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COMM 4363 Final Project Presentations

Photo Credit: The Perfect Software Architect, by Martino Sabia

For your Final Project Presentation in COMM 4363 (Corporate PR), please keep these guidelines in mind. Both the presentation and the final project are due in class on Tuesday, November 16.

In General

  • Share with your class 10 Things People Should Know About [Your Company], based on the research you did for your series of blog posts. Pick and choose the information you find to be most relevant and important to share with your classmates.
  • Dress professionally (business casual at a minimum), just as you would if presenting directly to a client.
  • Follow this basic format (just like you learned in your public speaking class)
    • Introduction (remember to start with an attention getter to lead into your introduction)
    • Body (the 10 Things)
    • Conclusion
  • Please use either PowerPoint or Prezi to augment the spoken part of your presentation, but no Death by PowerPoint. If possible, embed your presentation or presentation slides in your blog.
  • You will use your own computer, not mine. I can help you set it up. (If you have a Mac, bring the appropriate adapter.)
  • Though I love gum and hard candy as much as the next person, avoid them when you are in front of the room.
  • Review my tips on How to NOT Suck as a Guest Speaker; even though this post was about being a guest speaker, not doing a class presentation, many of the guidelines still work well.

Solo Presentation, 5-7 minutes

  • See above

Team Presentation, 17-20 minutes

  • In addition to the 10 Things, also include approximately 10 minutes on an overview of your mini-campaign. Use visuals, as applicable, to back up your points. Be sure to include a section on what you’d do differently if faced with a similar campaign in the future.
  • Each team member must have a speaking role. Practice transitions between speakers, in addition to practicing the content. Also think about where people who are not speaking will be when one of you is presenting. It’s important that the entire team appears engaged during the presentation.

As an Audience Member

  • Treat the speakers with the same level of respect as you would wish for your own presentation.
  • Tweeting during presentations is acceptable. Use the class hashtag of #COMM4363 with any tweets. (Avoid any other use of electronics, please.)
  • Develop a question or two to ask the speakers. I expect to hear at least one question from everyone in the class on the day of presentations.
  • Applaud when the presentations are over.
  • See additional tips on being a good audience member by Cathy Stucker.
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Blog Checklist :: End of Fall 2010

For my PR students at Southeastern University and Georgia Southern University:

As this semester is winding down, please take a few moments to complete this Blog Checklist to ensure your blog is on track.

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Public Relations Evaluation

In this week’s COMM 2322 class, we are discussing the fourth part of the RACE process of public relations, evaluation. Below are the slides to accompany my talk in class.

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8 Common Errors in News Releases

Photo Credit: Untitled, by PotatoJunkie

After reviewing all the first news releases in PRCA 3330 & COMM 4333, I am generally pleased with what I saw, considering it is the first news release that many of you have written. The best stories were ones that passed the “So What?” test; they were newsworthy to those outside your client’s organization. They were well organized and clearly written. You must have remembered what you learned in your Intro to Journalism class!

Here are some common errors I saw:

  1. Using “we” or “our” when it’s not part of a quotation (a news release needs to sound like a story one would read in an impartial newspaper, not in a company newsletter). News releases need to be written in third person, not first.
  2. Improper use of commas (either too many or not enough)
  3. Puffery (making statements in the news release that don’t seem newsworthy. Some of these would be okay as part of a quotation, however.)
  4. Calling women “girls” or “ladies” (even though it’s common in sororities to do this, AP Style calls for the use of the word “women” when you are writing about female adults)
  5. Abbreviating the word Georgia as GA (rather than Ga.) or Florida as FL (rather than Fla.).
  6. Improper formatting on dates, times, numerals, etc.
  7. Format (forgetting to put an embargo date or For Immediate Release, end sign, page slugs, letterhead with mailing address, etc.). Check BlackBoard or GeorgiaVIEW for the template I provided to you; this will help with basic formatting.
  8. Including a headline that is not compelling. Your headline should be active and entice the reader to dive right into your story, not bore him or her to sleep.

Be sure to avoid these errors when writing future news releases. And you might want a quick refresher of how to flag your AP Stylebook for easy reference, if you haven’t flagged it yet. It’s a real time-saver; I promise. I’ve been using AP Style for all of my adult life, and I still need to look some things up.

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Promoting Mark Lowry Performance :: Brainstorming

For my COMM 4333 class:

Christian comedian/singer/songwriter Mark Lowry is coming to Lakeland for a performance to benefit Southeastern University’s Communication Department. We spent some time brainstorming in class today for ideas for how to promote this event.

Please have one person in your team provide your list of ideas using the form below.

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Inside PR :: Students Should Step Up Their Social Media

Listen to the Inside PR Podcast

As a long-time listener of the Inside PR podcast, I look forward to each episode (seriously!), and I miss listening to new episodes during the summer hiatus. I always find something useful to share with my public relations students from listening to the podcast each Wednesday. But this week . . . what a great show! It’s a must-listen for public relations students.

Martin Waxman, Gini Dietrich and Joe Thornley spent this entire 20-ish minute podcast sharing their thoughts on why and how students who are planning careers in public relations should become involved in social media, along with what to avoid doing.

Standard Podcast [21:24m]:  Download


Directly from the show notes, some of the highlights are:

  • Joe shares the first tip: remember there is only one you and be consistent with how you present yourself across all mediums.
  • Joe reminds students to build a professional profile from day one.
  • Gini gives some advice for students who are hesitant to start a blog.
  • Martin points out how important it is to be careful about what you post online.
  • Joe stresses the importance of communicating and engaging.
  • Joe shares the 3 places students need to be to build their online profile: a blog of their own, Twitter and LinkedIn.
  • Martin says students need to have a good RSS reader to organize all their feeds and stay current.

Give it a listen. It’s worth your time. And subscribe to the podcast using iTunes or Google Listen so you don’t miss another episode.

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One Week of Twitter :: Fall 2010


First, Learn a Bit About Twitter

  1. Listen to Laura Fitton discuss Twitter for Business.
  2. Listen to my Twitter: What’s in it for me? presentation.
  3. Read 10.5 Ways for PR Students to Get the Most Out of Twitter.

Setting Up Your Twitter Account

  1. Go to Twitter. Click Get Started, and sign up. I prefer it if you use some version of your first and last name as your Twitter ID. (Avoid putting numbers in your Twitter ID, or you may appear like a spammer.)
  2. Upload a photo or avatar.
  3. Write a brief (160-character or fewer) bio. It’s good to mention that you’re a PR student. Consider mentioning your university.
  4. Send a tweet saying “I’m a student in @barbaranixon’s #COMM2322 /#COMM4333 / #COMM4363 /#PRCA3330 class”. (Use the correct number for your class.) Be sure to include the #xxx1234 indicator, with no spaces between the hashtag (#), letters and numbers.
  5. If you haven’t already done so, complete my form that tells me your Twitter username before midnight on  Tuesday, September 21.

Setting Up Your Following List

  1. Follow me plus at least 20 (why not all?) of the people or organizations in my Twitter Starter Pack for PR Students.
  2. Visit your class’ list at TweepML: PRCA 3330, COMM 2322, COMM 4333, COMM 4363 (I will activate these links as soon as I have your class’ Twitter usernames.)
  3. For the purposes of this assignment, you will need to be following at least 40 people.

Using Twitter

  1. Over the course of the next week, send at least twenty tweets (Twitter messages of 140 characters or less). Tip: Rather than tweeting that you’re having ramen for lunch, instead consider what might be of interest to your classmates and followers. Perhaps point others to something interesting or funny you read online. Share a fact you learned in a class. Maybe you could even pose a question that you’d like others to answer. (UPDATE: The tweets cannot all be ones automatically generated from your WordPress blog. The point of this assignment is to engage with others on Twitter, not simply announce.)
  2. In addition to the twenty tweets that you originate, respond to at least five of your classmates’ tweets. To respond, click on the arrow after a tweet. Or you can type the @ symbol followed immediately by a username (such as @barbaranixon).

Additional Information

  1. If you already have a Twitter account that you use primarily for social (not educational or professional) reasons, you may wish to create a fresh, new account for this exercise.
  2. Review my tips on how college students can use Twitter to their advantage and Choosing Whom to Follow on Twitter: My Strategy.
  3. Review Prof. Sam Bradley’s College Student’s Guide: Twitter 101.
  4. I find using the web interface for Twitter to be clunky. I prefer using TweetDeck, a free Adobe Air app that works great on PCs and Macs. TweetDeck makes it really easy to send URLs via Twitter, as it automatically shortens them for you.
  5. I’ll occasionally post information on Twitter and use the hashtag for your class (#COMM2322, #COMM4333, #COMM4363 or #PRCA3330).By using this hashtag, I’m indicating that I want students in this class to pay special attention to the tweet.
  6. OPTIONAL: If you’d like to publicize your blog posts via Twitter, you can it automatically in WordPress.

Blog About Your Experience

After the week is over, add a 300-word (minimum) post to your blog about the experience and what you got out of it. Include a link to your Twitter profile (here’s mine). Be sure to include at least one way you might find value in continuing your account in Twitter. Your blog post about this experience count as your Topic of the Week for the appropriate week.

Questions? Just send me a DM (direct message) or an @ (reply) in Twitter!

NOTE: Many thanks to Kaye Sweetser and Karen Russell for their ideas prompting this assignment.

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The Evolution of Public Relations :: An Interactive Timeline

In PR Applications class today, we’ll be discussing the evolution of public relations. See the timeline below, created by Dr. Corinne Weisgerber’s Introduction to PR class at St. Edward’s University, for an interactive look at how public relations has changed and matured over the years.

NOTE: As Dr. Weisgerber’s class was a few years ago, the timeline stops at 2006. What would you add to the timeline?

The history of public relations on Dipity.

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COMM 4363 Corporate PR Student Blogs, Fall 2010

Students in my COMM 4363 (Corporate PR) course at Southeastern University have started blogging. They will be adding to their blogs weekly throughout the Fall semester.


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COMM 4333 PR Writing Student Blogs, Fall 2010

Students in my COMM 4333 (Public Relations Writing) course at Southeastern University have started blogging. They will be adding to their blogs weekly throughout the Fall semester.


NOTE: If you are a student in this class and your name is NOT on the list, please contact me right away.