As the journey of my 1st year started unfolding, I
learnt a lot from the PR definition as it summarized what PR is about.
This is the
definition that helped me understand what PR is about:
Adopted by the Public Relations Institute of South Africa (
PRISA) states that ‘public relations is the management, through communication,
of perceptions and strategic relationships between an organization and its
internal and external stakeholders.
From the definition I knew that in order to make an impact,
you have to change people’s perceptions, how they view things.
Therefore ladies and
gentlemen I present to you tips to consider when studying when studying PR:
1. You have to get into the habit of reading
and staying informed of current trends and issues. This will help develop
critical thinking skills. You also need to look at different opinions regarding
PR, ideas about where PR is going- Follow Bizcommunity.
2. Do not be shy, share your ideas and
opinions, ask questions and take part in conversations. Participate in social
networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Follow PR
professionals so that you can learn from them. You can also get someone who is
in the business to mentor you.
3. Have good communication skills. Since
PR is challenges your thinking, you need to believe in yourself. You need
confidence in talking to a variety of people. You need to have the ability to
add value in people’s thoughts. You need to believe that you can make a big impact
in the industry. You also need to have good organization and planning skills. You
must also have a flexible mind.
4. Start a blog. In this way you get to
showcase your knowledge and experience. So blogging is an investment in PR as
you can reach large number of people.
5. Network all the time. This means you
need to build relationships with people. You should get to know people: learn
their real names and remember details about them. This will leave a good
impression on people.
These are really good tips hey. Well written as well. It's very important for people to know what they are getting themselves into when it comes to studying. Great one!
ReplyDeleteThank you Rose, and yes I agree with you. Because many times student find themselves trapped in courses they did not do research about.
DeleteThe tips you have mentioned are very much effective to P.R which will help fellow students to understand what is really P.R. Because most of us get into a course without having much knowledge about what is really the career about.
ReplyDeleteThank you Nobantu, I really do hope they help prospective students out there. So that they have a clear understanding of what their getting themselves into, should they decide to study PR.
DeleteI honestly agree with you and these are really good tips especially number 1 and 2. At first we did not really stay informed and read news on what is happening, but now we make sure that we read news everyday and are aware on what is happening around the world...These tips are certainly effective and will help a lot of PR students.
ReplyDeleteTrue that Dee, with PR one has to be up to date with current issues. You need to on top of your game
DeletePR is 4 YOU Sis. You go get them Sis��
ReplyDeleteThanks NK, I will do just that
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful message Tswelopele. It made me realize how important i am.
ReplyDeleteI really love the tip you have just mentioned, they are relevant and highly useful to anyone who wishes to venture into the world of Public Relations and Communications, you have highlighted the important skills and clarified the misconceptions that people have about our field of study
ReplyDeleteLettie, yes our field has a lot of misconceptions and a lot of people do not fully understand the need for PR in this world, and its up to us to make a difference and make them understand.
DeleteIndeed you are important Musa, and do not ever doubt your contributions to the world.
ReplyDeleteGoed gedaan meisie, hou so aan en eks trots op jou.Baie liefde. A. Segal
ReplyDeleteBaie dankie Ange, ek is bly jy is trots op my, ek hoo dat jy het ook geleer van PR.
DeleteI couldn't agree with you more on this Tswelo. I think for me personally when I was doing my first year, my biggest challenge was "staying" informed. Everyone knows when you young you think that the News is for old people, but studying PR has helped me in realising that is not necessarily the case, you have to keep-up with what is happening around you. So that you can also be part of a conversation.
ReplyDeleteYes Nomfundo !st year was a struggle of finding balance, and yeah staying informed will keep you on top of your game.
DeleteSo Proud of You my Tswelo. Absolutely great way to start my day. As Nomfundo is saying the biggest challenge is current affairs, we didn't deem news as important but rather boring but with the course that we are pursuing one cannot stay uninformed. We need to keep up with latest news, trends and even gossip sometimes, Celeb gossip that is. Thanks for sharing your tips, the world needs to understand who and what we are.
ReplyDeleteYes they do Amanda, we are by far the most misunderstood people PR is still a bit vague to some people.
DeleteThese tips you have mentioned are so important. And hopefully everyone who is getting into Public relations is aware of them.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kuhle, i really hope they help
Deletegreat tips Tswelo. very important especially for us in the field of Public Relations. hope everyone will take it in consideration if they want to study PR. Thanks T
ReplyDeleteThanks Elmyra. I hope they do as they will have knowledge about PR.
DeleteThats a great way to draw interest into the field of PR and also how to engage with it in order to have a great throughput
ReplyDeleteThanks Lulamile. I'm glad you found it interesting.
ReplyDeleteI see that you have included some really good points on points on your blog. i would like to add that aspiring students should also make reading their best friends. i hated reading but now i am avid reader.
ReplyDelete