“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things
are infinitely the most important.”
- Arthur Conan Doyle, Author of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes –
- Arthur Conan Doyle, Author of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes –
Back when we were kids, we may have used to think that life
is easy. Everything revolves around us. I should say that, particularly in my
case, one of my most memorable moments are the times when my family and I go to
events. It can be animals playing in the show, circus carnivals, Disney on
Ice-skating show, and much more.
Nowadays we still enjoy well-crafted events (such as
attending international music concert or watching musicals on live-theaters),
but we also now understand the long hours of rehearsals, preparations and
budget costs in running these shows. As Public Relations professionals, we take
into account these concerns for the total success of the events we run or have
been assigned to. We now understand that it is the small things that matters in
big things, and this philosophy should apply to all PR people.
As I have mentioned in my last blog, Clubs WA was going to hold
the AGM on 22nd October. Starting with the first week of September,
my supervisor had assigned me to do various odd jobs in preparation for the
AGM.
The first things I got assigned is cold-calling. As I have
talked about it in my last blog, it is one of the most important skill that PR
people need to hone and own.
However, compared to cold-calling, I was also assigned jobs
with non-PR related skills. These include putting sponsor flyers and
stationaries into delegate bags; create registration forms, name tags and table
number tags to be printed through word document; and fixing spelling and images
of the AGM PowerPoint slide.
These jobs do not constitute PR skills, but I do beg to
differ. I believe everything we do in an organisation is PR-related, as long as
everything is targeted towards an audience of people. For instance, it takes me
about 4 working days to finish putting all flyers and stationaries into 130
delegate bags. I have to ensure that everything is placed into order, not
missing any gifts, and the presentation of each bags should look consistently
neat. Again, I also have to ensure that I made the presentation of registration
forms, name tags and table number tags consistently neat in word
documents. Fixing spelling and images of the AGM PowerPoint slide may not be as
glorious as cold-calling, but it is needed to ensure that the little mistakes
will not get to the AGM attendees’ attention, as they expect professionalism
and consistency of the whole AGM event.
These little things are often overlooked when we were kids
or when we just want to enjoy the event itself, but PR people have to be keen
in looking in these little things to ensure that they don’t distract the
audience from enjoying the whole show. That is why I believe that these odd
jobs – ‘non-PR related’ jobs – are essential for PR people, and they are often
overlooked in favour of the seemingly ‘communicative’ jobs.
In my next and last blog, I will talk about my involvement
in the AGM itself. I hope this upcoming story can enrich your experience as PR
people.
2 comments:
Hi Mickey,
I love how you have spoken in your blog about being assigned jobs that you don't need to use PR- Related skills. During my internship i also did a variety of jobs where i was not using the skills i learned during my PR degree, but skills i have picked up during my 20 day internship.
Thanks
Hi Mickey,
I found your blog post very interesting and relatable! It is true that all the little things like making documents look “pretty” or sorting name and table number tags really do add to the bigger picture. Some may see such tasks as being beneath them, but at the end of the day these things need to be done in order for things to run smoothly, especially in events – and someone needs to do them! Just as well us PR interns have a keen eye for detail.
I was also given similar tasks throughout my placement – designing subscription forms, brochures, creating spreadsheets, etc etc. I took the same view as you in relation to these tasks – it’s all got to do with PR, therefore all these little things make up a great mixture of invaluable experience. We’ve all got to start somewhere, and although these tasks may seem tedious at times, they’re just as important as anything else.
I found your discussion of how we see events as kids compared to how we understand them today very insightful and very true – once you get a grasp of just how much time and effort goes into organising an event, those tedious little tasks seem not so little anymore. Once you’re aware of and actually understand the process of events management, you gain a whole new appreciation for just how important those little things are.
Sounds like you’ve gained some great experience from your placement. All the best for your report!
Emma
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