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!
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