"And why would I report on that?!"
"Well," I smiled and stated with confidence, "I read your comment on health programs in public high schools, and I thought that given the proximity of this program to the readership of your newspaper it might be something that you would love to cover."
I held my breath.
Of course Justin would cover the event.
I repeated all the information about the Smarter than Smoking Young Directer's Festival and promised an email with any additional information, We laughed about the weather. I wished Justin a good weekend. We spoke about the massive amount of work that was piling up on his desk.
I could relate.
We hung up on excellent terms. I put the phone down and did I little dance to myself.
After a few solid weeks of awkward phone calls - I was finally getting journalists to listen to the words I was saying. It felt wonderful.
I am doing my internship at Devahasdin. We are a boutique consultancy which represents a diverse number of clients. I was currently calling around on behalf of Smarter than Smoking, trying to generate some publicity for the Young Director's Festival.
I have learnt to smile down the phone when pitching. To know everything about the story before picking up the phone. To talk like you are catching up with an old friend; even if it is the first time communicating.
I have learnt not to leave a message, but to call back again. I have learnt to laugh, to make small-talk, to chit-chat and to know the name and position of each person you might be talking to before even looking at the phone.
I have learnt to always find a news angle that refers to a publication specifically. Never be generic. Journalists have a plethora of stories they may chose to report on - make yours the best.
Good luck!
Lauren Roberts
15839817
4 comments:
Hi Lauren
I found this post very interesting. One of the commonly under-rated tasks in PR ironically is communication and people skills. More often than not I feel as though people spend a lot of time focusing on strategy and ideas, and then are let down with an inability to speak openly and effectively about these ideas.
Your story indicates that you have strong communication skills and are able to articulate your position effectively. There are many PR professionals that would have not been able to deal with this journalists initial abruptness. Confidence through adversity is key
Best of luck for the rest of your internship, I am sure you will thrive
Hi Lauren,
I really enjoyed reading your post and found it really inspiring. You should be very proud of yourself to achieve what you have. At the end of the day, isn’t that what all of us PR students really want? To be listened to and heard rather than spoken to and told?
As Simon said, you have demonstrated excellent communication skills which in reality are the key to success in the PR industry and you have perfectly showcased this. Many people overlook the value of effective communication and overvalue the theoretical side of things –which is majorly what we have all been taught while at university, with little focus on how to speak, what to say etc.
I believe this is where many of our courses have failed in providing us students with direct and effective communication lessons, to enhance our skills. As a PR worker these skills are critical but when you think about it there is a whole heap of us (myself included at times!) that get up in front of a class and sometime struggle to present a clear and concise pitch to a group of people we have spent the past few semesters, and in some cases, years with. Is that not just a little concerning?
But nevertheless this is certainly not something you should be worried about, I wish you the best in your future in the PR industry!
Reyhan
16167111 – Bentley Campus
Hi Lauren,
These are some great tips you have shared when communicating with journalists. You sound like your confidence increases with every call you make. I believe it is all just a matter of practice and experience. Like you said, you have learnt over time the specific techniques and ways to talk to a journalist in order for them to actually listen. It seems in PR we are constantly communicating with the media so to be able to do this effectively and confidently is a great achievement.
Thanks for the advice, I'm sure I will use it in the near future.
Jessie
Hi Lauren,
This post is really entertaining and informative!
The tips and tricks you have learnt about speaking to journalists are really helpful.
Speaking to the media for the first time (and many times after that) is so daunting! You feel like a lost sheep with no clue about what you are trying to do.
It is funny how when you are put in a stressful situation like having to pitch to a journalist all your confidence and knowledge goes out the window.
Learning to keep your cool when things don't go as planned (or people loudly showing how unimpressed they are)is definitely a skill everyone needs to learn!
So thanks for the advice!
Alyssa
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