PRL 206-M001
4 September 2018
On the first day of class, I defined Public Relations as “managing a company’s image and communicating effective messages to the public.” Now, I explored an outside perspective of how members of the “general public” define and think about the profession of public relations. A licensed real estate salesperson, defined public relations as, “not to use the question in the answer, but it’s pretty much just the relations with the public, so how public relations professionals interact with the public as far as media, advertising, displaying information about the company.” When I asked why she defined public relations in this way, she stated, “from my own personal experience, I have seen public relations specialist who work for the President and police office departments on television. They try to relay messages more appropriately than the average person, which won’t cause wide spread panic or damage the reputation of the company. Pretty much “saving face” for the organization.” When further asked about how she started to learn about public relations, she said, “mostly through the media and my own personal experiences.” When asked what skills she thought were needed to work in this profession, she said, “super smart, great communication skills, be able to speak in the public eye, public speaking skills, taking information and analyzing it, time management, organizational skills, data analysis, and excellent writing skills.” When asked what distinguishes public relations from marketing, she explained, “marketing is more like displaying a product and trying to get people to buy into that product; whereas, public relations is selling the credibility of an organization and getting people to think about what that organization or person does, keeping them in a good light and making them aware of their actions.” I further asked the question of how public relations is distinguished from advertising and she stated, “It’s hard to say because marketing and advertising are on the same level.” When asked if there was anything else she would like to add about public relations, she said, “no further questions, please,” as she laughed.
A senior commercial support segment analyst, defines public relations as, “working for the image and publicity of a company and letting people know of the positive things about it.” When I asked why he defined public relations in this way, he stated, “I heard about it from people when I was in school and from asking other classmates about the profession.” When further asked how he started to learn about public relations, he said, “talking with people at work, friends and family.” When asked what skills he thought were needed to work in this profession, he said, “good communication skills, being very personable, knowledgeable, articulate, and a good public speaker.” When asked what distinguishes public relations from marketing, he explained, “marketing you are trying to sell someone something and I feel like public relations is more of making a company look positive and getting their message out in the open.” I further asked the question of how public relations is distinguished from advertising and he stated, “Advertising I feel like is more visual and public relations is more about speaking with people.” When asked if there was anything else she would like to add about public relations, she said, “no because I don’t know anything else.”
A talent accusation recruiter, defines public relations as, “I am the public and I don’t know what public relations is. I would say public relations is like the role of Leslie Knope in the TV series, Parks and Recreation, she works for the government and does a lot of work in the public, with high visibility, so if you are in that role as a public relations specialist, they know who you are.” When I asked why he defined public relations in this way, he stated, “I don’t know anyone who does that role, so I know I sound like an idiot, but I truly don’t know what that is.” When further asked about how he started to learn about public relations, he said, “school and college, and tv shows for sure.” When asked what skills he thought were needed to work in this profession, he said, “good at building relationships with others, networking, and public speaking.” When asked what distinguishes public relations from marketing, he explained, “that’s tough, I mean, I think marketing is similar like you have to be able to talk to people and build relationships.” I further asked the question of how public relations is distinguished from advertising and he stated, “I literally have no idea. Advertising and marketing are so similar, but I have no idea how that correlates with public relations.” When asked if there was anything else he would like to add about public relations, he said, “I mean you are in a role where you have to be able to talk about your company. I really don’t know anyone who is in a role like that. You just have to spread the knowledge about your company.”
SIMPLELANE.LIFE 