This guest post is by Sara Myrea, a recent graduate who majored in PR & Strategic Communication, about her attendance at a professional development conference. Sara’s travel was supported in part by the Lamb School. If you’re interested in guest posting or have questions about Lamb School support for undergraduate development, email lambnews@purdue.edu.
When I first arrived at Purdue three years ago, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. As far as I knew, I was passionate about sitting down and getting to know other people. I loved listening to people’s stories, understanding their personalities, and offering them advice when they needed it. However, I didn’t see many careers where I would be able to do this all the time. At the very best, my closest group of friends and family kept suggesting that I become a psychologist—advice that I ignored in order to dodge science classes at all costs.
I was glad that I eventually found public relations to be my career because I knew I would meet a variety of people and help them with their needs. Still, I thought that sitting down and having deep, reflective conversations with people would have to be reserved for another time and place.
It wasn’t until I attended the Public Relations Student Society of America International Conference in San Diego, California, that I realized I was completely wrong. The conference is held yearly for thousands of public relations students who hope to practice forward-thinking, ethical communications. We have the privilege of attending multiple sessions held by notable public relations practitioners over the span of a few days. To my surprise, I found that building deep, meaningful connections seemed to be the reoccurring theme in all of the sessions I attended. These particular sessions stood out the most to me:
Storytelling and Media Relations: When the News Isn’t Good
In this conversation, led by Florida International University Global Strategic Communications Graduate Director Aileen Izquierdo and instructor Heather Radi-Bermudez, I learned that media relations is not all about promoting your client’s good stories to the press. In fact, doing almost the opposite can actually help your client more.
It is important to work with journalists during your client’s crises because it creates more trust between yourself and the journalist. Journalists have the duty of presenting real news, whether it is good or bad. Taking the time to understand what information the journalist needs for their story builds a sense of cooperation, and therefore a willingness to continue working together as a client recovers and grows from a crisis. This exemplifies how honest, clear communication always benefits a work relationship, while trying to sweep details under the rug can hurt it.
For the People: Navigating Nonprofit PR
It is no secret in the public relations world that working for nonprofits is hard—you oftentimes have to work long hours, complete a multitude of duties in an understaffed office, and get little pay. Mark Pilon, Executive Director of Susan G. Komen Foundation Los Angeles, explained in this session that it is important to constantly connect with people who are impacted by the nonprofit’s work.
Every day, Pilon meets Breast Cancer Survivors to hear about their fight. He stated that each story is unique and bears its own struggles, but he is glad that his work contributes to the battle the women have to fight. Hearing these personal stories may not be a tangible item that marks the progress of the organization, but it is a way to remember the deep meaning behind its mission. Furthermore, the relationships act as the drive to you to keep pushing a nonprofit towards its goals.
Emotional Intelligence: Five Leadership Skills Comms Pros Must Know
In my favorite session of the entire conference, Heathere Evans, President of Pivot, Inc., expressed that the first step of building meaningful relationships is not connecting with others, but connecting with yourself. Part of being a great leader is to be efficient and creative with your teammates. However, if you are overcome by the stress of a workload and fear of performing badly, it is scientifically proven to block the creative intelligence your brain produces.
To prevent this from happening, you need to be aware of when you start to feel the negative emotions so you can take a step back, evaluate the reality of the situation, and consciously change your behavior. A simple shift in perspective from “why is this happening to me?” to “what can I make out of this situation?” can make you feel much more motivated to tackle any problems that appear in the workplace. The happy relationship you build with your mind can thus lead to happier relationships with your teammates who will be thankful for your readiness to collaborate and produce great work.
In this age of the internet, we are constantly flipping through news titles, social media posts, podcasts, and more. While it has made meeting people easier than ever, the screen between relationships can sometimes hinder its meaning. I found that all of these sessions that I attended were tied together because they focused on stepping back from the quick, online exchange in order to see the beauty and benefits of personal interactions.