Some DO's and DON'TS about Communications

So from Uni to my Internship to my Role in NFW to general everyday life activities, the list of DO'S and DONT'S are never ending.

Today I will share two things that I have picked up along the way as a PR student.

If you want to write as a profession: DO

CHECK YOUR FACTS. This sounds like common sense but the amount of people that fail to get their facts right is astranomical. For example, if you're working for a magazine/newspaper etc and you recieve information from a client detailing the following things such as: a new PRODUCT, PRODUCT NAME, PRODUCT IMAGE NAME/NUMBER, CONTACT DETAILS, PRICE etc. (the usual things a Press Release may have). It is usually a good idea to:

1. Separate these facts from the rest of the email/press release and bold/highlight them so you know you have all the info you need. (That way if anything is missing, you can follow up on this asap).
2. Print or save a copy for future reference/proof.
3. If they have a website, print/online catalog etc. double check that these facts match the press material they have already sent out.
4. Email/call the client to confirm the right information was sent.

THEN AND ONLY THEN should you begin writing about the product and this will limit the amount of "screw-up's" if you, the sub-editor and the editor fail to miss these mistakes. It will also eliminate angry phonecalls from clients who call after your publication has gone to print and there are major/minor errors in the description of the client's products.

If you want to work in Event Management: DO NOT

• Assume you are better than someone else. It's a team effort, the workload is shared.
• If there are people put in charge, there is a reason why they were chosen to lead. Showing you can follow orders/direction doesn't mean you're a sheep or a kiss-arse. It shows you are: Dedicated, Responsible, Driven, a Team Player, have Initiative. My view is: do the work well, get noticed and one day you'll get to call the shots.

More to come, please feel free to comment, especially if you have some classic DO'S and DONT'S to share.