Sunday, August 26, 2007

This week I also commented Laurie Alexander. This is what I wrote...

Great blog. You gave a good summary of the important points of the reading. The media Kits are what intrigued me. I agree they sound like a great way to create interest. You are right that with some creative thought it could really boost your campaign and strengthen relationships which are so important in making it easier to promote your campaign.

Friday, August 24, 2007

For week seven's reading I commented on Emma Murphy's blog. This is what I wrote...

Hi Emma,

Although I only mention in my Blog that I found the oral presentation readings interesting, I too also knew most of the tactics and advice they gave. There were some things however I didn't know about such as creating a good hand out. One point I found interesting was about mannerisms (this came to mind when reading your comment on nerves). When in High School we were told that if you couldn't keep your hands still in a presentation wriggle your toes (no-one will be looking at them) and hold cue cards. I can vouch for the cue cards... not sure if the toe wriggling works. I think the most important thing with nerves, however (other than being organised), is to remember the people you are talking to are just people like everyone else and this speech isn't the end of the world, think that it doesn't matter some of your nerves may disappear... works for me anyway.
Good blogging!

August 24, 2007 12:21 AM

I have commented on Abbey Hallet's Blog. This is what I wrote...

Hi Abbey,

I also strongly agree with the statement that relationships should be treated like a resource. Good relationships make all the difference and not just on a large corporate scale, in everyday life. The power of 'chatting' is an important thing. Taking the time to be nice to people and remain contacts can later prove to be very useful. You never know where you may meet someone again and what they may be useful for so it pays to be friendly.
Good blogging you had some really good points, I also found this to be an interesting topic.

August 24, 2007 12:02 AM

Thursday, August 23, 2007

I have commented on Brook Johnstens Blog. This is what i wrote...

Hi Brooke,

I like how you mentioned how honesty is so important in Public Relations. As we read in our first reading Public Relations practitioners often get a bad name and are seen as 'spinsters' because they will say anything to benefit their organisation. Without honesty ofcourse ideas of the idustry like this will surface. Honesty improves relationships and reputation. By letting people know what is going on they feel more trusting toward you.

August 23, 2007 11:46 PM

Oral Presentations and Media Relations

As we are about to start our Debating in class, obviously the two texts on oral presentation were very helpful. I am not only glad to have read these because we have debates coming up, but because they provided so much important information that I know will be useful in many situations throughout my life. The text made us aware of skills and tactics we should use in oral presentations and gave us checklists so we could better organise ourselves. An important point at the beginning of the chapter was “employers want to recruit graduates or higher diplomates with good verbal skills”, being in the Public Relations industry this is essential. In preparing an oral presentation you should first look at the aim of your presentation, purpose, audience, topic and context. Both texts suggested looking at the room you will be presenting in and most importantly being organised and well practiced so to reduce nerves and ensure a smooth running presentation. Another point I thought was important was to look at you presentation when it is done to see what you could improve in the future, and what was good or bad about it and why. Also thinking about the audience is essential to pitch a presentation correctly. One needs to identify the characteristics of an audience and what you need to do to accommodate for this eg language, dress, formality.

The other reading this week was on Media Relations. This topic outlined some roles of Public Relations practitioners, different media mixes, and some media related tools. It told us that even though there is often conflict between the media and Public Relations practitioners there “is a growing interdependence in the two industries” and this can be “developed and enhanced through mutual understanding of, and respect for, each other’s roles and responsibilities”. The text outlined some of the roles of the media, for example; the newsroom, deadlines, what makes the news and news style which gave us better understanding of their profession. The media is such a powerful tool and this was reinforced in this weeks reading.

References:

Chapter 10 of Public relations: theory and practice / edited by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi. Crows Nest, N.S.W. Allen & Unwin, 2004. 2nd ed

Drew, S. (2001) Oral Presentations (pp 98-114) in The Student Skills Guide. (2nd ed.) London:Gower.

Van Emden, J. and Becker, L. (2004). Speaking as Part of a Group (pp 77-93) in Presentation Skills for Students. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Legal Enviroment and Ethics

This weeks readings were about the legal environment and ethical practice, two topics of particular interest to me.

I have always had an interest in legal studies and this chapter made me aware of some legislation I didn't know about and jelled the law and Public Relations practices together for me. It showed me what legal issues a Public Relations Practitioner needs to consider in their work and how it is essential that you have a good knowledge of the laws relevant to you. Without this many problems can arise that can cause a lot of trouble and affect reputations and relationships (even if the issue resulted in the law being on their side). "Public Relations relies on good reputations, positive images and strong relationships. These matters must be factored into the cost of any legal action"1. It is wise to pick your fights and be aware of the law before hand to prevent problems later on.

Ethical practice like said above is another subject of particular interest to me. Today’s society has become so morally casual. Many morals, polite traditions and ethics have been filled down or become non-existent to many. My favourite point in the chapter was "Practitioners have a social responsibility to maintain certain ethical standards since their work is capable of influencing others"2. Anything that we say or do has potential to influence others, I think it is important to be aware of this in everyday life but especially on a corporate scale. The ideas we put out there influence people which therefore sets the values we live by, the way society thinks. Sieb and Fitzpatrick list the "five duties of Public Relations professionals as being to oneself, the client, the employer, the profession and society". I also really liked philosopher Immanual Kant's three-step ethical process which gets you to ask "what if everyone did this deed?", asks you to never exploit others and to "always respect the dignity of human beings".

Ethics are so very important, it makes the world a better place amongst all the unethical things that go on. The law and Public Relations is also becoming much more complex and will continue to do so especially with technology always on the move and affecting legislation. This weeks topics were really good to read and I got a lot out of them.

References:

Chapters 4 and 5 of Public Relations Theory and Practice / Edited by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi, 2nd edition

Monday, August 13, 2007

Week 5 I commented on Alex Normans blog

strategy, planning and sheduling

This weeks reading taught me the importance of strategic planning, and if you don’t put strategies, tactics and plans into your work you are unlikely to succeed. This was great news to me because as nerdy as it may sound I like to plan things out in this way and thought all of the strategies shown were very good. I do the same thing with my studies, I make check lists of what I need to do, I break it down into different sections and schedule when I need to do what (although not quite as detailed as the examples). It also opened my eyes to a new technique – questioning, for example; “What business are we in? Why does the business exist? What are our aims? What values and beliefs do we stand for?”1. I think this is so important because it not only gives you a great overall view of where you should be heading and the purpose for your actions but it gives greater understanding about the organisation you are with or what you are doing. I also found the Zawai-Johnston strategic public relations plan very helpful. It put things into perspective, teaching me that if you use these organisational skills things are so much clearer and easily dealt with to effectively achieve your goals. The plan asks you to state each of the following:

  1. Executive summary
  2. Vision and mission
  3. Background and situation analysis
  4. Define strategy
  5. Define publics
  6. Define main message
  7. Select tactics and communication methods
  8. Implementation and scheduling
  9. Monitoring and evaluation
  10. Budget

One point I found of particular interest was “You are only likely to be as good a practitioner as your CEO will allow you to be. Therefore, the first strategic move often needs to be made internally” 2. This showed me that Public relations practitioners have more sway and power in the organisation than I initially thought. The reading also gave a mention to budgets and how important it is to plan out your expenditures so you don’t run into funding troubles. It told us to include the main expenditures such as advertising for example, but also things as small as paper and photocopying and around 10% of the budget for unexpected expenses. This is very smart; when I usually work out my personal budget I don’t include unexpected expenses. My money situation would be far more relaxed if I took this into account.

This week I took away from the reading not only a far better understanding of the planning involved with Public relations practitioners but also skills that I can use in everyday life... always a bonus! I also finally learned what a mission statement is! I’ve heard the term a lot and never new what it was. I was most happy with the text this week.


References:

1. Chapter 7 of Public relations: theory and practice / edited by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi. Crows Nest, N.S.W. Allen & Unwin, 2004. 2nd ed. Page 174

2. Chapter 7 of Public relations: theory and practice / edited by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi. Crows Nest, N.S.W. Allen & Unwin, 2004. 2nd ed. Page 171

Chapter 4 - A Typical Public Relations Program. In C. Tymson, P. Lazar, P and R. Lazar, (Eds.)The new Australian and New Zealand public relations manual (5th ed.) (pp. 74-117) Manly: Tymson Communications. 2006
Week 4 I commented on Emma Murphys Blog

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Internal communication and insider information

This weeks reading was about internal communication and being subjected to interviews of people working in the industry, what they do and ‘insider info’ about their jobs.


From chapter 11- Internal Communication, in The new Australian and New Zealand public relations manual, I learnt effective ways of how to communicate internally (meaning employees) in a company. This chapter showed us what is usually not so effective, such as interpersonal messages like email and newsletters apposed to face-to-face meetings with the people of high position in the company such as CEO’s with people in small groups of about 40-50 people. This chapter showed us researched evidence of how employees would most like news brought to them and who by. This was very helpful information, in the future I’m sure most of us will have to deal with creating some internal communication and this gave us helpful hints of what has been successful tactics for others. The chapter also stressed though that different things work for different situations so you must do what you feel is best for each individual situation. It also taught the importance of good structure and organisation when dealing with internal communication, you need this to be successful in creating meaning and influence on behaviour.

The Insider Info chapter in Public Relations by James, M., was really interesting to read. It told us daily duties of the people in these positions, what they like about their jobs, what they don’t like, how they got to be where they are and where they can go from there. I particularly enjoyed reading these interviews because it gave me a greater and far more realistic view of what the future hopefully holds for me. It was good to hear honest views about the industry.