You know when you applaud to the teacher on the last day of class because it was so good? Yeah, let's do that for this class.
I wrote one of my thoughts on the board on our last day of presentations that I really summed up how I felt:
"I learned things in this class that I would have learned in no other. Things such as: presentation skills, business terms, tips and tricks, useful software, correct grammar and a host of other things ."
Deep, I know.
Also, yes, I know I didn't use the oxford in that quote, but it's a habit I'm going to keep, because AP style does that (#communicationsmajorproblems). Also, whether or not I can keep this grammar going well or not is another question. But I'm going to try!
Either way, I'm really glad I took this class. It has given me tools that I need to be successful in my career. I think everyone who has taken it can see that and will be successful in their fields too. Especially if their field is tricking their families into thinking they're engaged. Wait, just kidding, that sounded mean. I loved that story. Here's a more feel-good ending: "They will be successful in their fields too, especially if their field is being amazing communicinators." Dats it. Y'all done good. Peace out
Lulz,
<3 COleMaN
PS Totally kidding, you guys rock. Thanks for understanding my sarcasm.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
PRSSA Event - What I already knew and What I learned
Free pizza is really nice. Especially when it's paid for by someone else. Making it free.
Oh, and guest speakers to listen to while eating your pizza is cool too I guess.
I had free pizza last month while attending the PRSA's event at the Pizza Factory where Pete Codella, my supervisor at my job, spoke to a group of public relations professionals and students. He discussed social media marketing, specifically explaining 10 tools that he uses to leverage social media marketing to make it worthwhile.
Well, being as I work for him, I already knew about most of the tools he was talking about, as we used them for our clients. But I learned though the importance of networking while I was there. I met some other PRSSA members there who were attending UVU studying PR. As we discussed what we were working on, wheels started turning as to how we could help each other in our individual projects. They were doing a project about speakers and could use a band and/or musicians to promote it, and we were looking for more people to know about our band at UVU. We exchanged information and some good conversations came from it. I need to keep networking at future events, because you never know how you can help someone.
-Coleman
Oh, and guest speakers to listen to while eating your pizza is cool too I guess.
I had free pizza last month while attending the PRSA's event at the Pizza Factory where Pete Codella, my supervisor at my job, spoke to a group of public relations professionals and students. He discussed social media marketing, specifically explaining 10 tools that he uses to leverage social media marketing to make it worthwhile.
Well, being as I work for him, I already knew about most of the tools he was talking about, as we used them for our clients. But I learned though the importance of networking while I was there. I met some other PRSSA members there who were attending UVU studying PR. As we discussed what we were working on, wheels started turning as to how we could help each other in our individual projects. They were doing a project about speakers and could use a band and/or musicians to promote it, and we were looking for more people to know about our band at UVU. We exchanged information and some good conversations came from it. I need to keep networking at future events, because you never know how you can help someone.
-Coleman
Go React Blog Post
Wow. Go React is so freakin' cool. Watching myself and my group present live, with comments was invaluable. I learned some things I should keep doing, stop and start doing.
First off, things I did well:
- When presenting the statistic about UTA's pricing, Cameron said, "Great way to illustrate the problem," when I had two volunteers stand up. Sweet.
- Professor Middleton said that I had a, "clear suggestion for [a] solution," during my part of the recommendations section. Also sweet.
- The GANTT chart. Seth Chatterly was like, "GANTT chart. Well played. Professor Middleton is going to love that." I hope she did, but mostly I'm just happy people could read it and that it made sense in the context.
Secondly, things I needed to better that I didn't see coming:
- From Nathan Harbison: "iron your shirt before a presentation, a wrinkled shirt is distracting."
- From Prof. Middleton: "Coleman- short-sleeves are not typically considered business professional (acceptable when under a suit jacket. Okay in the office, but not when in mtgs. etc.)" Good to know.
- From Felicia Bunting: "so far coleman has answered 2 questions without letting the girls answer. are all knowledgable?" I think this points out that I need to be more trusting of team members. They do know tons even if I'm worried that they don't.
Lastly, what I'm going to do about it:
- Dress better. I think the time has come for me to iron my shirts. Yes, I know how, I've done it before. I just... get lazy. But it really makes all the difference. And yes, no more short sleeves on presentation days.
- Trust. I need to remember that my team researched all the things that I did, and they are just as competent to answer the questions that I am.
- Show clear solutions to problems. It's too easy to blabber on without making a connection with what you're talking about to a real issue.
Overall, it was an awesome experience. It was inspiring to be able to read other peoples' comments and learn from them. What a cool experience.
-Coleman
Other notes:
Not to be narcissistic, but my mullet was (is) pretty sweet, I'm stoked on it
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Personal Presentations - What to do, not do, and what you need to start doing
To everyone who presented this week:
You were awesome. The preparation was great, you were timely, and you made really good points. Here are a couple ideas I had for you to do:
Keep:
You were awesome. The preparation was great, you were timely, and you made really good points. Here are a couple ideas I had for you to do:
Keep:
- Prepare: It makes a huge difference when you have all visuals planned, your talking points written out, and it's been rehearsed. Everyone did a really good job at that, I could tell.
- Acronyms/lists: Pretty much everyone had one, and for good reason. They work, and they keep the subject easy for the audience to digest.
Stop:
- One-way conversation: Make sure your presentation is two-sided. Asking questions and getting to know the people you're presenting to makes a huge difference in the relevancy of your content. Maybe ask yourself, "Did I ask any questions? Who did I present to? How was this relevant to them?" at the end of your presentations to make sure you did some sort of interacting with them.
Start:
- On-the-spot innovation: It was really cool to see the presenters make quick changes to their presentations after getting feedback to streamline their presentations. Jake started wearing a watch, Seth kept his photos on his presentation, and Kim even added in a whole exercise at the end of her presentation to get her audience more involved. If you left feeling like you wished you'd implemented more ideas you had, just do it next time!
All in all, the presentations were great. I'm scared but excited to do mine.
-Coleman
PS thanks to Seth and Taylor for coming out to my band's show this weekend! They were a vital part of the energetic crowd, starting and maintaining the dancing and moshing throughout. Seth even shredded some drums with me. Here's a pic of the crowd, pretty sure you can see them on the right side, ladies all around them (get it ladies):
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