By Andrea Rocha
Bet you never thought of working in PR is like a day in winter! I promise, what we practitioners do isn’t as bad as it sounds. But as my job entails me to do, I’ll try to enlighten you all of a typical day in PR by presenting the field in a specific way. In this case a simple analogy…
Checking the Forecast
Unlike summertime where you can count on warm climate, sunny blue skies, and little rain – in winter, it’s not as easy to anticipate what will be in store before walking outside. Pulling up your weather app to check out what’s brewing in the atmosphere is a must. Will Sydney have the coldest morning in 5 years as it did yesterday? Will the wind be so strong that you nearly get swept off your feet? Will it downpour on my walk to work and turn my hair into icicles?
Having an agenda or list of things to do to review in the mornings will help keep you organised and endure the busy day ahead. If you know what’s coming up, then you will know how to tackle it and overcome any potential obstacles.
Snowflakes
Although this may not be entirely relevant to Sydney’s inhabitants, take a little trip to the Blue Mountains and you’ll experience the magical essence of snow. While on your getaway adventure, I challenge you to find two snowflakes that are identical. I also wish you good luck.
Every day in PR is a snowflake – different than the flake that falls before it and different than the one that falls after. Just as no two snowflakes are ever the same, neither are two days in the life of a PR practitioner. Each day presents new demands and trials, and new ideas and things to add to the agenda. Bring your notebook and pen, as you can’t take pictures of these kind of snowflakes.
“Scattered Showers Ahead”
Don’t you just hate when you’re all excited because your weather app just told you it’s going to be sunny all day, but you walk outside to rainclouds rapidly moving in your direction? Yep, blame it on the weather forecasters or a glitch in the app, but in reality, sometimes stuff just happens.
Being in PR means expecting the unexpected. It happens. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan. But this doesn’t mean the world is ending and that everything is ruined. After all, isn’t “singing in the rain” still a thing?
Blowing On Your Hot Drink
There’s nothing better than sipping on a nice cup of tea or hot chocolate on a frigid day. But be careful not to burn your tongue! Chugging your hot beverage probably isn’t the brightest idea, unless your intentions are to lose the nerve endings in your throat. But if you’re a normal person, you’d know to blow before you sip. And if you’re a super cool person, you’ve mastered the technique and avoid blowing so hard that the hot liquid sprays on to your hand.
Sometimes an idea seems really awesome and you just want to throw yourself into it because you can’t contain your excitement. Excitement and passion is great in PR, but remember that the idea (or hot drink) isn’t going anywhere. Take your time – what will work, will work out. Blow on your drink and you’ll see that things will fall into place. But don’t blow too hard either, or you’ll either end up with a burnt hand or a cold drink.
Image Credit: http://www.atthebeachwithkris.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/blowing-snowflakes1.jpg
