Never a Dull Moment

A few days ago, I was asked (as I often am) what exactly I like about public relations. For some reason this is always a hard question to answer, not because I don't know what I like about it but I guess it's just kind of hard to articulate. 

When I first applied to the PR major in UGA's Grady College of Journalism, I have to admit I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I remember some mention in a class of event planning as a career, which I thought was the coolest thing you could do for a job, and after doing some research PR seemed like the logical path to get me there. However, I still didn't know what exactly public relations was. I'd taken marketing classes for my business major, and don't think I really grasped the difference between the two industries. 

The farther I got in my classes, the more I fell in love with the field of public relations. I love the writing, the pitching (as much as anyone can actually love pitching) and all of the opportunities to be creative. I also love the constant interaction with people. I'm really fascinated by people and the way they communicate, so figuring out how to get a client in the public spotlight is so interesting to me.

The one thing I heard over and over about PR, which remains my favorite aspect of a career in this area, is that there is no typical day and there is no such thing as "9 to 5." My worst nightmare would be to go to a job and do the same exact thing every single day without any sort of excitement or variety. This is the opposite of PR. Just this summer I've had so many fun, random experiences from painting baseballs for a giveaway to writing for a newsletter, posting to the company blog to researching why people prefer a certain franchise over competitors. Aside from a few daily monitors, I go in to work every morning having absolutely no idea what to expect from the day - and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Never Stop Learning

When I first started this blog, I was in college and wrote a lot about my internships and what I was learning in class. I realize lately it has evolved into more of a "Life in New York" diary since I've been so caught up in exploring my new city.  However, just because I'm out of college doesn't mean I'm not still learning about PR - that's what interning is all about (not that it should stop after that)! One of the things I love about my particular internship is the emphasis on our professional growth, which was apparent today in our pitching and writing workshop. 

Of course we're all busy, interns and account executives alike, but it was nice for people to take time out of their day to teach us a thing or two. There were a few key points that really stuck out to me from our workshop that I wanted to talk about and think all people in PR should know.

First, a great quote from our writing workshop:

Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very"; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. - Mark Twain

This perfectly articulates the difference between PR writing and creative writing. In PR, we need to say the most we can in the least amount of words. We need to be able to get our point across quickly and effectively to our specific audience, not spend extra time (and words) with superfluous descriptions.

Next, my favorite takeaway from the pitching workshop:

Put yourself in the mindset that when you call to pitch to an editor or reporter, talking to you will be the highlight of their day. Thinking positive will come through in your voice and they will be much more receptive to your pitch.

I love this. There are very few people I know in PR that truly enjoy pitching, even though it's a big part of the job. This silly little tip honestly works though! Pitching is so much easier when you just relax and talk to a reporter like a real person. Be casual, have fun with it. Sure, you'll get the reporters that are still very formal and short, but in general people are much more receptive if you come across as someone they could get along with. 

I won't bore you with all of my notes (even though I still need to type them up for my "intern guide book" - a great idea from one of our intern coordinators), but I just wanted to share those two main points. I think it's easy to assume that once you're out of college, the learning stops there. I'll admit, it did feel weird taking notes from a powerpoint presentation (and I've only been out of school for two months!). I truly enjoyed it, as anyone does when they're learning about a subject they really care about. It's so much easier and more fun to learn about things you're passionate about from successful people in that industry than to sit through a boring lecture on a topic you couldn't care less about in college.