During my internship at Imagine
Communications, I had to conduct different calls with regards to an event. I
was given a list of contact detail of the different media in Mauritius. I had
to confirm whether they received the invitations and confirm their venues to
the event organized. I then had to provide my supervisor with an attendance
list of the specific journalist who will be present at the event and their
contact numbers.
At times I had to call the same person up
to three times. To be honest, this was quite nerve-racking in the sense that if
the company did not call those media outlets, they probably would not have
noticed those invitations. Moreover, I was quite uneasy and stressed about not
being able to have a professional conversation with those contacts. But right
after the third or fourth call I began to be much more comfortable, even though
I stumbled from time to time.
It also happened that the person on the
other end was exasperated by my constant calls. Some were really friendly,
while others were cold and austere. Thing is that I am someone really
hot-tempered, and I had try hard to keep my shirt on and stay courteous and
professional.
I should also mention about being
well-prepared with the required information before contacting the different
media outlets. It actually helps answer any question by the journalist about
the event, and thus helps develop a certain degree of confidence.
I’ll end up this blog saying “Keep Calm and Stay Courteous”
Thanuja Angel Issory
CTI Campus
15884477
CTI Campus
15884477
2 comments:
Hi Thanuja,
I totally know how you feel about making and answering calls. I have talked about this in my last post. I agree that it was nerve-wracking! We just have to stay professional and speak with a clear and low tone of voice. It is crucial to plan what we have to say before we make calls. In my opinion, the secret to it is confident. We have to be confident but not over confident.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I wish you heaps of luck for your report. :)
Great blog, Thanuja.
Sometimes you just have to “grin and bear it” when cold calling or in your case calling people repeatedly, issues like this can be worth the effort though because they provide you with a tough skin as well as prepare you for this task if it happens again.
Most people who are entering the public relations industry for the first time are nervous about making these kinds of calls to other businesses in which a professional pitch is needed I’d wager. It’s nice to hear that being prepared helps, I guess journalists and media outlets are all about gathering information and would react less cooperatively if they thought that the person on the other end of the phone call didn’t know anything or was wasting their time (journalism strikes me as an impatient profession.
Good to hear you got through it with some humour still attached; did you get to know any of the media outlet representatives? They would make good professional contacts.
Thank you for your blog and the insight it provides,
Robert Dougherty, a fellow intern placed at CSWA
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