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Glossophobia: Fear of speaking in public.

Chapter 15 in Dennis Wilcox’s Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques discusses Giving Speeches and Presentations.

The first step in giving a speech is to find out about your audience.

The chapter discusses the basics of giving speeches and presentations:

• Know Your Objective- what opinion or attitude do you want the audience to have after listening to your speech?
• Structure the Message for the Ear- use clear and concise words. Keep your audience’s attention.
• Tailor Remarks to the Audience- Consider demographics. Use words such as “us” and “we”.
• Give Specifics- Say things that the audience will remember.
• Keep it Timely and Short- Information must be relevant and short in length.
• Gestures and Eye Contact- Don’t fiddle, keep a straight posture (lean forward a bit), and make eye contact with the audience.

The text also gives a helpful acronym from Jack Pyle, SPEAK, to help you become a better communicator:

• S=Smile
• P=Posture
• E=Eye Contact
• A=Animation
• K=Kinetics (motion)

This chapters information and more can be found in Dennis Wilcox’s Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques.

Dennis Wilcox’s Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques discusses Writing E-mail, Memos, and Proposals in Chapter 14.

E-mail is the speedy electronic way to send mail via internet. Although e-mail is convenient and efficient it can sometimes become overwhelming with the crowding of your inbox and spam mail (junk mail). The texts says that in 2007 the average number of corporate e-mails sent and received per person on a daily basis was 142.”

To avoid having your e-mail considered spam here are a few tips that the book explains about e-mail manners:

• Use language that falls between formal and conversational.
• Keep messages including quoted material brief.
• Don’t clutter inboxes with forwarded jokes etc.
• Don’t use a lot of cryptic symbols as shorthand
• Spellcheck

Memos are a brief written message, usually a page or less in length. A memo can ask for information, confirm a verbal exchange, as for a meeting, schedule or cancel a meeting, remind, report, praise, caution, state a policy, or perform any other function that requires a written message. Proposals offer a service to an organization and are in an organized format. The purpose is to get something accomplished. Almost anything can be proposed.

This information on the chapter can be found in Dennis Wilcox’s Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques.

Chapter 13 in Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by Dennis Wilcox teaches readers about Producing Newsletters and Brochures. Although the Internet is a newer and speedy way to deliver information, print publications such as newsletters and brochures are still in use and effective in Public Relations. Organizations continue to find print publications the most efficient method of reaching the entire workforce. An advantage of print publications is portability, you can take it anywhere and pass it along to another person. Another advantage is that a well-written publication conveys the image that the organization is highly successful, well-managed, and a market leader.

Newsletters are easy to produce, are cost effective, and can reach any number or small specialized audiences. While brochures can be mailed and handed out to the public. Brochures give information about an organization, product, or service.

This information about chapter 13 and more can be found in Dennis Wilcox’s text, Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques.

Dennis Wilcox’s Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques covers Tapping the Web and New Media in chapter 12.

This chapter talks about the world-wide web and the advantages, techniques, improvements, and uses for PR  practitioners. Wilcox’s text says, “The number of worldwide Internet users is estimated to be about 1.5 billion people.” This clearly explains why public relation practitioners use the Internet to distribute and find information.

The chapter discusses the helpful characteristics of the Internet for distributing information:

• Information can be updated quickly without hassles.
• Interactivity. Viewers can comment and ask questions.
• Online readers can dig deeper into subjects that interest them.
• A great amount of material can be posted.
• It is cost-effective.
• You can reach niche markets and audiences on a direct basis.
• Anyone can access information about your organization 24/7.

PR organizations can create websites to share information about their organization on the Internet. Here are a few tips discussed in the chapter:

• Use hyperlinks. Exchange hyperlinks with another company. A hyperlink allows viewers to be directed to your webpage. More hyperlinks increase your ranking on search engines.
• Make sure that your website is easy to navigate.
• Make your site interactive. Allow viewers to leave comments and ask questions.
• Always improve your website whenever possible.

PR people use more than just their own webpages on the internet. Most people or organization have blogs as well. The chapter says, “There are an estimated 112 million blogs, and 120,000 blogs are created everyday around the world.” The internet can also be sued to access social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace. YouTube is the “King of Video Clips”. According to the chapter, “YouTube hosts about 100 million daily video streams.” Other websites such as Flickr, a photo sharing website, Twitter used for microblogging, and Second Life, a virtual life website, are all ways that Public Relations uses the internet.

This information and more can be found in Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques Sixth Edition.

Chapter 11 in Dennis Wilcox’s Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques is called, Getting Along with Journalists.

The book says, “The relationship between public relations and the media is based on mutual cooperation, trust, and respect.”

There are sometimes conflicts between people in public relations and their relationship with journalists. PR people think that journalists are annoying and exaggerate. On the other hand, journalists feel that PR people name-call and have sloppy/biased reporting.

A few tips on how PR practitioners can aid in making the relationship more peaceful:

• Schedule the news conference at a time that is convenient for the reporters.
• Chose a site that is convenient for the reporter and can accommodate the necessary technological needs.
• Invite more than local reporters. Also, send invitations with enough time to RSVP.
• Keep the news conference short, organized, and punctual.
• Once the news conference is over, allow reporters to ask the spokesperson any questions they may still have.

This information and more can be found in the text, Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by Dennis Wilcox.

In chapter 10 of  Dennis Wilcox’s text, Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques, distributing news to the media is covered.

There are several ways to distribute news to the media.

• E-Mail – surveys confirmed that email is the major form of communication among public relations writers, clients, and journalists.
• Online Newsrooms- This is the first place that journalists turn to for basic information about an organization.
• Electronic Wire Services- The three major newswires are Business Wire, PR Newswire, and Marketwire.
• Mail- sometimes called snail mail.
• Fax- is like e-mail but sent like a telephone call. A fax requires more attention and readership than an email that can be deleted without ever opening it.

This information and more can be found in Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques Sixth Edition.

Dennis Wilcox’s Public Relations and Writing Techniques chapter 9 covers Writing for Radio and Television.

News stories and releases are not just for news paper. Reporters can write for TV and radio. According to the book, “Radio reaches about 94 percent of adults over the age of 18 on a daily basis with a total estimated audience of about 225 million.” That is a huge amount of people! Most people think that when advertising or getting information to the public the only medium to use is television or the more modern internet. However, radio is a superior medium as well.

A radio news release is a news release that is released on the radio. It is short (30-60 seconds) and written in a more conversational  style. Televisions use Public Service Announcements (PSAs). They are unpaid government or nonprofit agencies delivering helpful information in 30-60 seconds. PSAs can also be used on radio too.

Some practitioners prefer to skip news releases on tv and radio and speak directly to the public on a talk show. This has its advantages because the speaker is talking straight to the viewers. There are no editors or journalists filtering the news that you wish to give.

Other ways to get news to the public through radio and television are radio news releases (RNRs), issues placement, magazine shows, radio promotions, and documentary videos.

This information and more can be found in Dennis Wilcox’s Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques.

Chapter 8 Selecting Publicity Photos and Graphics found in Dennis Wilcox’s Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques is one of my favorite chapters in the entire book. I enjoyed this chapter the most because I am highly interested in photography and the photography that accompanies a news story.

Chapter 8 discusses topics such as how to work with photographers, how to write captions for the photos, and most importantly how to take a good news worthy photo.

The book says that “More people ‘read’ photographs than read articles.” This means that capturing and publishing a great picture is extremely important. A photographer must chose a relevant subject matter that shows what the story is reporting and is clear enough for readers to understand what  is in the photo.

A few tips about composition of a photograph

• Concentrate on what you want the reader to get from the picture, have minimal background.
• Emphasize details rather than whole scenes. (Take multiple pictures to capture different scenes and this will help readers understand the pictures while multiplying the coverage).
• Try to frame the picture. (not a literal frame)
• Avoid wasted space. For example, if you are taking a photo of a group of people, the people should stand close together.
• Sunglasses are a no-no. Ask subjects to remove sunglasses, hats, or anything that takes away from the image.

Action shots are valuable because it lets the reader see the event happening in the present. Showing pictures to scale allows viewers to understand the tiny-ness or magnitude of the object. Also, camera angle ads “spice” to a picture by showing the image through a rare perspective. Another tip to remember is lighting and timing. Always have a flash for indoor pictures and for outdoor pictures you should be aware of the direction of the sun.

Lastly, always get permission or a contract when taking pictures and distributing them to avoid legal hassles.

This information can be found in Wilcox’s Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques Sixth Edition

Chapter 7 covers News Features.

This chapter was very helpful to me because I am also enrolled in a journalism class and I was able to look back at this chapter when it was time to write a feature story. This chapter can be found in Wilcox’s Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques Sixth Edition.

Some key points of the chapter are:

• Feature stories are not news stories, they are stories that provide additional background information, generate human interest, and create understanding in a more imaginative way.
• Three things to keep in mind when planning a feature story are: you have to conceptualize how something lends itself to feature treatment, you have to decide if the information would be interesting and useful for a particular audience, and you much be sure that the feature helped achieve organizational objectives.
• You can distribute the story to various publications yourself or you can have a feature service distribute it for you.

Frequently seen features:

1. Case study
2. Application Story
3. Research Study
4. Backgrounder
5. Personality Profiles
6. Historical Pieces

Feature stories are formatted similar to regular news stories, they consist of a headline, a lead, the body, the summary, and photos and/or graphics.

This chapter and information can be found in Dennis L. Wilcox’s textbook Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques Sixth Edition.

Chapter 6

Definitions

• Fact sheet- one page background sheets about an event, a product, or the organization.
• Media kit- (press kit) contains news release, fact sheets, photos, etc.
• Advisories- (media alerts) tell assignment editors about upcoming events.

Send a fact sheet in your media kit to let the reporter know a little history on what it is that you are trying to promote. Media kits are usually places in folders but may sometimes be creative and even 3-D. An advisory answers the five W’s and H and lets the reporter know information so that he can decide if he or she would like to cover the story.

Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques