1.       Embrace mastering phone conversations

Samantha Jones may not be the most accurate pop-culture portrayal of a PR executive, but she certainly has the gumption to be one. In the witty words of Fleur at the most recent Red University workshop –“PR is like dating, it takes confidence.” I find this also rings true when it comes to eloquently handling a phone call (pardon the pun), something the team at The Red Republic encourages me to do.  The opportunity to practise my orator skills: tone, liaising with a variety of people and establishing rapport has been fantastic not just for becoming fluent in “phone” but for grasping the essentials of pitching!

2.       Public Relations is also a game of numbers

This should have dawned on me when I saw my course plan for a Bachelor of Journalism/Communication required I complete an electrical engineering subject –‘The Web Inside Out: From Geeks to Google.’ However, the numerical side of PR –timesheets, coverage values, social media analytics, budgeting, planning, reporting didn’t completely click until I experienced some of these practices first-hand with Ambre at The Red Republic. Whilst integrated Marketing and Communications is a highly creative field, there’s no denying algorithms rule Facebook, reading Mashable is a non-negotiable and it is time I master Microsoft Excel. Parlez vous HTML?

3.       Media buzzwords are my best friends

When I first heard the phrase, “it’s been embargoed” at the office; I thought Kitty was referring to some kind of banned pirate trade-off.  She was (of course) talking about a particular piece of news that was not to be published until a set date. I have certainly absorbed and learnt how to apply some key terminology during my internship. Contrary to popular belief, in PR an I/V has nothing to do with a drip, a media famil is not the circle of people in the industry who are “practically family” and a WIP is not painful -it’s a work in progress meeting. It has become crystal clear, as in any industry, knowing the lingo of your locale and target audience is vital in PR. Words are the tools of the trade when it comes to being the conversations starters!

Blog post written by our lovely intern Steph Brownlee.