Some of the best brains in the PR industry today have no formal qualification for doing their job. They hold no diploma from any communications institute nor any management certificate. But when it comes to PR strategy and execution, organizations seek them out. What is it that they do? Do they have some practical lessons that can become a part of every institute’s curriculum? I could think of five such points a PR school could adopt to make their students ‘future ready’. They are listed below, in no particular order. And if you are studying at an institute this information might be useful before you start job hunting.

1. ‘Presentation Skills’ – One of the most important weapons in any PR pros’ arsenal. You are judged by how you speak and present your ideas. Clients and colleagues form lifelong impressions within five seconds of you uttering the first sentence. In fact once my boss had whispered to me in an ‘X Files’ kind of tone: “They are always watching you.” Therefore before you accept your diploma, ensure your presentation and public speaking skills are top notch.
   
2. ‘P2P Networking’ – Here PR students have an unfair advantage over others. If they look around in their communications institute they will see editors, senior reporters, special correspondents of the future learning the ropes in the journalism classes. Right now they are approachable and ready to be friends. Ten years hence you will just read their by-lined article or see them on the prime time news. So start making right friends right now.
   
3. ‘What to do and what not to say’ – As a PR consultant, you are in touch with company heads and senior management, and there’s a ‘certain’ behaviour expected from you. This may include how to handle difficult questions, how not to offend people, how to shake hands, how to initiate and carry on a polite conversation, how not to get unnecessarily provoked etc. It sometimes takes years to master the art but the sooner we make a beginning, the better it is.
   
4. ‘Dress up and play the part’ – A PR consultant inspires confidence in her clients. They seek her advice and trust her judgement. Again, this is a skill honed over years but you can start immediately by dressing up the part. Always be aware of the silent signals you give about your personality by the way you dress up. I once heard an industry veteran say: “Before you pass out of your institute, ensure you have at least two business suits in your wardrobe.”
   
5. ‘Sell yourself, gracefully’ – Promote yourself and do it with style. For example, even as a student you can share your business card at formal occasions. It can carry your name, contact details and institute address. Learning early how to effectively use sites like Linkedin.com is also an asset that will go a long way.

I am sure there are institutes that already have these lessons in their curriculum but there are others who can think about them. After all a little practical work never did anyone any harm.

I assume you know why I am late in posting this post today.

I assume you know by now what I am going to write today.

I assume that you must have got decent increment this time and your CV is not floating in the market.

I assume that you have been reading and will keep on reading whatever I write in my post.

We all assume. We all assume lot of things. Imagine a world without assumptions. Would you be able to live in this kind of world, where everything is non-politically correct and being expressed as it is? Yes, one such world exists but it may be too personal to involve anybody else than me and my wife! :) But, please don’t assume anything yet. She is the one who taught me the power of expression and she’s my biggest inspiration to continue expressing whatever I feel like with you guys without really bothering to think about whether it is politically correct, whether is this the right platform to talk about everything I have been speaking to you or whether I should just stick to whatever I learnt in my B-school or on the job. She knows quite a few things but doesn’t want to assume those and wants me to express it again and again in many ways. This is getting really interesting and I can write endlessly about my wife and what I learn from her but I have to do a justice to the platform and do not talk too much about my personal assumptions and expressions. So, shhh!!

I had a review meeting with some clients. As usual, they assumed that agency did not do any work as per their wish and command. They expressed their unhappiness to my colleagues as well. They assumed that journalists know everything about them. They spoke to journalists on the false assumption they know the business and the company they are speaking to and made lots of mistakes in the process. They assumed agency will take it easy and say ‘yes’ to whenever they will express their unhappiness.

Unfortunately, they had to deal with me and only thing they might have not assumed is my agency’s ability to express in a manner, which probably not many from service industry are capable of doing it.

To cut the long story short, I walked out on the CEO of the organization and demonstrated extreme displeasure to him about the way they are not listening to the team and agency. After a while, I went back to the CEO and obliged him by talking to them about why they don’t know how to express and living in the world full of assumptions. Told him about his inability to live the brand, informed him about how he’s losing money to us without really utilising the brain my agency has and in the process enlightened him on the power of communication.

In the end, he expressed his pleasure in one line – saying that for the first time in his long career as a CEO someone has really walked out on him to prove a point and he’s convinced that expressing it is always better than assuming it.

Anyways, the objective of the post is to let you know my friends that if you are convinced about what you are doing is right. Just go ahead and do it. Don’t assume anything, express everything and express it effectively.

So, my dear wife, when you want me to express my feelings, I know what you are talking about… I am learning and I am happy to express and admit in front of my readers that I am learning it all from you and only you.

Express yourself! Phir pata nahi kal ho na ho…

“One Black Coffee”“

I spent 20 years in PR agencies before moving to corporate communication” claimed a fragile looking lady with a proud voice as she tried to sink her body in black leather sofa.

“I completely understand what is possible and what is not possible in PR and I never pressurise my agency” another claim slipped from her lips as she sipped coffee from a large green cup.

“I respect my agencies and professionals associated with it. After all, I know what value people like you bring to the table, especially when we are all immersed in myopic views of corporate world filled with inside views” the overdoes of claims continued as the server tried to unsuccessfully stop the overflow of coffee he was pouring in her cup.

“I am utterly disappointed with my existing agency” sigh!

“Last time when we organised a huge event for donating an ambulance van to a hospital in Chennai, only four journalists turned up!”

“When we issued a very important release of a key general manager level appointment made by our company, I haven’t got a single clip from Bombay and Delhi!”

“I am looking for a professional agency, which understands our requirement and do a justice to the news created by us”

“When I was in an agency, I got these huge bunches of clips for all my clients for each and every news they gave it to me. My media relations are excellent. Across the country I know almost every journalist. They are always after my life to give them stories”

It seemed as if the meeting was never going to end with continued monologues.

And presto! My cup of black coffee just got over.

“Good. The Black coffee was really nice” my first and last words before paying the bill and saying good bye.

“A clueless Blonde”

“I’m stuck in a mental blizzard here. Am a newbie, and was recommended this site – I have questions – I don’t see a link where I can contact someone… I feel like a doofus and need help… SERIOUSLY!!!

I’ve been convinced and am convinced that this is the place for me, however when I tried to go through the content of the website- I did not know where to start. I am joining a PR company- it’s my first, they said they liked the fact that I have good interpersonal skills and that I can write well. I am writing a book, have written articles.

You see, I use simple words, which are easily understood by everyone. But after going through your site - I’ve completely lost all confidence. I don’t want to be the clueless blonde in the company. I need serious help.”

The mail landed sometime earlier this week in my inbox. I liked the honesty with which the lady in a mail acknowledges a situation many of us would have experienced at various stages of our lives. We all pass through similar situations. First day at school, first day at college, first job interview, first date, first movie with friends bunking the chemistry lecture, first marriage(oops!?) - having thousands of flying butterflies in a stomach is quite common.

You know what, Ms. Clueless? The problem is not with you but it’s with how you are looking at a situation.

Okay, let’s understand where the problem is?

Are they expecting you to know everything about PR from the day one? Are they expecting you to start talking to clients and pitching stories to media from the day one just because you have good interpersonal skills? Are they expecting you to start writing press releases and other material from the day one because you are a good writer? If the answer is YES, please steer clear of that agency. And if the answer is NO, so where’s the problem.

The learning is not a pack of Maggie Noodles (sorry Top Ramen and others. But you don’t have TOM recall yet!)

Take your own time. Go step by step. Get into the agency. Understand the culture. See how they work. Read. Learn from seniors. Ask questions - however stupid it may sound. Understand the business. Make mistakes – never repeat them. Be open to ideas. Contribute and share your views openly. Enter into a healthy competition. Stay away from office politics. Eat. Work. Maintain professional approach with all your colleagues, clients and media. Play and maintain a work-life balance.

And, I am sure you will become one successful PR professional and who knows one fine day you would be answering a similar query on our blog!

However, if you are not satisfied with the suggested roadmap – please feel free to write and we will talk. All the best!

“Two Minutes Noodles”

“The concept I am talking about is amazing. It took the world by storm. Since the last 25 years this brand has been the most recognised brand in over 20 different countries. We are launching it in India. People are eagerly waiting for it here.”

“No…No…No…Our brand is big. We don’t need continuous PR. Just announce the launch through a Press Conference, that’s enough. My global CEO is visiting to announce the launch and it has to be a gala event.”

After a successful press conference and decent coverage across the country – a mail lands in my inbox.

“The PR has not been successful. Despite our news being there in many newspapers so many people I am talking to are telling me that they have never heard of this brand before. The brand building has to be done through PR, which has not happened. Please explain”

The person who wrote this mail has spent many years in advertising and branding. I am planning to send him a pack of ‘Two Minutes Noodles’

With a Taste Maker, of course!

This post is specifically dedicated to young professionals in Public Relations who in the years to come will be the change agents for the industry

I am someone who not so long back, made the transition from a PR student to a Public Relations professional (yes PR to Public Relations ) . From attending endless sessions on “what is a press release”, “what are the 5 must-dos for a press briefing”, to more exciting prospects of real-life work experience at an internship to the final placement week, I have been through the regim of any average communication student.

While I am not the right person to speak about the improvement areas for PR academia, I feel there are gaps between what one is taught in a communication school to what the ground realities at work are. In this post, I have shared some thoughts based on my experiences as a young professional –

1. Press briefing, press release, newsletter are NOT Public Relations only Public Relations tools. While we learn what they are, it is also important to know, why do we need them in the first place? How will they help us meet the objective that we have set for the client
2. One of the faculty at our communication college used to say – “it’s a big bad corporate world out there” and nearly made us feel that we were not “prepared” to take-on the expectations of this world. I have come to believe that the world will remain as “bad” as well allow it to be. Yes, we need to be aware about the rigor that our role demands. But when it comes to client expectations, they cannot be static views and the process needs participants from both ends
3. Publicity is a component of Public Relations and not a synonym for Public Relations. We often see a cynicism creep in among the younger lot who feel, “if the client has hired us to get coverage, that’s our job, how do we do anything besides that”? I think we can address this by just constantly asking ourselves, how else I can deliver value to my client. Isn’t the entire logic of having a 3rd party counsel you, based on the fact that it offers an unbiased and often a unique insight into the situation? I think the first task for us is to have that faith, that a) it IS our job to think of such unique insights b) it may require personal initiative from our end , to drive the needle of client/media perception and that it is worth the effort
4. Myth - Since Public Relations is a more operational function, you can learn it only at work place. There is no theory, no one can teach you Public Relations. During our college days, I remember our advertising and media-planning friends nod heads intently about the GRP/TRP jargon and sneer at the “how do you deal with media” sort of classroom sessions. What I have come to realise at the workplace is that understanding the value of “reputation”, is not an inborn talent that each of us are gifted with. It is something that requires a fair amount of theoretical introspection backed by practical understanding. I certainly did not read Edward Bernays during college and did not know that crisis communication is not just about reading a case study on Tylenol and Johnson & Johnson
5. (Since there was so much heart-burn about this issue during college, let me end with my two cents about it :)) The difference between advertising and Public Relations is not so much about being paid-for and free mode of communication as much about functioning in a controlled environment (advertising) and learning to function in an environment lacking control (Public Relations). As I recollect one of my friends say, “in advertising, once scheduled, only a natural disaster can stop your press insertions from appearing next day. In Public Relations, the environment is dynamic and reactions/actions from stakeholders are difficult to predict.

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Tech Tags: pr public+relations india

Outlook magazine’s June 11, 2007 edition has come out with its annual Outlook-Cfore college survey and this time, it has ranked the top mass communications institutes in India as well among others.

It says a ‘…major trend is that many top-scoring students are deliberately opting for professional courses like healthcare, hotel management, fashion technology and mass communication. Experts are predicting a huge demand-supply gap in terms of manpower in these sectors. A recent PriceWaterhouseCoopers report estimates that the Rs. 43,700-crore media and entertainment sector is poised for a cumulative growth of 18 per cent over the next five years and will be a Rs. 1,00,000-crore market by 2011. The fashion industry is expected to grow over five times to Rs 1,000 crore over the next 5-10 years. Healthcare, already a Rs. 1,00,000-crore sector, is growing at 13 per cent. Reforms and high growth rates have opened up new opportunities in many sunrise sectors. This is why we have ranked institutes in areas like law, fashion technology and mass communications. But this year’s ranking is based on subjective perception…’

These are the top 10 mass communications institutes in India according to the survey:

(This data is from the Outlook magazine print edition)

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