The Value of Voice

I've invented my own word, I call it 'techciety' (pronounced tec-si-e-ty) and I use it to describe the current corporate culture we live in.

Week three of my internship has come and gone, and I found the need to develop a universal term to describe the environment my office operates in, and what I feel many offices nowadays are operating in.

I am placed in an office 2 days a week (over 10 weeks) with an event planning company called TriEvents, however as I mentioned in my last blog, I am doing my internship through correspondence with an event staffing agency called Event Workforce. I have fast come to realise that business people rely heavily on technology, many I feel are co-dependent.

I operate my day on the computer, carrying out market research and emailing students from our database and university lecturers who I am trying to organise the delivery of promotional presentations with. In my first few weeks my day has relied solely on what information the computer can provide. The majority of my market research is carried out online, and when I need to contact new university lecturers I find myself researching their details online and sending them an email. If I did not have my computer, my to-do-list would be unachievable.

It was this week that I realised that the techciety we live in, whilst it is fast, efficient and convenient; doesn't satisfy our need to communicate verbally and physically. I was delighted this week to receive a phone call from Michelle at Edith Cowan University. I had emailed Michelle earlier on in the week with information on Event Workforce and to discuss distributing flyers across the campus. When Michelle organised to call me, my first reaction was fear. I felt nervous to communicate with a person verbally as it makes the conversation somewhat 'real'.

When I picked up the phone, my afternoon became a delight and I automatically satisfied  my personal need to effectively communicate using Grunigs two-way symmetrical model. My conversation with Michelle opened up many business opportunities. Michelle explained to me the current volunteer program that ECU currently operates and also gave me the names of professionals in other tertiary institutions that I could contact for my own purposes. She also kept our company details on file so she could recommend Event Workforce to students who contact the careers office looking for volunteer opportunities.

We live in a techciety, which is fabulous. Our reliance on techonology not only reflects our internal operations, but also the habits of greater society. As such we must use our technology wisely. As a communications student I recognise that online communications are essential and preferred in the corporate world. However in saying this I have also learnt that we must embrace the notion of face-to-face and verbal communication when addressing particular stakeholder publics such as university contacts as it helps build a mutual understanding and stronger relationship.

This can also be applied to internal communications, perhaps next time you go to write an email to your colleague, a walk to their desk to say hello may be in order? The value of face-to-face contact cannot be underestimated, as it is the original and the most basic medium for developing mutual relationships.

Lets not lose the most valuable tool we were given in this techciety- our voice.

Until next time,

Amy

Final Race Time of 26 Days

Well the day has arrived! All that planning will be paid off this morning, Sunday August 26! Been up at 4am may not seem the most ideal situation but it did not phase me at all. I could not wait to be at City Beach Oval! 

Watching people pass the finish line and listening to interviews conducted by the media to the winners felt like a huge achievement thinking ‘hey I helped put this all together.’ It was amazing to see all that planning come together on one day and it was also extremely rewarding, making all those hours worthwhile.

I have learnt so much and I cannot wait to get a job and show off what I have learnt and further extend my knowledge in the public relations industry.

A few valuable lessons I will take away from my internship are:

Planning

Without planning, you are just going to create a recipe for disaster. every little detail for the event was planned and had a team behind it that had worked on it and designed it to work in a certain way. Although during my internship some tasks I did, did not seem as important as others it was all a part of the ‘bigger picture’ Planning for anything and everything that will and could happen on the event day all works to ensure a smooth event to be enjoyed by the participants and the organisers. 

Time Management

The ability to meet deadlines and have a high level of organisation is all part of maintaining strong relationships with both stakeholders and colleagues. As the event was on August 26, there were a series of tasks that needed to be done months, weeks and days in advance and without the completion of those tasks the event would not have gone ahead and would have been terrible. 

Time management and organisation reflects highly on the industry you are in and a part of. 

Verbal Communication

The PR industry relies heavily on both written and verbal communication. Whether you are communicating with your colleagues, stakeholder groups, publics and other industries, communicating confidently, fluently and well is very important. PR is all about messages, 

As an intern it is pivotal that you have a excellent verbal communication to ensure you all a part of the planning and the organisation and your voice is getting heard.

Teamwork

PR heavily relies on working in teams. Who knew all those group assignments with good and not so good group members would be a reflection of the type of team work you would be doing in the industry. Especially working for such a huge event, it would be impossible for only one person to do this event all by themselves and have the same results as if a team were to organise it. 

CONFIDENCE

One priceless lesson I will be taking away from this unit is ‘confidence’. Over the 26 days of interning, I have grown confident in my ability to step into the ‘real world’ as they call it and apply for jobs knowing I can do it, and I’ll be able to do it well. 

I cannot begin to describe how much I enjoyed my time at Corporate Sports Australia and help organising the City to Surf and to be a part of such a great community event. I was given some great tasks and felt like I was providing a service to the event. All the little tasks that may seem not so important such as answering emails and phone calls was a huge learning curve as you were interacting with primary stakeholders and aware publics - the way you responded to their queries reflected on the practice of event management and the organisation itself.

I’m also glad to know that I will also be helping out with their next event, the inaugural Suncorp Bank Fremantle Fun Run that will be on November 11. 

I hope you all enjoyed your internship as much as I did and good luck with the final weeks of semester!

Thanks,

Steph Sbrocco

STM SHOOT – IT’S TIME TO GET YOUR SEWELLERY ON

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” – Ansel Adams

Welcome to my fourth reflection on my placement at the one40william division and 140-retail sector.

STM SHOOT

I was given the opportunity to work alongside Teagan Sewell (stylist and designer) for an STM photo shoot incorporating her own jewellery label from her line ‘Sewellery’. Sewellery has a retail space at one40william, thus incorporating a campaign to promote one40william in this exclusive STM photo shoot.

From the get go I felt that my role at the shoot was as important as anyone else’s. The shoot took place at the architecturally stunning Heath Ledger Theatre in the CBD. After a tour of the Theatre and deciding on where the shots should be taken it was time to start preparing the clothing and jewellery that would be included in each shot. All jewellery used was ‘Sewellery’ and the clothing ranged from Ellery to Givenchy.

From the first click of the camera, the shoot was finally underway. It was such a great to have a ‘behind the scenes’ first hand experience to see how much work goes into getting one amazing shot.

From previously sitting there on a Sunday I would flick through the fashion photography in the STM choosing the photo’s I like the best, to now appreciating the hard work and long hours that are required to put these looks and shots together. I learnt especially the amount of hard working people required to form the team to create such photography shoots come together.

I was honored to be part of such a team that worked so well together, especially when my ideas and advice was asked when styling the outfits and going through the final shots.

The team included the following:

·       Teagan Sewell (and 2 interns);

·       Photographer (and 1 intern)

·       2 Film Crew;

·       Makeup Stylist;

·       Hair Stylist and

·       Myself

COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY

Throughout the STM shoot I found the most essential element was verbal communication. Of course in public relations written communication is significant in all areas of work, however, verbal communication is just as important.

Utilizing excellent verbal communication has been cemented as a result of my internship from the roles that I have required to adopt. Through out units at Curtin, we are repeatedly reminded of the significance of high standards of verbal communication, however, having to demonstrate this in a real corporate sense confirms such importance.

I feel as though I am growing through my experiences whilst completing my placement at one40william.

The shoot is being published on the 26th of September so look out for the exclusive shoot in this Sunday's STM!

Until more 140 experiences,

Alexandra Wheeler

(14866393)