Things Nobody Tells You

Hello fellow bloggers!

Since the last couple of blogs, I realised that it's been quiet here at Momentum Forum Events. Maybe because there are more admin tasks to complete before our next event, rather doing the type of work you’d expect to be doing in a consultancy, or because Barbara has gone to Europe on a treasure hunt, yet it got me thinking; is there more to it?

Doing another internship outside of uni at a boutique consultancy is giving me more depth of knowledge in terms of what PR encompasses; and there’s always a lot to learn. This seems like an open-ended question, and I don’t know about you all, but do you have some days which don’t seem very eventful and make you feel like you’re not really learning much?
Whichever way it’s going, here are some things I’ve picked up along the way; and things that nobody tells you... 

Who’s Calling?
Dealing with clients and potential exhibitors for events over the phone requires some self-assurance and a call strategy. No-one tells you how to get either. You either naturally have this gift or you fake it until you make it. Another thing you might notice is how easy it is being ‘blown off’ on the phone, so getting your message across in the most effective way is very important. One of the things I’ve learnt is not to say ‘just’ when you’re explaining from where you’re calling from. I know this one can seem like a tough habit to break; so many of us just like to use that word so much! 

Monkey See, Monkey Do
There are many programs which can create just the right content for distribution, such as newsletters for example. Mail Chimp is the one that we use here at Momentum, and although it is relatively easy and straightforward to operate, patience will be your friend when playing around with resizing the sponsors’ logos to make them all fit nicely together. It’s one of those fiddly tasks that you could spend ages on. 

One of my co-workers, who is great to learn from and work with, gave me a tutorial on how to wrangle the Mail Chimp, and then I had a go on my own for a little bit. You learn by observations, but you also learn by doing things yourself; and to be honest, I think you learn much better and effectively when you apply your knowledge and build on it through trial and error. That’s why I thought I would be creating this newsletter and take the time to do it on my own. Sure, having templates makes it easier to visualise where certain elements should be positioned, yet the creative side of doing such things, is what keeps this experience interesting.

The Iceberg Effect
You get days that are quiet and then you get days that productively busy; and at first I didn’t know what to make of those days that seemed to go by quickly yet, when I thought back on what I achieved during the day, I realised that there was no decisive goal to be reached or deadline to meet. Maybe it’s just the calm before the storm. At times things are not as exciting as they may seem, interning at an events management business, because the funny reality is that everything happens before the big day; all the preparation to make an event what it is on the day that others don't get to see from the outside. I like to call this the iceberg effect: 

You're Not a Robot

Working in an office environment there will always be lots of work to do. Sometime's you're lucky if you remember to take your lunch, even if you eat at the desk (you can say it's more efficient that way). Here in the office, however, the mind drifts and wanders, until you notice once again that there are no windows here. Since my first days at Momentum, I've been blessed with people who annoyingly remind me to go outside and take a break; "you're not a robot". In previous jobs I've been allowing myself to miss the fresh air and sunshine, but now decided to take the advice of seasoned pros; take a break. 

I think that maybe other interns would know this feeling too; not wanting to take too many breaks away from the desk as not to seem disinterested with the work that's to be done. We all really want to make the best out of these experiences and show that we are capable to handle all types of responsibilities. Let me know if you're also a self-admitted 'busy bee'!

 

Lunch-time landscapes

Phones: the most important tool for Public Relations Practitioners in the 21st century!!!

Hi, everyone,

Today I will focus on the use of a telephone in the PR field. While having several technological tools which can be used to perform the communication tasks, a phone remains the more efficient as a phone will confirm if a mail is delivered, will gain time when something needs to be done or to 

confirm an information about particular issue.

A phone is the most important tool is the basic tool in the PR field. There are so many tasks which need to be achieved with the help of phone calls. During my placement, I have used the phone for different tasks. I was given the task to make an update of all general directors of parastatal bodies in the country. To be able to complete this particular task, I had to call a great number of those organisations, ask for the actual general director or president and update the information in the company’s database for later use. I've made phone calls for about three days where I spoke to several people to obtain specific information. Another important use of the telephone is when I had to call journalists for the conference. We had to call them and if ever they were not available I had to call back in order to know if they are attending the event.

Phone used in the company

During my placement, one thing for sure working is not framed by office hours. Once, there was a press release from one of the clients which came out at the end of the day and I had sent the press release to media outlets. Then, I need to call the journalists 20 minutes later to make sure they received  the press release and I need  to send another one in the case they do not obtain the document. This task lasts at least one hour after office hours because it is very difficult to talk to a journalist at 5p.m as they need to prepare the late news.

This was quite interesting to see how the use of a phone is important in the PR field as everybody considered the telephone to be outdated in present days where Internet is become the mainstream for communication. This need to be done as journalists are so busy that they do not have enough time look at their mails and in such case they can miss one important information given by a client. So, it is the responsibility of a PR agent to make things happen.

Hope you enjoyed reading this third post.

Cedric