In my Public Relations Applications course at Southeastern University this semester, my students blogged about the Top Ten Takeaways from this introductory course. It’s always interesting seeing the diversity of thought in what stood out to each student. Below, I highlight excerpts showing several students’ thoughts.
“Commenting - Although I am usually a quiet individual, I have never had a problem expressing myself and my opinions. This class thought me that the same should also be applied to commenting on blogs. In Professor Nixon’s interview with Kneale Mann, Mr. Mann stated, “the price of admission is contribution,” concerning blogging and commenting. I thought this was a great statement.”
“Proofread x12 You can never proofread too much. Look over your releases and articles ten times, and then let someone else look it over as well. If there are mistakes, you will lose credibility, and [the] confidence [of] your co-workers and the community.”
“Finding my way: After taking this class and taking Kneale Mann’s advice I started finding my way. I really enjoyed writing about public relations issues that were occurring in the world of sports, dedicating most of my PR connections posts to baseball, football, and basketball. Because of this, I have been looking up possible careers and internships with professional sports teams.”
“Interviewing: I was able to interview a Public Relations professional this semester, and it was really enlightening. I learned a lot about Public Relations that I did not know prior to the interview. This was an awesome opportunity to learn not only interviewing skills, but also how to speak with someone in such a “high up” position. Being a student has a lot of perks, and one of my favorites is that I always have access to some great leaders and professionals simply because I have an “assignment” due.”
“Enjoy your work: It is very important that you enjoy what you’re doing and that you especially enjoy writing. If you don’t enjoy it, you probably won’t go far. On top of that, you’re going to be miserable everyday.”
“Have a set of ethics already in place before entering the workforce. If you already know what you believe in and feel comfortable with, it makes it much easier to make a quick decision when dilemmas arise.”
“Buy the domain for [your company]sucks.com. It sounds funny, but you’ll want to snatch it up before someone else does and starts tearing apart your company. You might also want to purchase die[yourcompany].com and ihate[yourcompany].com.”
“Relationships and contacts are important to make and to keep. You have to initiate contacts and nurture the relationships. Eventually you will get to the point where you don’t pitch a story anymore but just have conversations about stories.”
“To be an effective communicator, a person must have basic knowledge of: what constitutes communication and how people receive messages, how people process information and change their perceptions, and what kinds of media and communication tools are most appropriate for a particular message.”
“Become educated in the world of social media. FaceBook. FourSquare, and Twitter are just a few of the essential social media tools in the field of Public Relations. Learning about these tools and using them successfully is important, and will open up new educational doors as well as providing new connections.”
In today’s Public Relations Applications class, we watched a classic episode of the classic 1970s TV show “WKRP in Cincinnati” :: “Turkeys Away.” Though I paid to download the episode from iTunes, I just discovered it’s also available for free through Hulu.
In this episode, which was based on a botched promotion from a radio station in Atlanta, live turkeys dropped from a helicopter. Chaos ensues.
What can we learn about how NOT to do a promotion from Mr. Carlson’s fiasco? I’ll get the list started:
- Communicate with your entire team before launching a promotional campaign (or a turkey).
- Do your research! It’s best to learn ahead of time that turkeys don’t fly.
- Get permission before doing a stunt.
- Know what is considered news in your local market. Giving away turkeys for Thanskgiving wasn’t news. (But watching live turkeys plummet from a helicopter probably would be news.)
- Brainstorm for what could possibly go wrong before you proceed with a promotion.
What would you add to this list?
[Cross-posted from my blog for my First-Year Experience class, Making Connections: Facebook and Beyond, at Georgia Southern University]
Final exams are approaching on college campuses around the world. Finals can be stressful, even for the most prepared students. Here are some tips to help you succeed:
Preparing for the Final
- Find out what your entire final exam schedule is so that you’ll know how many finals you will have on each day.
- Prepare a written schedule for yourself indicating when you will study for each test. Leave some time in your schedule for exercise and relaxation, too.
- If the professor offers a study guide, use it.
- If the professor offers a review session for the exam, go to it.
- If you study well in groups, form a study group.
- Know if the final is comprehensive (covering everything since the beginning of the semester or quarter).
- Find out what kind of exam it will be. You’d study differently for a multiple-choice (Scantron) final than an essay (blue book) one.
- If the final will be taken online, find out if you have to go to a specific computer lab on campus at a specific time, or if you’ll be allowed to take the final on your own computer. Also find out how many chances you will have to take the final. Assume it’s just one chance unless you hear differently from the professor.
- If you have your previous exams available, scour the exams for things that you think will be on the final. Flag your notes by highlighting or using Post-It notes.
- Don’t pull an all-nighter. (Though some people are successful with studying all night and then taking a test with no sleep, I wouldn’t recommend you try it for the first time on a final exam.)
- Calculate your grades in the class. Determine what score you will need to get the grade you’re hoping for in the class. You may discover that you can’t possibly get an A, no matter how well you do on the final, but to get a B, you only need to get a few questions right.
- If you’re an auditory learner, record yourself reading your notes aloud, then play the recording back several times.
- If the exam is an open-book exam, this does not mean that you don’t have to study at all. In fact, one of the most challenging exams I ever took as an undergrad was an open-book essay exam. Flag your textbook based on where you believe the questions will come from.
- Consider creating a detailed Final Exam Battle Plan.
On the Day of the Final
- Eat a meal and drink water.
- Don’t overdo it with the caffeine.
- Know what to bring with you to the final. Do you need a blue book? A Scantron? (And if you need a Scantron, which specific type do you need?) A pencil? A pen?
- Are food and drinks allowed in the classroom where your final will be? Sometimes, the rules are different for exam days than other days.
- Even if you don’t usually wear a watch, take one with you to the final. It’s unlikely you will be able to look at your cell phone to check the time during the final.
During the Final
- For a paper-based exam, read through the entire final exam before you start answering any questions at all. This way, you will know what you’re facing.
- If the final is an online exam, find out if you can revisit questions, or if after you click past a question you cannot go back to it again.
- If you’re using a Scantron and you skip a question to finish later, make sure you’re answering your questions next to the correct answers. (When I took my GRE to get into grad school, I skipped a question on the first page of the booklet, but never skipped a number on the Scantron. When I realized it, I only had 10 minutes to go back and put the answers with the correct questions. Talk about stress!)
- Keep a close eye on the time you have allotted.
- Some students benefit from answering the most difficult questions first, while others do better completing all the easier ones. Do what works for you.
After the Final
- Do not share with other students what was on the final exam. In most universities, this is a violation of the honor code.
Now it’s your turn: What final exam tips do you have to share? Please let us know through your comments below.
Photo Credit: http://flickr.com/photos/shaghaghi/73645535/
COMM 4333 Spring 2010 Students Only
For your final exam in COMM 4333, we’ll do something a little non-traditional. Create a list of the ten most important things that you learned in our class, and explain why these things are important. Be sure to touch on a variety of the topics we covered in COMM 4333; the only required topic to discuss is the importance of AP Style.
This exam (as noted on your syllabus) is worth 10% of your grade in the class.
Format (your choice)
- Write a blog post of ~500 words
- Create a PowerPoint & upload it to SlideShare (should have at least 7 slides, with detailed notes in the Notes panel). Embed the SlideShare slides into your blog.
- Create a podcast (audio recording) using Utterli or Podbean (should be ~5-10 minutes long). Embed the audio into your blog.
- Create a video & upload it to YouTube (should be ~5-10 minutes long). Embed the audio into your blog.
DUE: No later than Tuesday, May 4, at 1:50 pm. Submit the URL of the specific blog post in BlackBoard.
NOTE: Since our final is completed using an online method, do not physically come to class for the final.
We are in the homestretch of Spring 2010, believe it or not. I will start evaluating/grading your blogs soon (dates vary by class).
If you are in PRCA 3030, PRCA 3330, COMM 2322 or COMM 4333, please complete this checklist to be sure your blog is complete. NOTE: You will need to scroll down in the form to complete all areas and find the Submit button.
As PR students near the end of their college careers, many of you will need to create a portfolio that highlights your best work over the past few semesters. See Portfolios for Public Relations Students for details on how to create a portfolio.
For the Spring 2010 PRCA 3711 class, you have five options for completing the Portfolio Review Assignment. Choose an option by April 15 and let me know your choice on this Google form. (If you do not make a choice, your choice will default to Option Five.)
Option One: Hard-Copy Portfolio
- Create a hard-copy portfolio with at least five work samples & mail it to me so it arrives no later than April 30. E-mail me to let me know when you have mailed the portfolio.
- Include a “script” with what you would say if the potential employer asked you to talk him/her through your portfolio (why you included each piece, how the client benefited from the piece, etc.)
- There’s no need to go to great expense with the portfolio itself; a simple folder will suffice for this assignment
- In GeorgiaVIEW, submit the date you mailed the portfolio to me.
Option Two: Social Media Resume
- Create a Social Media Resume
- In GeorgiaVIEW, submit the URL of the Social Media Resume.
- NOTE: If you are in PRCA 3030, you can use the same SMR as you are creating for that class (if you chose that option in PRCA 3030).
Option Three: Video Pitch
- Create an 8-10 minute YouTube (or Vimeo) video of you pitching yourself to potential employers.
- Show some of your portfolio pieces in the video
- OPTIONAL: Embed the video in your blog
- In GeorgiaVIEW, submit a link to the video
Option Four: Skype Interview
- Meet with me via Skype (audio and video) for a 10- to 15-minute mock interview. Contact me via e-mail to schedule this interview.
- Prepare as you would for an video-based interview with a potential employer (dress appropriately, consider what’s in the background of the video, etc.)
- In GeorgiaVIEW, submit a self-evaluation of the mock interview, including what you would do differently in a future video-based interview.
Option Five: No Portfolio
- Have your grade in PRCA 3711 based only on the other assignments you have completed, and not do a portfolio review.
- In GeorgiaVIEW, for the Portfolio Assignment, insert a comment that reminds me you are choosing not to do a portfolio review.
At the 80th Annual Convention of the Southern States Communication Association, I am contributing the panel discussion “Social Media and Public Relations: Twittering and Beyond.” Below, you will see the brief Prezi I created to frame my comments about how Twitter has helped to make me a better public relations professor.
How Twitter Makes Me a Better PR Professor on Prezi
Notes
UPDATE from April 14: My notes for the presentation appear below.
Collaborate {with Peers}
I simply can’t recall what it was like starting out as a new PR professor 20+ years ago at McNeese State University, not having the ability to bounce ideas off of other PR professors around the world in mere moments. Now not a day goes by that I don’t collaborate with professors on syllabi, assignments and more. Some of those whom I stay in touch with most often include:
- Auburn University’s Robert French (founder of PR OpenMic)
- St. Edward’s Univerity Corinne Weisgerber (with whom I collaborated using a wiki to develop a new Social Media for PR class)
- University of Georgia’s Karen Russell
- University of Oregon’s Kelly Matthews & Tiffany Gallicano
- Marquette University’s Gee Ekchai
- and many more
Converge {with PR Pros}
Part of my role as a PR educator is to prepare students for the “real” world of public relations. By weaving in ideas from successful PR practitioners into my classes, I am making sure I am teaching my students things that will help them in their entry-level roles. I am often surprised and delighted by seeing my students reaching out directly to PR pros on their own, too. For example, Mackenzie Stratton did her Social Media for PR podcast by interviewing Socialnomics author Erik Qualman over Skype. Other PR pros who are especially helpful to students are
Connect {with Students}
My students have learned that the quickest way to get an answer from me is to tweet (either through an @ or DM). If I notice that several students are asking me similar questions, I’ll respond with a tweet to their class, using the class’ designated hashtag. Sometimes, however, I do have to let my students know that even though I may be using Twitter late into the evenings, I am “off the clock” and will get back to them later.
{peek into the back} Channel
I love seeing my students help each other out by answering each other’s questions on Twitter.
{Keeps Me} Current
Though I have considered myself a news junkie for years, I tend to learn about breaking news (especially in the world of PR/social media) via Twitter. I frequently weave today’s current events into the classes I teach, and it’s much easier for me to get my news now.
I also discussed some of the social media fiascoes that have occurred (including Disgusting Domino’s Employees, #PepsiFail and Motrin Moms) and the Mumbai crisis.
Communicate {Concisely}
Since Twitter only allows 140 characters to share our messages, I have had to work on being less wordy. I find that when I plan mini-lectures in my classes, I design several “tweetable” segments, in case my students happen to be tweeting in class.
After our panel discussion was over, the real conversation in the room began. Our audience asked lots of great questions, including those around the blurring of personal and professional parts of our lives. I shared that in my first-year experience class (Making Connections: Facebook & Beyond), one of the assignments is for students to create their own Social Media Policies, clearly defining how and why they use different types of social media.
Writing a news release is all well and good . . . but if it is not sent to the media for (potential) distribution, it’s a futile effort. I created this small crossword puzzle to help students understand some of the wide variety of options when it comes to news distribution channels. Try it out!
NOTE: Most clues in the puzzle come from:
Wilcox, D. (2009). Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques (6th Edition). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Based on the presentation Crisis Management: The Savvy Communicator by Kami Huyse. Used with permission.
For your final assignment in Public Relations Writing, you have a choice between two projects. You can either prepare a Social Media News Release OR write a detailed blog post about Social Media News Releases.
See GeorgiaVIEW/BlackBoard for the due date.
Option #1: Prepare a Social Media News Release
- Using either PitchEngine (or PRXbuilder, if you are at Georgia Southern University… it’s blocked at Southeastern University for some reason) OR your WordPress blog create a Social Media News Release for your client.
- See pages 136-139 in Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques on creating your SMNR (NOTE: Your book calls them Smart Media Releases or Multimedia Releases.)
- Include one news release (
it can be based upon a release you’ve turned in for a previous assignmentuse your revised Personality Profile), along with- at least one photo to accompany the story
- at least two relevant quotations
- at least two relevant hyperlinks
- boilerplate information about your client
- tags that help describe your release & client
- If any of the information you are using in the release is not factual, you’ll need to make this very clear with a disclaimer.
- In GeorgiaVIEW/BlackBoard, submit the URL to your SMNR.
Option #2: Write a Blog Post about Social Media News Releases
- Blog post should be 500-1000 words. (NOTE: This will be in much more depth than other blog posts you’ve written
your Week 15 Topic of the Week.) - Include the following in the blog post
- What is a Social Media News Release?
- What are the advantages & disadvantages of a SMNR?
- When should a PR practitioner consider using a SMNR?
- Offer links to at least two websites that will help one create a SMNR
- Provide a link to a SMNR that an organization has created
- Provide 5-10 tips for SMNR creation
- There should be at least five hyperlinks in your blog post. ALWAYS link to sites where you get your information; not doing so is plagiarism.
- In GeorgiaVIEW/BlackBoard, submit the URL to your blog post about the SMNR.
