Comic Sans,’ ‘Lucida Handwriting,’ or ‘Copperplate Gothic.’

‘Times New Roman’, ‘Arial’ and ‘Calibri’ are the best picks.
– Enclose a CD with some of the projects you’ve worked on in college (if they’re good). These usually come in handy for making a good impression.
– Mention your interests and hobbies towards the end. It’s a nice way to sum yourself up at the end of your resume.

Hope this serves good enough!

– Raghav Rao –

The lives of BMM students all over Mumbai, though diverse, follow more or less the same pattern. And at some point in the pattern comes the realization that it is time to start studying for their exams (For most this happens 2-3 days, or even less, before the exams). A very small number actually realizes this more than a month in advance. For those students who have awakened or are soon to awaken and seek guidance on how to tackle this accursed ritual of testing one’s skill on the basis of an archaic syllabus… here are a few tips 😉

1. Get Your Act…err…Notes Together.

You can’t study if you don’t have anything to study/refer

Not those little chits you’ve passed around during lecture… I’m referring to the substantial (hopefully) tome of knowledge you’ve built while you paid attention to the professor during some of the lectures you attended or while you toiled away in the college library not so long ago. (Oh wait a minute… you’ve probably just woken up :P… so if you haven’t done either of the two above mentioned activities… do not fear… there are plenty of notes compiled by students and lecturers that are doing their rounds via email. Just pray that someone forwards you a copy 😉 )

Note: Please understand that notes are not money. There’s no harm in sharing them. The marks you’ll be getting don’t depend on how well someone else is prepared. (Of course if you have an enemy… feel free to abstain from sending them anything… but don’t expect them to send you anything either.) Also, go to your college library and request the question papers of the previous five years. 75-90% of those questions (including the case study structure) are REPEATED!

More easy, upload good projects, get moderated and avail all the previous questions papers (for boards only for now) from BMMBox free of cost via these links – http://bmmbox.com/cafe/forumdisplay.php?f=4 and http://bmmbox.com/cafe/forumdisplay.php?f=3

2. Don’t wait for the Prof.

He/She’s not going to declare war on you just because you’ve started studying a part of the portion he/she’s not finished.

There’s no harm on perusing a chapter before the professor’s touched it in class. On the other hand, there’s a lot of risk involved in waiting for them. Here’s why: –

• They may have completed that part in a lecture you’ve bunked
• They may have completed that part while you were daydreaming about Katrina Kaif/ Whatever girls dream of during lectures 😛
• They may tell you to DIY (Do It Yourself) one week before the exams.
• They may simply rush through it at FTL speed (Faster Than Light) one week before your exam.
• They may be abducted by aliens before they complete it.
Start your studies (at least just read through the chapter) regardless of where your professor’s reached in the syllabus. Once you’ve collected notes… USE them… the spider in your attic or the roaches under your bed can’t read.

Note: – If you HAVE read a unit before your professor discusses it in class… keep it to yourself. There’s no need to show off your so-called superiority in class by interrupting the professor while he/she’s explaining it. You’re not going to get any medals for it and you’re more likely annoying the Prof. and your classmates.

3. Get Your Net Set.

The Internet, like BMMBox :-), is a NECESSITY while preparing for BMM exams.

BMM requires one to stay up to date with current affairs and most subjects require students to provide a lot of current examples to justify the theory they vomit out into their papers. The Internet is the most convenient resource for this. So make sure you speak to your ISP. Do anything required (short of death threats and stone pelting) to ensure that you have a WORKING Internet connection while you study.

4. Collect your Projects and Assignments.

If you don’t have a copy of them, request your friends to share theirs.

Your projects are more often than not based on your syllabus and are a reflection of the practical application of the theory you learn. Go through your projects and the projects made by others to further understand the subject. Believe me… projects help you learn a lot of things that would seem incomprehensible otherwise. Share your projects and take some time out to go through them.

5. Form a Study Group; Follow a strict schedule.

There are many advantages to studying in groups

Get a few of your friends together to study with you. Don’t let the number of people in the group exceed four. Your groupies give you company when studying, help you understand topics that they might know but which you find incomprehensible and stop you from drifting off while studying. Just don’t get carried away making jokes or letting breaks eat into your study time.

A schedule is very important when you’re preparing for exams. Make a time table for yourself, PRINT IT OUT, make multiple copies of it and stick it up wherever you’re likely to notice it in your house (Spare the bathroom and the Television screen if you can). Make sure your leisure activities come AFTER your study time. Your study period should not be divided into different parts of the day as it breaks continuity. However, you can take 3 five minute breaks in every hour spent studying. And most importantly – STICK TO YOUR SCHEDULE.

6. The Study Method.

Here’s the method I employ while studying for my exams

i. Read through the notes. Don’t try to memorize the notes. The first reading is just to get a basic idea of the subject. Read it and try to understand what’s being said. You don’t need to remember the number of factors leading to a war or the different types of headlines. Just go through the entire syllabus once. (This forms the basis for your preparation and, despite the fact that you may not even pass if you gave the exam immediately after completing this step, it is still very important).

ii. After the first step, open the previous years’ question papers, and find an answer to each question in them from your notes. Prepare these answers as well as possible while looking up the latest examples to validate the theory from the net. (After this step, you’re definitely going to pass the externals… but that shouldn’t be the upper limit for your goals)

iii. Subsequently, re-read the topics you’ve missed out while preparing with the question papers. This completes your second read of the entire syllabus.

iv. Once done with your second read… go through the entire syllabus again… but just skim through all the topics. Try to close your eyes and remember each sub point as you read it in the previous two revisions. Re-read whatever you can’t remember. (This step will go super- fast if you did the previous three sincerely)

v. For safety’s sake, skim through the syllabus again for topics you may have missed out.

Miscellaneous Tips:

• Don’t forget to ask your professor about the format to attempt your case study.

• Load up the refrigerator with some snacks. Sure you’ll put on weight… but you don’t get distracted as often when you’re munching on something.

• Get your stationery ready well before the exams. Don’t go hunting for it one day before the exam (I mean it… I get through BMM lectures using borrowed pens and notebooks 😉 )

• You do not need to take photos/videos of your ‘group study night’ to upload on Facebook.

• This one’s for the guys… give all your computer games/PSP/PS3/XBOX to friends who DON’T have exams and delete them from your computer. Once you get started on ‘em during breaks… there’s no stopping.

• Try not to pull all nighters – not only does it mess up your biological clock; you also forget most of the things you studied while your brain desperately pleaded for rest. Coffee makes no difference to this and neither does ‘Sona-Chandi Chyavanprash’ ;-).

• If the books are too expensive to buy on your own, form a book pool where each person buys one of the required books and the others make a copy of it (Xerox/Photocopier shops in remote places offer students huge discounts for large orders.)

• VERY IMPORTANT – Once done with an exam, leave the centre immediately. Don’t hang around to discuss answers and don’t check your answers after you get home. Concentrate only on the next exam.

Now that you’ve read all this, you shouldn’t be in need to read something on how to prepare for exams again!

– Raghav Rao

Any student enrolled in Mumbai University’s three year holiday course with a degree certificate (also known to some as BMM), will be quite aware of the fact that a considerable portion of their marks depends on their projects. And projects are probably the factor that set undergraduate courses apart from the ‘memorize and vomit’ format to which students were hitherto accustomed. In other words, any student wishing to begin or continue a streak of good scores after taking up BMM needs to do more than just learning prescribed answers to stereotyped questions by heart (as is quite commonly the norm in CBSE schools). Therefore a list detailing some of the common errors made by earlier batches while executing their BMM projects has been compiled for the benefit of such students (and also of the indifferent majority comprising other varieties).

*Please do note that the list has been provided so that the errors can be avoided rather than repeated.

1. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!

Start work from Day 1

Many have wondered about the best time to begin work on their projects in BMM. In such a situation it is wise to assume that the professor probably had a reason for assigning the projects so far in advance of the submission date (rather than imagining that these dates were decided through an elaborate process involving a calendar and darts) viz. that the project requires a considerable amount of research and therefore, considering that there’ll be other activities to keep students busy, it would be best to start it as soon as possible.

*Note: If not too busy flirting/daydreaming, it would be advisable to write down the project brief as the professor explains it.

2. YOU’RE NOT SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN!

In other words – don’t jump out of the window believing you can fly or believe that you’re capable enough to do the project without the help of your teammates.

Anyone who believes that the phrase ‘one-man team’ makes sense needs to re-appear for their Math and English papers before continuing the course. No matter how skilled an individual may be, a project by his/her so-called ‘inferiors’ who worked together as a group would, 9 times out of 10, be superior to a project done individually by him/her simply because of the value of brainstorming and pooling together the group’s collective experiences and strengths. Make sure the entire group is involved in EVERY aspect of a group project and meets regularly to evaluate progress.
*Remember: Too many chefs spoil the broth, but the chef alone can’t manage the entire kitchen.

3. DO NOT WAGE WAR!

Words many wish George W. Bush (among others) had paid heed to a few years ago.

However, in a more relevant context, do not believe your peers to be your enemies. It’s possible that there will be those who try to rise up by pulling others down, but there’s no reason to categorize all your peers that way. Be open, friendly and don’t hesitate to exchange information about your projects fearing they’ll steal your ideas. You may learn a lot from each others’ mistakes and your professors aren’t dumb that they won’t recognize a copy when they see one.

*Remember: One who needs to copy is one who is ill prepared. And a well prepared original is much better than a shoddily prepared copy (which is probably why nobody’s ready to pay $1 million for my version of the Mona Lisa).

4. DO NOT JUMP IN WITH GUNS BLAZING!

Max Payne could do that, but he had bullet time.

Before starting on a project, it is recommended that one view similar projects by the previous batches to see how things are done and more importantly, to get an idea of how the end product of their hard work (well… not always) turns out. It’s also important to chalk out a step by step strategy for the execution of the project. This makes it easy to keep working and to monitor one’s progress. Play devil’s advocate with your group members. Question each choice so that you’re ready with answers when others do.

5. DO NOT MAKE IT AN EGO BATTLE!

Just because your idea wasn’t selected for the project doesn’t mean you haven’t contributed anything to it.

One very often brings their ego into the equation while working on a project. If such is the case, then it is advisable to slap oneself on the face and remember that the project is more important. It is quite demoralizing when one’s ideas are not accepted/do not meet with approval. However, that’s no reason to squabble with one’s teammates.

*Remember: Professors don’t give you marks based on how many of your ideas made it to the hard copy. It’s not a call centre.

6. DO NOT MAKE A GROCERY LIST; DO NOT WRITE A 200 PAGE NOVEL!

Your marks do not depend on the weight of your hard copy. They depend on what’s within.

Your project hard copy needs to explain not only what you’ve accomplished in the course of the project, but also the thought process behind it. So make sure it contains all the information required, but don’t drown it a sea of words making it hard for the examiner to FIND the info.

7. DO NOT COPY+PASTE/CTRL+C, CTRL+V!

Wikipedia (and Google too) is great. We all know that. But chances are that if YOU could find it on Wikipedia, so can your professors.

While there’s no problem using Wikipedia as a source of information, do not make it the ONLY source of information, and DEFINITELY do not copy the content directly onto your soft copy. Learn to paraphrase the information. Understand it and write it down in your own words. Your project isn’t a means for your professor to unravel the mysteries of the world. It’s a way for YOU to learn more about the topic. Whenever you copy directly from a source, (not more than a 50-word paragraph… and that too occasionally) make sure you give them the credit for the information.

8. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF PRESENTATION!

A picture’s worth a thousand words, but don’t turn your hard copy into a graphic novel.

A well formatted, well presented copy will (and rightly so) always by awarded more marks than a less appealing project of the same merit. Spend some time making some snazzy visuals in Photoshop and learning to format your document in word.

9. DO NOT FUDGE FACTS!

Neither the American government (Mission Apollo) nor the head honchos at Satyam could get away with it. So the likelihood that you will isn’t very promising.

The term ‘fudging facts’ includes but is not limited to surveys where the college dog, your imaginary friend and the President of Czechoslovakia graciously agreed to fill in your questionnaire. You get half the day off (unlike engineering students) to give you ample time to work on your projects. So make sure you’ve actually done the work you claim to have done in your project.

Note: If you’re good at cooking stuff up, organize a charity bake sale and put it to some good use.

10. DO NOT STRATIFY YOUR TEAM!

Division of labor is smart; lack of communication between divisions is stupid.

While it’s necessary for the work in the project to be divided amongst the members based on their aptitude, every team member must still be well informed of what that others are up to. Just because someone does one job well doesn’t mean he/she’s completely useless elsewhere. Be open to inputs from other members but try not to step on their toes while providing feedback.

Remember: The professor can ask any of you about any segment of the project. He knows nothing of how the work was divided. (Also for an example on the consequences of a lack of communication between departments, examine any government in the world) 😉

Afterthought: -Probabilities of power cuts, printer failures, hard disk crashes, dogs/cows chewing up homework etc. tend to increase on the day before project submission. Make sure you have everything ready two days in advance. Professors tend to get cynical at times.

– Raghav Rao

One of the largest and most frequent stumbling blocks in a BMM student’s life is the perfidious, treacherous project presentation, which quite often ends up making one’s meticulously planned and executed (yeah right!! 😉 ) project look lackluster. Therefore, as an answer to the prayers of every BMM student who asked for a meteor shower on his/her college on the night before a presentation, a less destructive alternative solution has been made available.

The following article is a collation of SOME ways to boost your presentation skills and add pizzazz. (Last minute workers please note: If you’re reading this on the night before your presentation hoping it has some magic formula to help you ace tomorrow’s presentation, you’re better off praying for a meteor shower)

1. SEX! FREE!

Include an opening that grabs all eyeballs.

While it’s not always necessary to pander to the baser passions of people in choosing an opening statement for your presentation, it is necessary to make sure that the efficiently disbursed attention and dissipated energies of the entire audience are diverted to you at the start of the presentation.

Do remember, if you don’t get them to listen to you at the start of the presentation, they’re not very likely to listen to you at any other point either. Choose a relevant ice breaker like a simple levity, a quote from a famous personality (Confucius; he says, “When attribute words to wise man, nobody bothers much about meaning”), some pictures etc. to help the audience get acquainted with you.

2. BMM audience is…literate.

Don’t read out what’s on the slides to the audience. They don’t need you to do that. They need you to give them information that’s NOT on the slide.

Reading out the contents of the slideshow happens to be one of the major faux pas in presentations. Each slide should not contain more than five sentences divided among five bullet points. Each sentence should sum up a topic/sub topic in the sentence. The audience knows what you’re talking about when they see the topic on the slide. The rest of the information is supposed to come from the grey matter encased in your skull (so DON’T memorize the content…UNDERSTAND it!).

3. Whatever you do… DON’T look into the gorgon’s eyes!

Making eye contact with an acquaintance or a heckling member of the audience can often disconcert the presenter.

Non-verbal communication with people in the audience (even if only for an instant) is more than enough to break the presenter’s train of thought and make them fumble (giving a heckler from another group an excellent opportunity to score over you).

For those who aren’t very confident of coping with such distractive elements, there’s a simple way to go around it. While presenting, simply identify four members from each quadrant of the room and keep looking at the head of each one in turn (either clockwise or anti-clockwise). This way, it appears that you’re confidently making eye contact with the audience without actually having to do so. (The person whose head you’re staring at thinks you’re looking at the person behind them and this person in turn thinks you’re looking at the person in front ;-))

4. Like…uhhh… don’t…like… mess up the words dude!

Fillers are a no-no in any form of speech, leave alone presentations. Surrender the task of corrupting the language to the pros (Americans).

Most people are sure to have observed others using fillers (words/phrases like ‘like,’ ‘you know,’ ‘umm,’ ‘uhhh,’ ‘er,’ etc.) with astounding ease to wreck their presentations. The most common reason for this is because he/she’s talking faster than they can form the words in their brain. While this is not a problem that can be dealt with overnight, it’s not insuperable either.

One way to do this is to practice speaking with the fingers and thumb of one hand thrust into one’s mouth (make sure you wash the hand first… urghhh!). The impediment will help train your mouth to move slower while also improving your enunciation. (Please note that while presenting, one need not or rather, SHOULD NOT stuff anything into one’s mouth. That’s just for the training! Also… make sure you have some privacy while performing the exercise lest your parents summon the guys in white coats). Make a conscious effort to improve your vocabulary so that you can better express yourself.

5. Presentations are like a lady’s attire!

They’re appreciated if they’re short and tasteful instead of designer full length.

It would serve one well to remember that theirs isn’t the ONLY presentation that the lecturer/examiner has to evaluate. Therefore, the longer it is, the more likely you are to bore him/her into giving you a lower score than deserved. Don’t make your presentation exceed 10 slides (including the ‘goodbye’ and introduction slides) and adhere to the time limit at ALL costs. Don’t clutter the presentation with extra information or pictures/flashy effects. It is always advisable to include a few special effects and illustrations… but they’re only meant to enhance the quality of the presentation. Your knowledge about the topic being presented and your ability to present it outweigh them by far.

6. Speech is spelt S-P-E-E-C-H; Presentation is spelt P-R-E-S-E-N-T-A-T-I-O-N!
Another difference between the two is that a presentation is interactive.

It is extremely important to involve your audience while delivering a presentation. It helps them feel more significant than the brick wall you COULD have been addressing. Also, it revives your audience’s attention momentarily. Prepare some short and simple closed ended/trick questions for the audience to answer (that are relevant to the topic of the presentation). Illustrate your point with examples and anecdotes if possible.

7. Move your body on the dance floor; stay put at the podium

Body language is one of the most important aspects of a presentation.

A word to the wise – if given a choice between using a podium and NOT using one… choose the latter. It displays confidence. And while one might do an awesome tap dance at parties, it’s not too appealing during a presentation. Shuffling/shifting from one foot to another, wringing one’s hands, scrunching up one’s eyes, and so on are dead giveaways of nervousness. It is recommended that one ask their friends to point out body language flaws or find out for themselves by practicing in front of a mirror.

You can’t fool anyone into believing you’re confident if you don’t LOOK the part. (Take for example UN’s pathetic attempt to convince people that the Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2010). The movements you make should be limited to the odd gesture to emphasize certain points.

8. School is over, but do your homework!

All the above points are of no use to anyone who doesn’t really know much about the topic.

There’s not much use in adding pizzazz to your presentation if you aren’t well versed with the matter of the project. The professor/evaluator isn’t going to be impressed by pedestrian theatrics if the content is mediocre. Make sure you understand the topic well and are also aware of the latest relevant developments (they’re sure to crop up in the Q&A session).

Miscellaneous Tips

• Make sure that your attire is appropriate for the presentation (Tube tops, 3/4ths, Pajamas and the like are NOT usually considered appropriate).
• Don’t be afraid to innovate. Break the bonds of convention. Lend a theme to your presentation or bring a pre-existing theme to life through props/role playing, and so on (but make sure you have the professor’s permission first).
• Practice as many times as possible. Have the slides ready at least 48 hours in advance. We’re serious!
• BE ON TIME! Set a hundred alarms if you have to… but make sure that you’re at the venue well in time to make a good impression or to avoid making a bad one (whatever works for you).

– Raghav Rao

Yehi hai right choice, baby

So you’ve just passed out of 12th or awaiting your results and have plenty of options in front of you. Apart from the popular career choices in medical and engineering, professional courses are finally being recognized by parents as well as students. Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS), Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM), Bachelor in Banking and Insurance (BBI) and Bachelor in Finance and Accounts (BFA) are some of them.

What makes these niche courses a hit is that they break the popular myth of turning every individual into a doctor or an engineer. The courses expand the horizon for students and help them explore the world of banking, business and mass media.

While most of the students assume these courses to be an alternate for Bcom, but the fact remains these courses offer you much more than a usual course and prepare you for a path breaking career.

Thinking BMM?

It’s not rocket science; all you need to do is identify your interests or dislikes . For Instance: If you’re good at math and have an inclination towards accounts/finance, BBI or BFA would be a suitable option for you.

Since, we’re talking about BMM, here’s a checklist. We spill the beans on what it takes to be a BMMite.

Believe it or not, you know your a hardcore BMM student when..

1. You’re a PG in your own house.

2. You wake up 10 minutes before lecture. Look at the clock. And go back to sleep.

3. Running away from home (in the name of projects) doesn’t seem like a lie anymore!

Read the whole article here…

BMM, it is.

Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM) is one of the few niche courses offered by University of Mumbai. It is a three year full time degree program which offers students a glance in the mass media industry. It was initiated in the year 2000-2001. Within three years, the course introduces students to 36 different subjects related to the media industry. A mix of theoretical concepts and implementation of them in placements and practical projects makes the course a hit among the youth.

In the third year, students need to specialize in either Advertising or Journalism. The choice made by individuals reflects his/her interests and preferences, which are highlighted during the first two years of the course.

The course is currently offered in more in more than 50 colleges in Mumbai. Click here to check out the various colleges that offer BMM.

Eligibility: Earlier BMM students were selected on the basis of entrance tests conducted by each college. But as of now the criteria remains the percentage scored in your HSC exam. That’s right, creativity is fortunately or unfortunately rated on how high your score is. However, you need to score a minimum of 50% in your board exam to be eligible for this course.

So if you intend to do BMM from one of the top colleges, you need to first compete with the nerd in your college along with hundreds of nerds in the city.

Since your reading ahead, we thought we’ll zero down the top 5 BMM colleges in Mumbai * for you:

1. Jai Hind College
2. KC College
3. Xavier’s College
4. RD National College
5. NM College

(* The list is a compiled on various criteria like College performance in terms of results, participation in festivals, popularity, faculty, etc..)

You can opt out of a particular college in the second/third year and get admission in any of the top colleges, considering you score amazingly well in the first year of BMM.

Hope this helps you clear all your confusion regarding BMM. If any doubts, suggestions or feedback, comment below and we would surely get back to you.

Cheers!