Meet Salil Singh, Head Coach at Behes Consultants Pvt. Ltd | Founder at Behes and Coach for-hire at World Scholar’s Cup. Behes is a non-profit organization working to promote debate, public speaking and reasoned expression in schools and colleges throughout India and beyond. We are committed to the vision of building a global platform for young students to express themselves and debate some engaging and relevant topics.
Every Behes tournament is a celebration of ideas, with students exploring a wide variety of topics and critically examining them. Designed to be interactive and challenging, each tournament rewards the top teams with qualification to the Maha Behes, our national season finale held in the National Capital Region (NCR) every Christmas. All the debate topics at our events are given impromptu and based on a suggested reading (and viewing) list that is updated every few months. Students explore selections spanning a variety of disciplines in their bid to challenge the best in the debating community.
The free-flowing debate format encourages growth of research, collaborative and analytical apart from oratory skills. Behes has now made its way into nine cities in the 2017 season with over three thousand lives impacted, some of them as young as nine years old. We also offer workshops at gracious host schools (usually preceding tournaments) where we demonstrate How to ‘Behes’. If you like what we’re trying to do and would like to get involved, drop us a line! To connect with over two thousand debaters of our community, join our facebook group
ln talks with Salil Singh :
Why did you want to have something into existence like ‘Behes’?
Debate and public speaking have always had a sad scene in our country and even when its done at a high level, it is highly elitist. What I saw was a need for an initiative that could connect with a broad base of students and bring them together under a common platform, where we could introduce the transformative power of debate to kids who perhaps would never find the activity approachable.
How do you manage the environment of the company? What principles do you believe in?
Our team has come together over the last couple of seasons, to become a family where most of us would put ourselves on the line for each other. That I think is the value that symbolizes us – We can’t have anyone on board who doesn’t believe in the mission. That thousands have taken up this mission with us is proof that it works. With that in place, environment, morale, motivation, efficiency, everything falls in place. Sorry if that was too cult leader-y.
What are your areas of Interest?
I like to follow what’s going on in the world, though since 2016 that feels like placing a nail on your forehead and swinging at it with a hammer everyday. Other than that, I like blues and jazz music and write a lot.
What are your greatest Achievements?
Not many. I haven’t really won any honors academically, sportingly or at a competitive event of any nature. If I were to try – Dropping out. Winning WSC Coach of the year. That’s it.
I think, I don’t have flair for awards or accolades and neither do they interest me so much. I want to do quality work and with BEHES we are trying our level best to achieve the same.
Where do you want to see your company in the next 5 years?
I want to see us hosting regional events in all major cities of India and being responsible for bringing Indian students to the fore of competitive world debate events. A personal mission is to take the activity to Govt. Schools. Hopefully we’ll be able to do that too.
What do you feel is important to start a new company?
The first thing is to have absolute and unrelenting dedication to your mission. Without that, you will get nowhere. If you don’t have it, your team will never be motivated and you’ll get nowhere. In today’s startup culture, its cool to be the founder of xyz. What no one will tell you is that its stressful. You’ll sleep very little, you’ll lose friends and social life. Worst of all, self-doubt. Knowing that its all on you is scary, but also very liberating.
