Day 7 at the WAEC, my task
was to contact universities' Vice Chancellor, assistant.
The first thing before
calling them was to write up a script. This is very important as I need to know
what I am going to say. Also I have to prepare what kind of things I might get
asked.
The first uni I called was
Curtin. Making phone calls for the first time in the office where I'm
representing a organisation was SUPER nerve-racking. I was so scared to press
the numbers, so I got my intern friend, Isabella to help me dial the numbers!
Sounds silly right?
Hopefully the call to
Curtin's Vice Chancellor's assistant wasn't too bad! The lady, Allison picked
up the call and she was super nice. I followed my script and asked her whether
the university was interested in our project or not. Allison sounded interested
in the project and told me to send a proposal to her so she can discuss it with
the Vice Chancellor.
After making more phone
calls to other universities, I worked on the proposal which helped me to answer
questions from other universities.
When the proposal was put
together. I went to the supervisor that was in charge of this project to check
the proposal before sending and getting it finalise. We discussed what we
needed to consider and what the universities would think, (i.e would they go
for it?).
The outcome of this day is
that calling people isn't that scary! Today I heard the best suggestion about
how to overcome my nerves, think that the person on the other end of the phone
is just as nervous that the phone is ringing and they are the one who has to
answer it.
Another outcome or
experience I gained from Day 7 is that I now know how to write an official
proposal, that needs to be sent to official people and what kind of things I
should consider.
I love working in WAEC as it
helps me gain more and more experience and knowledge in all different areas,
not only PR!
 |
| Script |
 |
| Ready to call! |
 |
| Proposal for the project |
3 comments:
Very topical!
Talking with people isn't something we 'millennials' do in our day-to-day lives. While we're excelent at using our communications technology to connect with friends and family, phone calls are among the neglected communications type within the 'youth' demographic.
I've had to face the challenge of perfecting the 'business call' through my journalism studies - sometimes I finish a call feeling mature, professional and ready to leap into the "real world" - other times I screw up my face and the my inner dialogue is something along the lines of 'oh my gosh what did I just say why don't my sentences feel like sentences they probably thought I was the biggest goober!!'.
It's a skill in itself and a form of communication that is so simple yet immensely valuable to have in the PR utility belt! A good telephone call can activate publics, make or break partner relations and also be the difference between scoring a job or not.
My own experience is that it's only getting easier - keep it up!
Phone calls are something that are still very daunting for most of us. We all find it so much easier to text, Facebook message or email but at the end of the day, phone calls are usually the best way to go.
I've definitely had a lot of practice making phone calls during my journalism radio news class and yet I still get nervous making phone calls for assignments or even personal appointments. Having a script is such a great idea to make the experience a little less daunting although it might be slightly altered when the communication actually happens.
At the end of the day, an excellent skill was used and over time it will hopefully get a little easier :)
Fantastic post Winnie, it's great to hear how much you are loving your internship placement thus far! I actually just posted my first blog and I also mentioned how nervous I get at the thought of having to use the phone and call other companies! I had to call a group of radio stations including 92.9 and Nova on my second day and it was so daunting! I also chose to use a script to help me remember what to say to and it definitely helped keep me more calm. Hopefully it gets easier the longer we do it!
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