The demands of a Speech

While I have given many presentations and speeches throughout my education, I have never written one for someone else nor have I had a larger audience than 30 people or more at stake than getting a good grade. Speeches and presentations are very serious styles of communication. Not only is the information and purpose of the speech important for the audience to take away but so is the entire experience overall. People do not know how much time, effort and planning actually goes into a speech. In fact, more attention goes into a speech than other writing styles according to the book.

There are so many variables that go into a successful speech. For instance, knowing your audience is crucial to executing the message of a speech well. If you know the audience, then you will have an easier time of understanding what type of language they will respond to. As a pr practitioner, you cant only pay attention to verbal planning but also nonverbal styles. Overall, in the speech, you should try and focus on about three main points. (Generally, that’s the magic number of what people can remember easily.)

There are a lot of different kinds of speeches and public speaking situations. Things like television interviews are important styles of speech as well. Being able to get feedback from these speeches and evaluating them to see how successful they were is very important for future work.

Grammer, selling and puncnation

My title is just a fun little example of how small mis-spellings can not only confuse readers but completely change the meanings of messages. Grammar, spelling and punctuation are so much more important than people think. To many of us, these things are just annoyances in a class that we have to pass in elementary school. What we do not realize until something bad happens is that if grammar mistakes go unnoticed they completely change the intent of a message.

The main issue with messing up grammar or spelling or even a comma is that your credibility is ruined! I really enjoyed the examples the beginning of this chapter gave. A church bulletin lost a lot of credibility and pride when they published the ad “The Senior Chair invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the Choir.” Obviously, this was supposed to be “singing” but because of this spelling mistake the entire message was useless.

There are so many rules in the world or writing, and most of them concern the appropriate use of grammar and punctuation. I have spent a lot of time abroad and people would always tell me how hard learning English was for them. I have observed that one of the main reasons for this is using certain punctuation or correct grammar is all relative to the message youre sending. For example, using the word “that” versus using “which” in a sentence can change the whole meaning of the sentences (even though the words are generally used interchangeably by many people.)

There is also a large array of words that even good writers can confuse with each other, which makes proof reading even more essential. While not all grammar rules are important or worth discussing, grammar is central to good and effective communication. Without a decent understanding of grammar, punctuation and spelling no one will consider you a credible communicator and therefore, will not trust you as a professional.

The art of Media Kits

In my opinion, chapter 15 is the most useful chapter I’ve read thus far. While all of our readings have been interesting and helpful, I feel like I am taking some tangible knowledge away from this content. I can actually apply this information to the real world. As always, it stresses that you can only start a media kit with the medium you are targeting already in mind. There is a variety of media kits depending on what medium and what situation it is needed for. Public relations practitioners must be prepared for all of them.

 Web sites: All about access

 Now that we live in a digital world, organizations must go above and beyond to make sure that their website provides any possible information necessary. Some companies offer up to 65 features! I can’t even imagine what all of those could be. I found it really interesting that a lot of companies have a “dark” web site that is only available during crises. I also couldn’t agree more with the top-five elements rated as important on an organizations web site. They are: Press releases, search module, PR contacts, photographs, and product information. These ratings are so accurate in my opinion.

 Which kit to use?

 The chapter went into a lot of the different contents of kits depending on what it was being used for. Media kits for special events seem to be the most thorough and heavily loaded. “Media kits for a crises” depends on a lot of preparation. The kit is made up before the crisis obviously, considering that crises are usually unpredictable. Crisis management has to be the hardest situation for PR people. Not only do they need a complete media kit ready but they need news conference materials ready, as well as knowing how to react correctly. While I was reading this I thought of the beef recall that recently happened and wondered what their crisis media kit looked like. Were they actually prepared? Were all the right materials in the kit? One thing I did notice throughout the different media kits was that a backgrounder seemed consistently important in all of them. I suppose this is because no matter what the situation calls for, having something explaining the character and roots of the organization is very important.

 Blogging

 While I read about media credentials and what constitutes media today I realized how prominent blogging has become. It has become a forerunner of media and news. So it may be predominantly subjective but there are so many blogs that you can weed out what you don’t want to read. I also find it amusing that I am talking about blogging as I am joining the bandwagon of bloggers. If you had asked someone a decade ago what media was I can bet money that blogs wouldn’t even be an option, let alone believed to become one in the future. However, today, especially the youth, go to blogs to get their news.

How do we get YOUR attention!?

A main concept in this chapter (chapter 13) is that advertising can do its best to persuade you, even brainwash you for a minute or two, but it cannot force you to do anything. Advertising specialists’ goal is to convince you that what they say or what they show you is worth accepting. Advertisers usually pick either emotional appeal, which we apparently base most of our decisions off of, or reason to position their message. However, a combo of the two is probably best. Its funny to think about how people in this business potentially base their success in their careers on how well they position or target a message to people like us. I can picture a bunch of advertisers in suits sitting around a table trying to judge what we are like or what we need.

 Picture Perfect

 I enjoyed reading the section on positioning with the example of Hertz and Avis. It is fascinating how three words can subconsciously persuade us in our decision-making. By using the slogan “We Try Harder” they left the facts behind and appealed to peoples emotional cues for supporting the struggling underdog. It actually reminded me of the movie “Picture Perfect” with Jennifer Aniston. She’s an advertiser and they work for the number 2 mustard brand. They come up with this advertisement about how Cindy Crawford graduated 2^nd in her class in college, and “that ain’t bad.” Again, the message has nothing to do with reason or facts about the product really but pulls at peoples emotions.

 Logistics of a good ad

 As we have talked about a million times, simplicity is so crucial in every aspect of advertising and public relations. Everything from color to the amount of words used to the language used must be as simple and concise as possible in order to reach full effective potential. I found it interesting that people prefer to read something that is two to four grade levels below their ability. It makes sense, especially in advertising, that people do not want to think too hard. We are, in general, cognitive misers and when we are the consumers we definitely don’t want to put too much effort into making decisions. While hearing or seeing a message over and over can get annoying, it is good for the advertisers because it means that we have stored away the message. Repetition of a message is important because we get millions of messages a day. The only way to really remember one is if you hear it at least three times.

 The discussion about different approaches of advertising in electronic media went through different ways messages can be presented to us so as to gain our attention. It talked about the “jingle approach” in which a message contains music with words so that it is both identifiable and entertaining. Music is so much easier to remember so, like the theory of classical conditioning, whenever you hear that music you will think of the product or idea being promoted with it. Apple does an excellent job with this approach. Their latest commercial campaign for the notebook introduced people to a catchy song that whenever anyone hears it they think of the product. This is geneious in my opinion. The chapter goes into the various types of media that advertisers write copies for, and how different each one is. One thing that kept surfacing, however, is the need for action to be forefront in every ad, whether it is through color, movement, voice pitch, etc.  One they get the publics attention, then they can worry about persuading us with their message.

Apple notebook commercial (in case you havent seen it multiple times):

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GBCfW9-hjKI

 

The glamorous side of PR

Our Studies Come to Life

Its strange when you experience certain things in the “real world” and then learn about them or read about them in an academic environment. As I read in our textbook, I found myself constantly saying to myself, “oh yea, like when I did that for this…” I think its fascinating how the media kits and the discussion about special events are all things that I have dealt with in my own experiences through internships. I interned for an event planning and public relations consulting firm in which I helped organize and manage special events and news conferences. I saw first hand what it was like to put a media kit together but my favorite aspect of my job was managing events in which media control was pertinent.

There is no pressure in this business

I cannot imagine being a speechwriter. Just thinking about the pressure and responsibility stresses me out. So many public figures have had poor speeches or have had one word make a difference in the message they’re sending. While I am in public relations, preparing speeches is not one thing that I would choose to do. I don’t mind preparing events or media materials though. I guess everyone excels at different things.

STORY TIME

The logistics

The name J.K. Rowling is almost as familiar and popular as the name Harry Potter is. When authors write short stories, poems, novels they get serious recognition for everything. What about the people behind the scenes? In many cases, those are the people who put in the most legwork. If you are not okay with being behind the curtain, do not go into public relations! We are in a business in which, for the most part, we do not get public recognition. However, we do get to be involved in some interesting activities. So much of the creativity that public relations people contain is inspired by looking back. You have to look back on other works in the past to get ideas, especially when you’re doing a feature or a persona.

Once Upon a Time…

As a general rule, news, public relations, and “stories” are all considered in their own category. However, people do not realize that the news and public relations efforts involve story telling as a main ingredient. Including an anecdote, or opinions or people involved allow readers and the audience to transport to become part of that story. This is how any good public relations writer gets the audience to listen to the issue at hand. By using a storyline to keep readers interested, writers can persuade readers to get involved in the facts and the reason for the work. However, before you get too involved in the story aspect, you have to make sure to balance the feature or the work so that it is a combination of persuasive facts and affective description. The lead is the most important part of the work, just like the first sentence or paragraph of a novel is the most important attention getter for the reader. You may not be able to judge a book by its cover but if you have a bad lead for your feature story, you may be looking for a new job. If no one reads the feature, or if the feature does not succeed in its purpose than it is a waste of space. This is an example of a decent lead. It is to the point and combines facts with drama.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/20/satellite.shootdown/index.html

Simplicity is the name of the game

Anatomy of a message

The creative process that we, as public relations people, must master throughout our work experiences is a multifaceted one that makes up a web of factors that influence good message designs. After the research and analysis of your client and their needs, there is still plenty of work to go. A verbal message is prominently important while creating a good message design. However, what I found the most fascinating is the discussion about type and legibility. Most consumers don’t even consciously notice the font used for titles and messages of companies, but this doesn’t mean these things don’t affect their attention and decision-making process. While I thought about this a couple fashion companies, that I pay attention, to came to mind. There are some brands that have the most simplistic type of font for their label, and consumers can recognize the company and its concept from a mile away. For example, Gucci and Chanel are two fashion companies that use font that is simplistic and very legible. Another company that is on the same exact level of fashion as the former two is called Christian Louboutin. The label for this company is easily forgettable and almost completely unrecognizable from most consumers because of the complexity and lack of legibility. Here is a picture of what it looks like:
http://i3.iofferphoto.com/img/item/322/632/76/o_new-52.jpg

Logos are people and colors are their emotions

I really enjoyed the discussion on logos and colors. I found it fascinating. While I knew certain colors arouse certain feelings and thoughts, I had not thought about the cross-cultural affects of color before and how colors mean drastically different things to different people. This is so important to think about when deciding what color most signifies and empathizes with your publics. I also believe that thinking about a logo as a face or even a person is crucial to truly understanding and executing the appropriate logo to become the soul of your client or a certain company. Consumers today have constant cognitive dissonance when it comes to massage dissemination, and they always have their guard up. As a pr person designing a message, you kind of have to assume that consumers are against your client, and your job is to immediately show them or tell them through your message why they should pay attention. Most of the elements you will slave over will consciously go unnoticed by consumers, but believe me; they make a difference.

Don’t get lost in the sea of information

I’m my own critic

It is hard to imagine knowing or even doing anything without technology. HOW did our parents and ancestors get by? In all seriousness though, we rely so much on research and the immediate access to information that it is hard to understand how (before the Internet) people moved forward. In PR, research is a prominent aspect to the profession and being able to whip up some information and some quantitative figures is vital. While it may sound like I’m praising the Internet, I definitely have issues with the information dissemination tool. For every accurate and unbiased study or piece of information, there are multiple “fake” or biased studies found as well. As a PR professional, you must be ready to do massive amounts of research. However, you also must be ready to question and check every piece of information you find. I’m always tempted to use Wikipedia, and while some of the background info on there is accurate, it is not a credible source by any means. The point is: Be a skeptic or you are going to find yourself in some sticky and unemployed situations!

 Superbowl commercials

As I watched the Superbowl on Sunday, I found myself thinking like a PR student instead of just an entertainment seeker. The commercials, in my opinion, have been much better in the past but that is beside the point. During a lot of the commercials I wondered what research went in to these marketing approaches. What publics are they trying to attract? People watch good commercials and think that company has a great marketing team. What a lot of people don’t know is that a good commercial or a good marketing tactic usually means good, in-depth research. They understand their publics, and what messages will reel them in. Because of the strategy of using psychographics, a lot of researchers and PR professionals probably understand people’s decision-making process more than the individuals themselves. I think this is why PR is so cool. Tailoring messages to specific publics is crucial in this business.

 Being a reporter

I love doing interviews. I remember when I did my first interview I was really nervous and I didn’t really understand the whole point. When I gave the interview, my attitude completely changed. I really enjoyed, and thought it was fascinating. I think interviews are one of the best ways to do research because you always get more out of it than you were hoping…well, at least in my experience thus far. One thing the book went over that I knew but never thought about before is how you adapt your communication to suit the interviewee’s way of communicating. I thought back on the interviews I have given and that has been true in each one. The more you can achieve this, the more comfortable and successful the interview will be. Being able to empathize with your interviewee and their communication will get you far. 

One of my favorite Super Bowl commercials:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=g0nliPWaCvA

 

 

We are all walking mission statements

As I got settled in to our reading for class something dawned on me. If I had a mission statement, what would it be? I realized that because we do not have the choice of whether we communicate or not, what we wear and how we act are representative of our “mission statement.” Like a mission statement for an organization, ours must be updated and revised occasionally as we grow, and we strive to be memorable and understandable.

The sky is the limit

One of my favorite things about being in communication and pr is the fact that there are no boundaries when it comes to creativity in communication. Everything and anything is communication and everything and anything can be a channel for that communication. A pr practitioner can’t rule any ideas out. However, there is the planning process, which is quite structured and intricate. I have learned that goals are vital for any communication plan, and making the goals tangible allows them to become more real. This may sound dumb but it honestly works. If you put on your to do list “go to the gym” it is not as effective as writing down a tangible workout like “10 pushups.” (Weak example but you get the idea.)

Say what?

One of the most common flaws in communication plans, in my opinion, is confusing language. Simplicity does not get the credit it deserves. I blame this partially on high school English education. It was not until college that I realized that using words like “utilize” is not necessary or impressive. Unless you plan to be a novelist, fancy language and drawn out sentences is seriously uncalled for and unsuccessful communication. I thought it was interesting that the text said it is good to write like you talk because it made me understand why blogging has become so popular and reader-friendly. The chapter on grammar was well written. I thought the examples of grammar gone wrong were hilarious (even though it probably wasn’t funny for the violators at the time.)

Here is a Cingular commercial that I think is hilarious, and a good example of what using jargon or confusing language can sound like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nIUcRJX9-o

Navigating through the PR Maze

Public relations is not only an ever-changing industry but a constantly growing one as well. As new technologies surface and the need for image control continues to be important public relations must react by creating new channels to communicate and persuade. While having good communication skills is still the concept at the heart of public relations, it definitely does not cover the abilities necessary to succeed in the field.

Most people do not understand the inner-workings of public relations. Through my education and my experience actually working in the field I have seen how complex the levels of effort put into a public relations strategy are. To execute a campaign a PR group’s work begins way before the actual implementation of the strategy. They must analyze and predict trends so that they can anticipate the organization’s best effort to connect with its publics. All of these steps are vital to control public relations two-way street, in which success is a mutual benefit between an organization and its publics. PR practitioners must use good judgment in order to know how to respond to and adapt to the continuously changing channels and publics.

Although some people label PR practitioners as manipulators or con artists those who are involved in the industry know that ethical decisions are a large part of their strategic planning. Trust is a key ingredient in establishing credibility with primary publics, and since building bridges is second nature to being successful in PR, practitioners must be careful with putting a “spin” on information. Along with that thought, those in PR have to always be aware of their limits in language and in publics because what is right and acceptable today probably won’t be tomorrow. I have always thought an interesting, and more recent example of inaccurate information is the advent of “touching up” photographs of people in the media. While this is a usually harmless practice it is still inaccurate, and those who look at diet photos of touched up people and believe the pictures are accurate are being misled.

However, persuasion is, after all, the point of public relations as well as the point of any communication. It is innate for us to try and persuade others of our beliefs and attitudes. Consumerism has taken over our society and because of this, persuasion has become even more important and competitive in order to succeed. This is why PR practitioners must study and understand the attitudes, opinions, and beliefs of diverse publics.

These two organizations below have fascinating case studies that I think are beneficial to look over for an idea of how PR practitioners actually go through the steps of analysis, prediction, and carrying out planned execution of strategies.

WorldCom Group: Case study layout on an anti-tobacco campaign
http://www.worldcomgroup.com/casestudies.cfm

PR Consultants Group: Case studies on Cold Stone and Vegas
http://www.prconsultantsgroup.com/case_studies/index.html

This website is a great place to go for information on media outlets and the various channels of public relations. It provides links to organizations and publications that PR practitioners would be interested in.
http://www.prplace.com/