Emerson College PRSSA

We wanted to sincerely thank the inspiring professionals who spoke with us over Zoom throughout April! We at Emerson PRSSA wanted to continue offering our members opportunities for professional development as the college transitioned to online learning. As part of our Candid Conversation series, we welcomed three communications specialists to share their professional journeys and answer our members’ industry questions. Thank you to the following speakers for their advice, candor and inspiration:

Andrea O’Neal – Marketing and communications manager at National Geographic Society’s Impact Programs

Andrea offered valuable advice about the transition from agency life to in-house communications. She shared how her work at National Geographic takes her around the world to work on unique and modern media opportunities. 

Top 3 Pieces of Advice for Young Professionals:

1. Listen to feedback and adapt accordingly.
2. Always raise your hand when the opportunity presents itself.
3. Network as often as possible.

Rachel Krantz Cox – Communications specialist at Colorado Permanente Medical Group

Rachel walked us through her experiences from her college years to her current professional life. She shared how she tailored her education to her professional goals and said that each client she worked with taught her different professional lessons. Attendees also had the opportunity to hear how communicators in the healthcare industry are adapting during this public health crisis. 

Top 3 Pieces of Advice for Young Professionals:

1. Don’t underestimate yourself.
2. All experiences are good experiences.
3. Sit in on every meeting you can and ask lots of questions.

Marji Sherman –  Founder of Sherman Social, creator of #MyCovidStory

Marji shared how she is using her talents and her skills to change the narrative around Coronavirus. As a storyteller and social media maven, Marji is sharing honest, human stories about mental and physical health. She also opened up about navigating the world of social media at its inception and taking the leap to start her own business.

Top 3 Pieces of Advice for Young Professionals:

1. Be authentic in your storytelling.
2. When it comes to social media, always curate different content for different platforms.
3. Build your portfolio as early as possible and continue to build on it throughout your career.

An additional thank you to the students who joined us for these opportunities:

• Isabelle Braun*
• Chuqi Deng
• Leeah Derenoncourt*
• Jaclyn Galvin*
• Gianna Gironda
• Qingqing Hu
• Ryan Jackson
• Bethelly Jean-Louis*
• Rebecca McMahon
• Thea Nagle*
• Lily Noyd
• Abigail Noyes*
• Alex O’Leary
• Sophia Paz
• Paolo Pastor
• Juan Vega Rios*
• Rebecca Rippon
• Abigail Royle*
• Frida Sternbach
• James Sullivan
• GeGe Tan
• Zhaoqi Wang

* Indicates student attended all three speaker sessions

Graduation and post graduation plans are on the minds of many juniors and seniors. As juniors start to prepare themselves for entering the workforce, seniors are bracing themselves to be a part of the workforce in the next year or so. And although the future seems to be at the forefront of our minds everyday, very rarely do we think about the future of our industries and labor force.

On the second day of the conference, Tina McCorkindale, President and CEO of the Institute of Public Relations led a session about the role of women’s leadership in public relations and the future of the labor force. In a world where women earn only $0.79 cents of every dollar a man makes, I thought about my own future in the workforce as a black woman.

Based off the 2019 IPR Future of Work Report, McCorkindale outlined how the landscape of our workforce would change. She noted that the pace of change is more significant than the change itself that’s taking place. She also touched on how the generational divide in the workforce offers opportunities and challenges. When she talked about the generational divide that would occur because of the rise of Millenials and Gen Z members entering the workforce, I reflected on how in my Intro to PR class we defined characteristics that shape each generation. For example, as the youngest generation in the workforce, Millennials prioritize a work life balance and value career mobility more than job security unlike older generations. Understanding some of the defining characteristics that make up each generation made me realize why this generational divide would cause some challenges, but more importantly how opportunities are also presented.

What resonated most with me during this session was the fact that McCorkindale also mentioned how more companies and organizations are creating more Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (D.E.I) initiatives to create a better environment. These initiatives are becoming standard in the workplace, I’m happy that this change has occurred on a mass scale.

McCorkindale also made note of how internal communication resources are lagging behind. Though, many companies and organizations have mastered external communications. The problem of figuring out how best to communicate with employees still remains.

At the end of her session, McCorkindale stated that the future of the workforce is creation. I’d like to think my time here at Emerson so far has definitely pushed me to think outside the box. If the future of the workforce is creation, then I think Emerson students are more than prepared for the future workforce.

 

I chose Emerson as my university because I wished to surround myself with people who challenged me creatively. PRSSA International Conference placed me in a room of storytellers who did just that.

 

Friday’s keynote speaker, Will Collie, General Manager Southern California for Edelman, defined the role of PR the way I heard it described in Professor Gerzof Richard’s Guerilla PR class: promoting the good and protecting from the bad for your client. As a creative, he added one more role: whenever brands become stagnant, it’s our responsibility to help them evolve. This push for evolution remained a common theme throughout International Conference.

 

Dr. Kaye Sweetser, Navy public affairs, listed the 4 C’s of public relations: clarity, creativity, critique and collaboration. All of these illuminated something fundamental I learned in Intro to Public Relations. When Dr. Sweetser said “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough,” I remembered Dr. Scott’s reminders that PR writing must be accessible, direct and of course, creative. Her discussions of critique and collaboration evoked years of peer and professor edits that strengthened my writing and storytelling.

Sunday’s keynote address left a lasting impression on me as an Emersonian. In nearly all of my classes as a journalism major, I learned the story of two bold men who sought the truth in an era of distrust and abuse of power. Most professors on the 6th floor of Walker have the famous photo of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein surrounded by stacks of evidence of Watergate hanging in their office. To hear Woodward speak first hand about the centrality of truth bridged these values in my journalism classes to the lessons of ethics I learned in Dr. Scott’s class, Tactical Writing for PR. As a political hobbyist, hearing his insight on the current political situation in light of his work nearly left me entranced. Towards the end of his question and answer session with the incredible Laura Ling, Woodward said profoundly the four most potent words a journalist or PR professional can say to a source are “I need your help.”

 

Later that day, Erica Prime, who works in social media for Taco Bell, affirmed and elaborated on the description of Gen Zers Dr. Scott taught us in Intro to PR. Among these insights for the digital native were their desire for leadership rather than representation, and their desire to positively impact the world. She went on to describe ways to meet Gen Zers where they are, bringing something that resonates with these values directly.

On the first day, when a student asked Collie, “How do you stoke creativity?” he said he has best results when he surrounded himself with creative minds. I realized that beyond the invaluable lessons I’ve learned in my public relations classes, the creativity at the root of my Emerson experience that drew me to the school in the first place unquestionably prepared me for the industry.

On the third day of the PRSSA International Conference, Heather Evans from Pivot, Inc., a professional coaching company, spoke about the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership during the session titled “Emotional Intelligence: Five Leadership Skills Communications Pros Must Know.” Evan began by introducing the five pivots of emotionally intelligent leaders.

Pivot 1: Autopilot v. Conscious Leadership

Evan described the neuroscience behind a leader on “autopilot,” or an individual who fails to challenge their tendency to become stressed and irritable when in difficult situations. This particular leader’s amygdala is often enlarged when they are in these situations hindering rational thinking, creativity and innovation. In order to ensure one is not on autopilot, they should be aware of these negative thoughts and enter the “gateway.” The practices that allow one to enter the “gateway” include self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. 

Pivot 2: Listening to Inner Critique v. Coach

PRofessionals can often be critical of themselves. Evan explained the importance of reassigning one’s inner critic and stated staying in the present can combat this. Evan said when an individual is upset, they often focus on an event that happened in the past or a fabricated future. Instead of saying, “My boss is going to hate my pitch,” a professional should stay in the moment and listen to their inner coach.

Pivot 3: Emotional Armoring v. Emotional Intelligence

Evan introduced the concept of armoring, or falling to anger or controlling-tendencies. By blaming others, being defensive, ignoring problematic individuals or being contemptuous, a professional is contributing to a toxic work environment. Evan recommends being curious by asking someone to “tell me more” and having them elaborate on the issues at hand. By asking them to explain their decisions or actions, a professional is giving themselves the opportunity to understand the other person’s perspective.

Pivot 4: Listening to Respond v. Understand

Evan then explained the importance of listening to understand what another is saying instead simply focusing on one’s own response. For example, when two individuals are in disagreement, both should ask, “I heard you say….is that correct?” This way, both are intently listening to the other individual and refraining from making assumptions about what the other is saying.

Pivot 5: Challenge v. Opportunity

When given a difficult project, it can often seem daunting or even impossible to accomplish. Evan instructed the audience to change this mindset and instead look at it as an opportunity to learn something new. This way, professionals have a new perspective and gain the ability to open themselves up to new skills and possibilities.

Evan left the audience by asking, “Are you going to be the leader that brightens up the room when you enter OR when you leave?” By living by these pivots, PRofessionals have the ability to surpass their peers and become effective leaders in the industry.

By: Alex O’Leary, Treasurer and Jasmin Weiss, Social Media Chair

Justin Johnson and a team from Facebook visited the Boston campus on April 9 to provide Emerson College students with a comprehensive workshop on creating and promoting video content through Facebook. The step-by-step seminar brought together undergraduates, graduate students and faculty at Bill Bordy Theatre in Emerson’s Union Bank Building.

Build Your Brand                                                                     

The first step Justin Johnson and the team from Facebook demonstrated was building your personal brand on Facebook. Facebook makes it easy to create a page, and Johnson suggests that your URL and profile name be consistent, making it easier for users to locate you. Use your page to express yourself or your brand; describe yourself, be true to your voice, and develop a specific look. These suggestions apply to any and all users on Facebook, whether you’re using the platform to produce comedy sketches, how-to videos, vlogs, or streaming video games.

Publish Content

While most people are familiar with Facebook’s video-sharing feature, the team from the social media giant were sure to go in-depth to explore all of the content sharing options. Be sure to utilize Facebook Stories, which disappear after 24 hours; Premieres, which allow users to tease out upcoming content, and live stream video games. Additionally, content producers should utilize Creator Studio to effectively post, manage, and monetize their content. How often you post does not matter, so long as you post on a consistent basis. Whether your subscribers have come to expect a video every day, or on every Monday, make sure you stick to that schedule to condition your audience and retain loyalty.

Ways to Earn

Facebook isn’t just a social-sharing platform, but offers dynamic opportunities for content creators to make money. For video producers, make sure your content passes three minutes to make room for Ad Breaks. Build your platform to a point where you can collaborate with other brands and earn money from sponsored post. Additionally, Facebook offers creators the opportunity to create fan subscription pages (like Patreon) with seven price points for pages to further monetize their content.

With all this advice in hand, it’s never been easier to build an online persona. Create a page, establish your brand, and express yourself! While communities exist offline and through other platforms, Facebook is the largest and most vibrant, and provides spectacular opportunities for creators to make waves in the digital marketplace.

   

By: Anna Newton, PRSSA Secretary

Matt Prince, the Sr. Manager of Public Relations and Brand Experience at Taco Bell, spoke at the PRSSA National Assembly in Portland, Ore. on April 7 about personal branding and networking.

Prince asked the audience, “If resumes didn’t exist, could you find a job?” In order to answer “yes” to this question, Prince recommended finding yourself on everyone’s “I know a guy list.” Prince relayed he has not secured any positions through the traditional resume process and has earned all of his high-level positions through professional and personal relationships.

Prince stated strengthening and capitalizing on your personal brand is essential to landing positions. The professional utilized the acronym BRAND (Behavior, Reputation, Appearance, Network and Definition). Prince believes a PR professional must ensure their personal brand is reflected through each of these categories.

Because Prince considers “the most important client of your career [to be] yourself,” he recommends writing a personal business plan, mission statement and swot analysis. This way, you can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and walk a direct path to success.

Prince said having a mentor is integral to a fruitful career and suggests finding an outstanding PR professional on social media and reaching out for mentorship. He also mentioned PRSSA leaders can become mentors to their younger members and encouraged those leaders provide this assistance.

Prince emphasized the importance of “finding what matters most to you and never comprom(sing).” Prince strongly believes in a work-life balance and has set boundaries in his work life to keep everything in order.

By Jaclyn Galvin and Meagan Lee, PRSSA Members, Spring 2019

Edward Williams, Director of Integrated Marketing Communications for NASCAR and Iowa Speedway spoke to the Sports Public Relations class last week. He shared his atypical journey to where he is in the sports industry today. In college he didn’t study public relations or communications, but biology. It didn’t take him long to realize that he would much rather pursue a career in the sports world, specifically in motorsports.

The main aspect that impressed us was the multitude of jobs that he performs on a day-to-day basis. It’s fair to call Williams a “one man band” because he has so many responsibilities he needs to take care of each week leading up to an event. On race days, you can find him in the media center running driver press conferences, doing stats and gathering highlight packages or acting as the liaison between the racing teams and race control. As the Track PR Lead, Williams deals with many aspects of the media, including interfacing with journalists or setting up appearances on shows like Good Morning America or The Today Show. One thing Williams told us was “sports are always changing, you never have the same two days.” Motorsports is especially fast-paced with the longest season in sports. It was inspiring to hear about how Williams is able to balance his responsibilities while still enjoying his work.  

Overall, Edward Williams demonstrated the many aspects of communication that are done in a “non-traditional” sport like NASCAR. He fulfills multiple roles at multiple venues in order to make his company stronger. Although he loves motorsports, Williams reminded us that we need to “weigh your fandom versus what you want in a career.” He said that he has had to put his love for the sport aside because at the end of the day, he is there to work, and it’s important for all students who want to go into the sports world to know that business comes first.