Allow me to introduce myself.
I'm Daniella Lupi Balan and I am
interning in the Interhill Group of Companies Public Relations Department, which is a group of companies involved in logging, construction and land development.
I began my
internship on the 1st of September and it will be ongoing till the 31st of
October. I'm hoping that within that time-span of two months I will learn enough
about the public relations industry to enter that field myself when I graduate,
fully prepared for what awaits me. Before then, however, I will be documenting
my two-month journey to the best of my abilities on this blog. I hope you can
all bear with me.
Now...lets talk
about my first week 'on the job', and how it turned into a roller-coaster of first-times that nearly swept me off my feet.
There were a lot of
things I had anticipated when I first started my internship. I had a
preconceived notion that I would be shown the ropes gradually, while probably
not being given any important tasks where I might fall short publicly; I
thought I would be given responsibilities as I earned them.
I was grateful (and
shocked) to find that this never happened. As soon as I stepped foot in the
Public Relations office I was informed that there would an event within the
week, and I would be given responsibilities I had never expected to receive so
soon.
As I stated above, I
started my internship at Interhill on the 1st of September and on the 8th of
September the Interhill-PETIPUN Financial Grant Ceremony. The Interhill-PETIPUN scholarship/grant
program has been held by Interhill yearly since 2008 and has since aided 83 Penan
students in furthering their educations with monetary aid; the grant is a part of Interhill's CSR program called the 'Education Initiative', something that I am increasingly getting involved in during this internship. For those reading
this who are unaware of what race the Penan are, they are a nomadic aboriginal
race living in Sarawak, Malaysia. The race is very well known in Sarawak,
because they are the only remaining race that continues to live as
hunter-gatherers and are considered protected by our government because of
their low numbers and their way of life. They are the 'children' of Sarawak,
and are quite protected.
Due to this, any
efforts to aid them educationally or industrially gains a lot of news coverage.
The reason I'm
mentioning this? Because my first task within that week would be to write the
formal speech for the Corporate Communications Manager, Miss Agnes Nyelang.
To say that I was taken aback by the opportunity so quickly given to me would
be an understatement. Aside from that, I was given other responsibilities such
as contacting the grantees who would be receiving their financial grants during
the ceremony, writing the media release for the event as well as writing the
press advisory. By the time the 5th of September had rolled by, I had handed in
the speech to Miss Nyelang and was then told that due to my aptitude in
speaking English, I would also be emceeing the event. This first week was
proving to be turbulent, and I wasn't sure if I was prepared to handle the
pressure, but I tried my best.
Finally, when the
day arrived, everything went off without a hitch, thanks to the preparations of
my fellow interns and I. I learned so many things, and I faced so many
challenges within this week, that I was sure that even if I should walk away
from my internship the very next week, I'd be walking away wiser than when I
had first walked in.
Allow me a moment to
share them with you.
I had to dredge
every bit of my knowledge about speech writing from our previous PR units to
finish this speech within a few days, keeping in mind the proper amount of
formality to be used, the 'verbal personality' of Miss Nyelang including her
vernacular tendencies and talking speed, the proper 'quote worthy' sentences
that should be applied and finally the 'length without repetition'. When the
speech was done, I had to edit it once before choosing two quotes to later be
inserted into the media release which was to be handed to the press when (or
if) they arrived at the event. This all took a lot of focus and preparation,
and though I was assured that eventually this would come to me as easily as
breathing, at this time it was one of the greatest challenges I faced.
I was also tasked
with writing the media releases and press advisories for the event, and I had
to edit what I had prepared two times before we released it. Miss Nyelang, who
oversaw my progress, was very helpful in giving tips on what to emphasize and what
to ignore entirely within the press release, but at the end of the day I found
that the main challenge in writing press releases is knowing the newspaper you
are sending the release to, and what they respectively find as newsworthy. I
had to figure this out by reading the articles from the different newspapers or
(in the case of Chinese newspapers) asking the opinions on those who often read
those newspapers.
I have a confession
to make...my largest drawback, and my worst fear, is talking on the phone with
someone and being awkward about it. During this first week I had to
continuously call and contact the different grantees and in the case of us being unable to contact them, I had to contact their Universities and institutes, and inquire information through them. In the case of the Penan students, most of
them could only speak the Bahasa Melayu language, while others required me to
speak in Sarawakian, the local slang/dialect. I have never been more grateful
to have picked up a slang before in my life. This had to be the most
nerve-wracking challenge I faced, mostly due to my own social anxieties, and
I'm glad I've faced that challenge even if I may have gained a few grey hairs
in return.
This was the first
time I would be emceeing and I had never been more nervous in my life, mostly
due to the fact that it is well known in Sarawak that if you get a VIP's name
or position wrong, it is a grave insult. It is also a well known fact here that
everyone who is anyone has a name and position at least ten words long. The
person I had to introduce was "Yang Berbahagia Datuk Temenggung Hasan Sui,
president of the Sarawak Tipun Penan Development Association" and it had
to be said perfectly while maintaining eye contact with the person in question.
Also, I had to introduce Datin Lau Ngok Yung, a member of the Board of
Directors of Interhill Group of Companies. Pronouncing her name was a huge
challenge as well, mostly because I've never been very good at pronouncing
Chinese names, as well as because (and I really do hate to say this) her name
when mispronounced can mean something negative in Sarawakian slang. The last
thing I needed was making the grantees chuckle at one of the members of the
Board of Directors. I was a nervous wreck and practiced constantly in front of the mirror before the day came around.
Considering that
most of my challenges involved nerves or anxiety when it came to either public
speaking or writing something that was going to be published, I found that one
of the main things I learned was that everything was all in my head, including the
risk and imagined 'consequences' that might arise. That isn't to say that you
can simply write or say anything you want at all, absolutely not. What I found
was simply that I have a tendency to overreact to any mistakes I make, and
honestly, no one else gives those mistakes that much scrutiny. A typo here, a
misplaced adjective there, the use of one adjective when another one would be
more impactful, all of these mistakes aren't the end of the world. Also being
awkward on the telephone, or having a slight language barrier that causes you
to have to repeat yourself, this doesn't mean you've failed in communicating.
It simply means you had to try a little harder in getting the message across
this time around, and when you've succeeded it makes the success just that more sweet.
Asking for help isn't a weakness
It took me all of 3
hours before I realised I had to ask for help from staff members, be it in
finding the location of a printer or asking how to use a fax machine, or even
any advice in how I should go about finishing one task or another. I discovered
early on that no one is intentionally cruel when someone asks for help, and
getting help cuts off the panic and stops you from wasting time. Whatever isn't
common sense or google-able, should simply be inquired. Don't worry about it,
just go for it, and be polite when you ask. You might even get an ally or two
out of it. I myself was able to form a good relationship with the main
secretaries in two departments, and even the HR manager.
If you know a language, chances are you'll need it,
and more
I myself know two
languages, English and Bahasa Melayu, and if Sarawakian can be considered a
language or dialect I'd be trilingual. I have since high school grown rusty in
Bahasa Melayu and Sarawakian, and this event showed that I should always be
prepared to use whatever language I know. I found that everyone within the
company was at least trilingual or quadrilingual. When I spoke to the Chinese
newspaper reporters, I found that English was not a language we could converse
comfortably in. We found a middle ground in Bahasa Melayu, and though both
parties were a little lacking in practice, it was the knowledge of this
language that saved the day. Any language is useful, so try to learn as many as
you can.
I had a stressful
time (once more, due to my own anxiety) when it came to writing media releases
and speeches, mostly because the idea of my words being immortalized on print
or video was frightening. I have since learned that it really does get easier, like
riding a bicycle, when it comes to writing. You get used to knowing what each
media organisation wants to hear, and you learn how to give it to them. Soon
the act of writing a media release becomes familiar enough that it becomes
second nature. Though I haven't reached that point yet, I am optimistic that
sooner rather than later, I will. Also, I honestly believe I would have broken down into tears and died of embarrassment if I hadn't practiced my script before emceeing on the day of the event. Practice, in that sense, also saves lives.
When you have an
idea, don't be afraid to speak about it. When we were writing the media
releases for this PETIPUN event, we were brainstorming on how to solidify the
chances that our efforts would be published. I spoke out during a meeting
concerning the fact that it coincided with International Literacy Day, and the
Communications Manager decided that this would be our main point, because most
of the newspapers we were targeting had a tendency to publish things that had
international significance. Therefore, we were able to get published in all the
newspapers in the city, including specific newspapers that often were
uninterested in our releases. It was a small contribution, a tiny fun-fact, but
it made a difference in the reach of our event and we were able to communicate
with a larger target audience than we had previously predicted. Small things
make a difference. Share what you know.
My first week was a
hurricane of new experiences and challenges, and I discovered new things not
only about PR but also about myself. Despite the stress and anxiety, I regret
nothing and I believe I'll remember this first week and the lessons I've learned
for the rest of my life.
 |
| Me emceeing for the Interhill-PETIPUN Scholarship/Grant Ceremony |
Thanks for taking
the time to share my experience with me. Till next time.
Curtin University,
Miri Campus.
PS: For those interested in knowing a bit more about the event that took place, about Interhill's education initiative or perhaps want to see some more pictures, please go to
this
link.
