Life in an Agency: PR Meets the Matrix

Presented by Joshua Reynolds, Vice President, Applied Communications by Courtney Ripple

"How many people here have seen The Matrix?" asked Joshua Reynolds. "You should because that is where public relations is right now - right in the middle of a high-tech world." Reynolds, vice president of client services at Applied Communications, wanted students to know about the high-tech side of public relations, "High-tech public relations has been around for 10 years," he said, "Today, it is a fast-paced and competitive field to get unto."

He noted that the textbook definition of public relations is missing a few elements and suggests that students read The Death of advertising to learn more. "The ability to control the message and place the ad is the difference between PR and advertising," said Reynolds.

Reynolds stressed that public relations professionals need to be believers and promoters at the core. "Advocate your position as passionately as possible:." With advocacy, he adds, people must know what they are talking about, Below is a list he showed on carrying out any type of job, from the menial to the complex:

As with any public relations job, there is no such thing as a typical day, "A day in PR involves managing deadlines," Reynolds said. "If you are going to miss a call, always call back as soon as you can." He wanted all students to know that, above all, many things do not go as planned during the day. In theory, everyone should have everything organized into blocks, but in reality, this is rarely feasible. People 'III public relations should be ready to perform under pressure and work in a fast-action mode - always analyze.

But why do students need to make it in the public relations field`? "Multitasking is the ultimate skill to have," said Reynolds, Always deal with the closest, or most harmful, target first, Public relations professionals should have and know a plan of attack ahead of time and prioritize in rapid fashion.

Other helpful skills include the following: persuasive speaking, problem solving and decision-making. Students should have a drive to learn and a strong belief in themselves. "Do what you have to do and learn from your mistakes; have confidence to make the mistakes."

The four most important skill PR professionals should have, in addition to multitasking, are critical thinking, communication, goal keeping and curiosity.
According to Reynolds, public relations jobs will increase faster than all other jobs through the year 2006. In order to succeed in the field, students should know Microsoft Office applications, PowerPoint and have fast typing skills. They should also know the difference between CC (carbon copy) and BCC (blind carbon copy) when dealing with e-mails in the high-tech aspect of public relations.

Names appearing in the box beside CC in a e-mail receive a carbon copy of the c-mail sent to the first person. Names appearing beside the BCC will receive a carbon copy of the e-mail, but those names by the CC will not know about it. If you need your boss to see an e-mail you are sending to co-workers but do not want them knowing you sent it to hum, put his name in the BCC box. Thus way, he will see everyone who received the e-mail but the co-workers will not know he got the e-mail.

E-mail can be important, but Reynolds said that not a lot of programming knowledge is needed. Personally, Reynolds is not fond of PowerPoint. "If you use PowerPoint, have no snore than 11 slides per an hour and a half meeting." As for training and professional development, Reynolds recommends working in agencies. "They pay you to spend time learning technology, so learn it quickly."

For those unsure of the difference between in-house public relations and agencies, Reynolds made up a list of what to expect from each.

Agency

Disadvantages

Advantages

Disadvantages

Reynolds ended his session with "Be honest - there's no spin like the truth." He also stressed that professionals should protect their credibility, but say as much as legally possible in times of crisis. They also must cooperate fully with the publics involved in such tunes. Reynolds also told students to not just inform, but to lead others. Students should also demand mentorship - a lot of lessons can be learned from these experiences.

Always the "Matrix" buff, Reynolds added this last cryptic message: "Keep an eye out for Morpheus."