Do you remember when you were in secondary school and started getting a serious load of homework; your parents and teachers always told you not to leave things to the last minute, otherwise they wouldn't be a true reflection of your ability?
Well as much as I agree with this statement now, having gone through GCSEs, A Levels and now currently a university course, the worst possible thing you can do is leave things to the night before. However, I'll admit, I left an assignment until a week and a half before it was due in, despite having at least four weeks to complete it... Yes, I know, this looks bad... but let me explain.
I knew I had a tight timeline to work with and I had read the brief and done my background research and reading and made notes, so it wasn't as if I hadn't made some kind of start on it. It was because other projects that appeared to have much more content to do had taken over and suddenly I was faced with this situation of needing to do it in a week and a half.
So I used this amazing online tool where you type in what type of assignment it is (report, presentation, essay) and then enter your deadline date and it helped me to put into perspective what needed doing and it gave me suggested mini deadlines. To cut a long story short, I set aside a few hours everyday and got the assignment done, checked through and what I can only describe as polished up nicely three days before it was due in. Which wasn't bad considering I needed to do some Christmas shopping that weekend too!
My point here is I've learnt something about myself through this experience. Although I would never willingly let myself be in that situation again... I loved the thriving feeling of that I had a deadline to work with, it was what some would call a lot of pressure... but I loved it. It made me think also, both part time jobs I've had, have been in thriving busy environments. Some people may not enjoy living life that is structured and deadline orientated, but I do! It gives me a satisfactory feeling that I've accomplished mini challenges that lead up to a big accomplishment and makes me feel happy that my day has been productive.
Friday 30 November 2012
Wednesday 28 November 2012
Latest Experience, a Guest Lecturer and a Hint of Nostalgia
Okay, so first post of the blog, logging my latest experience at university- note I said latest. I have had many experiences at university, a whole year of them in fact and as I write these posts I will try to refer back to past experiences in my first year to get you up to speed. I'd rather do that than bombard you with loads of information all at once- no one wants to read all, that let's be honest.
So today during my public relations practice and skillset lecture, we had a guest lecturer, Ken Deeks. For those that don't know him or of him, his background started off in journalism and he then made the transition into PR and now currently runs a communications company that helps companies to enhance their communication skills and improve overall appearance- something that I've noted a lot of our PR speakers have done in their careers.
He was interesting to say the least- I don't think I've met anyone so down to earth and yet so animated about his job. He obviously has a lot of experience and of course working as journalist certainly helps tick a lot of boxes when it comes to being on the flip side that is PR- he knows from experience exactly what journalists are looking for when he pitches a story to them. His lecture mostly consisted of this and handling the client and media relationships as this ties in with our modules we're currently studying- content creation and content management.
The most important thing I've taken from today? Put yourself in someone else's shoes...
- If you were a time constrained journalist what would you want to hear from a PR spokesperson trying to sell you a story, what would win it for you?
- If you were a client, what would your own expectations of your PR team be, whether that would be an external agency or in house?
- And arguably but in my opinion, most importantly, if you were a reader what would you want to hear? What would make you want to invest in that new product or make you think positively of that brand?
It was definitely food for thought and also made me nostalgic (yes being able to say that now makes me feel old!) of a time when I was 14 and wanted to either be a journalist or novelist. I loved English (still do) and everything about it; the way you can craft words for effect and I especially love the fact when writing a story, be it fictional or for a newspaper, you can put your own spin and signature on things, so people know that it's you who has written it. It's still one thing I would like to do when I'm older- write a fictional book. It would just be one of those things that would give me some personal satisfaction in my life... watch this space!
So today during my public relations practice and skillset lecture, we had a guest lecturer, Ken Deeks. For those that don't know him or of him, his background started off in journalism and he then made the transition into PR and now currently runs a communications company that helps companies to enhance their communication skills and improve overall appearance- something that I've noted a lot of our PR speakers have done in their careers.
He was interesting to say the least- I don't think I've met anyone so down to earth and yet so animated about his job. He obviously has a lot of experience and of course working as journalist certainly helps tick a lot of boxes when it comes to being on the flip side that is PR- he knows from experience exactly what journalists are looking for when he pitches a story to them. His lecture mostly consisted of this and handling the client and media relationships as this ties in with our modules we're currently studying- content creation and content management.
The most important thing I've taken from today? Put yourself in someone else's shoes...
- If you were a time constrained journalist what would you want to hear from a PR spokesperson trying to sell you a story, what would win it for you?
- If you were a client, what would your own expectations of your PR team be, whether that would be an external agency or in house?
- And arguably but in my opinion, most importantly, if you were a reader what would you want to hear? What would make you want to invest in that new product or make you think positively of that brand?
It was definitely food for thought and also made me nostalgic (yes being able to say that now makes me feel old!) of a time when I was 14 and wanted to either be a journalist or novelist. I loved English (still do) and everything about it; the way you can craft words for effect and I especially love the fact when writing a story, be it fictional or for a newspaper, you can put your own spin and signature on things, so people know that it's you who has written it. It's still one thing I would like to do when I'm older- write a fictional book. It would just be one of those things that would give me some personal satisfaction in my life... watch this space!
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