Careers aren't Build During Award Ceremonies - Conversations with Deepa Singh

 What if communication is just not words?

Deepa Singh

If you've ever thought communication is just about speaking well, this conversation might completely change your perspective.

Our next guest has spent the last few years helping brands across education, healthcare, hospitality, fitness, and social impact build something far more valuable than reach: "trust". From scaling digital communities and shaping brand narratives to working in public relations and crisis communication, she's seen how a single conversation can influence culture more than an expensive campaign. An A+ graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Amity University and an A+ postgraduate in Public Relations and Image Management from Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, she combines academic depth with hands-on industry experience.

Joining us today is Deepa Singh, a Strategic Communications and Public Relations professional, social media strategist, and storyteller who believes that the most powerful communication doesn't simply inform people; it makes them feel understood.

Let's dive into a conversation about leadership, trust, workplace culture, and the invisible moments that shape every successful career.

Q1. You manage communication professionally. What's the biggest misunderstanding people have about what communication actually is?

One of the biggest misconceptions is that communication is about speaking well. I don't think it is. Communication is about making sure the other person understands what you intended to say. Early in my career, I spent a lot of time trying to make messages sound polished. Over time, I realised that clarity matters far more than cleverness. A beautifully written message can still fail if it doesn't answer the questions people actually have.

Working across education, healthcare, hospitality, and social impact reinforced this lesson. Every audience is different, but every audience wants the same thing: to be understood before they're expected to understand you. Today, before I write anything, I ask myself, "If I were reading this for the first time, what would I need?" That question has changed the way I communicate.

Q2. Can great communication fix poor leadership, or does it only make poor leadership look better?

Communication can amplify leadership, but it can't replace it. I've seen situations where leaders communicated frequently but avoided difficult decisions. Initially, people appreciated the transparency. Eventually, however, they noticed the gap between words and actions.

I've also worked with leaders who weren't particularly charismatic, but they listened carefully, admitted mistakes, and followed through on commitments. Teams trusted them because consistency is more persuasive than confidence. Communication earns attention. Leadership earns trust. You need both.

Q3. Your posts often focus on small workplace moments. Why do you think ordinary conversations reveal more than extraordinary achievements?

Because careers aren't built during award ceremonies. They're built in ordinary moments. Some of my biggest professional lessons came from conversations that lasted five or ten minutes, receiving honest feedback after a meeting, watching a manager appreciate someone's effort publicly, or seeing a misunderstanding get resolved simply because someone chose to ask one more question instead of making an assumption.

Those moments rarely become LinkedIn headlines, but they're the moments that quietly shape workplace culture. Achievements tell us what someone accomplished. Everyday conversations reveal the kind of person they are while accomplishing them.

Q4. Many brands chase attention. Which is harder to build today: attention, trust, or memory? Why?

Trust.

Attention has become relatively easy. Every platform rewards visibility. Trust asks for something different. It asks for consistency. I've worked on campaigns that generated excellent engagement, but the campaigns I remember most aren't necessarily the ones with the highest numbers. They're the ones where employees, customers, or stakeholders respond with comments like, "This genuinely reflects who you are."

That's when communication stops being promoted and starts becoming credible. People may forget a campaign. They rarely forget how consistently you showed up.

Q5. In an age where everyone is trying to be heard, what do you think people have forgotten about listening?

We've forgotten that listening isn't passive. Listening requires setting aside the need to be right. There have been conversations where I entered believing I already knew the answer. Then someone shared a perspective I hadn't considered, and it completely changed the direction of the discussion.

Those experiences taught me that listening isn't simply collecting information. It's allowing yourself to be influenced by what you hear. I think that's becoming increasingly rare and increasingly valuable. 

Q6. You've worked across education, healthcare, hospitality, and social impact. What's one human behaviour that never changes, regardless of the industry?

People want to feel that they matter. I've spoken with students anxious about their future, healthcare professionals working under pressure, hospitality teams focused on guest experience, and colleagues navigating organisational change.

Different environments. Different challenges. Yet one thing remained constant: people responded positively when they felt respected, informed, and genuinely acknowledged. That has convinced me that empathy isn't just a personal quality. It's a professional skill.

Q7. If you could remove one communication habit from every workplace, what would disappear first?

Assumptions. I've seen projects slow down not because people lacked capability, but because everyone assumed someone else had understood, informed, approved, or clarified something.

One conversation can prevent weeks of confusion.
One question can prevent unnecessary conflict.

I've learned that asking for clarity isn't a sign of uncertainty. It's a sign of responsibility.

Q8. Years from now, what do you hope people remember more—your campaigns, your communication, or the culture you helped create?

The culture, without hesitation.

Campaigns have a lifecycle. Once they're over, another campaign begins.

Culture stays with people long after projects are forgotten.

If someone remembers me as a person who made communication more human, encouraged honest conversations, helped people feel comfortable sharing ideas, or made the workplace a little more collaborative than it was before, that would mean far more to me than any campaign metric. When I look back on my own career, I don't remember every project I've worked on. I remember the people who made me feel heard, trusted me with responsibility, and created an environment where learning felt safe. If I can create that experience for someone else, I think that's the most meaningful legacy I could leave.

About Conversations by Brains in You

Conversations by Brains in You is a curated interview series featuring students, professionals, entrepreneurs, creators, researchers, and changemakers whose journeys offer meaningful lessons beyond conventional achievements.

Rather than focusing solely on titles or milestones, each conversation explores the decisions, experiences, challenges, and perspectives that shaped the individual behind the profile. The aim is to create a growing repository of practical insights that help students and young professionals navigate their own careers with greater clarity, productivity, integrity, and purpose.

Every featured conversation is thoughtfully selected with the belief that authentic experiences can inspire informed decisions, lifelong learning, and better human development.