everyday public relations

Saying no has always been hard for me. There are a ton of possible reasons why this is true. I’m a girl, I had a crazy childhood, my mother is domineering, I’m a southerner, a people pleaser……etc.

Whatever the reason, being able to confidently say no to a superior is an important skill. It is not your boss’s job to know every mundane detail about how busy you are and every project you have on your plate. They see the end results and do not know, or care(most likely) about how that end comes about as long as you continue to smile and be productive.

So what happens when you are overloaded, stressed out and about to fall over from lack of food and the boss walks in 10 minutes before you are supposed to thankfully leave for the day and says, “oh by the way, can you present to the board tomorrow morning? You will need to talk for 20 minutes about the efficacy of using rubber suction cups on disentangling right whales” or some other highly complicated subject that is totally out of left field.

Now what?

On the one hand you are flattered that the boss obviously has a large amount of faith in your abilities. On the other, it is boy scout night, the baby is sick, your homework is behind and you haven’t spent any alone time with the hubby in weeks. You simply do not have time to do the research needed.

Obviously this seems like a silly premise, but I promise you there are people everywhere who know exactly what I am talking about. And I am not alone. I posted a poll on LinkedIn asking professionals everywhere how they say no. (You can take it to and I will post the final results right here next week. )

Know what I have found out so far? Girls are more likely to make up an excuse, rather than say no. Come on girls!!! That is exactly the wrong thing to do. Very few of us are good liars and in most cases, the excuse will come out sounding flimsy. Not a great career move.
So how DO you say no to the boss? Here is what I have learned so far. Put these tips to use and they just might gain you a little respect as well as help you build your confidence in the work place.

1. Tell yourself everyday that you are a good employee and are worthy of having respect and adequate notice from the boss.

2. When given a task that you simply can’t do, do not lie, make excuses or just suck it up. Your boss is human too, (at least most of them are). They have a life and a career and will understand, if you are up front and honest.

3. Most requests are simply that,a request. Unless you are in national security, you rarely receive orders. You can explain why you can’t complete the task, but even that is not always needed. For the most part, he or she will simply go on down the line to the next person.

4. Have a back-up colleague in the office. It is so nice to know when someone has your back. Keep up with what each other is doing and then when you can’t help your boss, be able to suggest someone else who can. (Just know that they will do the same)

Remember, there is no reason to be continuously stressed and overloaded because you are afraid of what your boss will say. If you are doing your job to the best of your ability, then there should be no problem with turning down a request every now and then. Your boss will respect you for standing up for yourself (great career move).It will make you more confident, and more productive, as your work will be higher quality if you are concentrating fully on 3 projects instead of rushing to complete 5.

So how do you say no? Take the poll .

I read a post recently that really hit home. I started my blog for a school assignment and thanks to a wonderful teacher and mentor, I got “hooked” on blogging.

As a public relations undergrad, having a PR blog made sense, but as I grow and move on with my career (and my life) it has become harder and harder to come up with new and interesting posts regarding to public relations. I am much more interested now in how one can apply the tactics and strategies learned in PR and apply them to the rest of…well life.

I never wanted a super corporate PR position, preferring to do something a little more low-key and certainly more fulfilling (in my opinion only) in my quest to save the planet, or at least contribute to that end. (My regular readers are well aware of my hippie upbringings and dedication to social causes, but if you are new check here for some older entries to get you better acquainted.)

I love to write, and I love to blog, but I have so much more going on that I am thinking that I need to take a step back and re-evaluate my blogging purpose. I lead a very busy life and find it harder and harder to cram in the time required for a decent and thoughtful post every week. (my goal is to post every Tuesday.)

I want to help others, and I want to help the world and I honestly feel that my ability to and love of writing is my gift, given to me for the specific purpose to use for doing what I crave, helping others.

I have considered changing topics, hosts, themes, you name it. Something needs to happen, I just can’t put my finger on it. I am not ready to lay down the old pencil just yet, so don’t worry just yet.

So on that note, be on the lookout for some new and interesting changes at Everyday Public Relations. Come back soon.

Probably one of the best PR and advertising campaigns of all time: Smoky the Bear.

I am a big supporter of prescribed fire. But you have to admit that this one image did more to set back the natural progression of species (plant and animal) evolution than most any other campaign in history….except maybe the cigarette campaign that convinced women that smoking was a sign of “Independence”……that is a hard choice….

Anyhow, I got to thinking, what are other campaigns that have been hugely sucessful? I am throwing this question out to all my fellow brazen bloggers as well as my new PR comrades. What are the best campaigns of all time, what sticks in your mind?

Let me know and I will include it in my next post!

Recently a co-worker of mine batted around the idea of working from home one day a week. The idea was great in theory. Our work is done primarily on a computer or on the phone (gotta love the communications industry) and so we are lucky enough to be capable to complete many of our tasks without actually coming in to the office.

The most obvious benefit that jumps to mind of course is saving money. Even one day of not driving means less gas to buy, which is a big one since most of us here around the office drive big gas guzzlers even though we of all people should respect our natural resources…but I digress.

Less driving also means less cars on the road, less pollution, less dependency on oil, etc which is obviously good from an environmental standpoint.

Another selling point is the obvious convenience of rolling out of bed and working without the need for removing your pj’s or brushing your hair. I get very little sleep as it is since I can’t seem to convince either the baby or the toddler that their beds are much better than mine. Trying to look impressive for the office is often given a much lower priority than five extra minutes of semi-sleep.

Lastly, well who wouldn’t prefer to work on their own schedule without worrying that the boss is going to poke her head into your office at 3:30 to discover you took a late lunch…right when she needs you of course. At home as long as you have the Internet and a phone you are always accessible and can eat your PB & J whenever you feel like it.

Now the downside.

If you are single and or married with no children, or maybe married with children and a splendid nanny then you could probably stop reading as this will more than likely not apply to you. You want to work at home, more power to you. Save the planet, one gallon of gas at a time.

I on the other hand have three children. Two of them are not yet in school….thankfully only 60 more days till there will only be one crazy toddler roaming around the house! hooray for pre-k! It is also summertime now and the one child who I gratefully send off on the bus every morning during the school year is now moping around the house complaining of boredom and that his annoying little brother is trashing his video games again. (go outside already! I’m working! or as my father always told me..”I’m not your entertainment committee!”)

While that in itself may be reason enough for many working moms (or dads) to want to be out of the house, I actually do have more.

Working at home is nearly impossible for me. There are simply too many distractions. I am just one of those people that just can’t leave things undone. If I am at home then there is laundry to do, dishes to wash and little hineys to wipe unfortunately. (Lord I hope it is true that girls train easier than boys do..) I can never sit down long enough without noticing something else that must be taken care of. I tried having the whole home office environment thing, but somehow life still creeps in, even if you lock the door. How does a three year old learn how to unlock a door with a hot wheel anyways?

My kids also assume that me being home means it is either a weekend or a holiday.See how well I have them trained by my work schedule? Wish I could get them trained to pick up their rooms when they know I am on my way home (kind of like the cat in the hat story), now that would be impressive. Where can I get one of those picker-upper machines anyways?

So just being in the house virtually guarantees that no work of any substance will be accomplished unless I have a sitter, which kind of nullifies the whole saving money idea in the first place.

If I choose to work at home I also tend to work way more than the eight hours required. I know this kind of contradicts what I have been saying so let me explain. If I am running around fixing sandwiches, folding laundry and wiping noses and hineys then the few moments I have when they are napping, eating, or otherwise occupied means I dive in to work. Maybe it is only ten minutes here or an hour there, but when you get an email from your supervisor telling you to go to bed because you just sent your latest marketing plan to them at 1am (they finally went to sleep!) then you realize that you have really gone above and beyond, despite all the crazy distractions. While working at home I keep a log of my hours and it really does add up.

So maybe rather than try to save fuel or the environment by working at home, I will just get a bike. It’s only 33 miles right?

When I started blogging it was for a class, meaning it was required or else I was doomed to fail. Well that got me going, but for a long time I posted just to post, not really caring about the content. Since then, I have grown in my profession and I have come to enjoy my blog and am much more aware of my content. I really want it to be good, and helpful not just for the general public but also specifically for those who like myself are just getting started in this crazy world of public relations.

When I decided to become affiliated with a blogging network I started to really take a good hard look at other blogs to see what kind of content is out there, and what content I myself found helpful. What do I want to see, and what information catches my eye?

I wanted to know what kind of “stuff” to post and what I have discovered is this: If it appeals to the average public relations student, then it is a good post. I don’t need sensational items or super newsworthy “scoops”. My blog is all about learning and education, a forum for the new pr professionals who may be just as unsure of themselves as I am at times.

I blog because I like to write and I have a passion for helping others। Blogging allows me to put that passion to good use doing something I am good at and an activity I would be doing anyway. Apparently I am not the only one who thinks this way.

I have referred to the Brazen Careerist before and this week I agree entirely when she says,

“The posts I spend weeks and weeks writing, and I put my heart right on the page, and I give advice that I really know is true, those posts do well.” “And one more thing. I have found that if I am nervous to post something—if I think I might look bad or reveal too much or give advice that people will hate—these are the posts that people care about, because they further my connection with people and further the conversation we’re having, and connection and conversation are the crux of linking.”

Well said Penelope.

A blog is a conversation and as I continue to learn and grow I hope that I can further this conversation and help others maybe begin a conversation of their own in the process. If I help even one new professional or student out there in cyberspace then I will consider my blog a success and all the frustrating hours of pondering content will be totally worth it