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.

A Simple girl at heart….

When I got into public relations all I kept hearing about was the corporate end of it…the marketing, the advertising, the “spin”, the ridiculously high salaries.That totally did not appeal to me but for some reason I stuck with the program and now I am glad I did. For this reason alone….Just because you practice PR does not mean you have to sell your soul to the highest bidder. Maybe I am not wealthy, but I feel good about what I am doing and that is good enough for my wallet and my family.

I work for the state, which means I work for very little, but you know what, I sleep pretty good at night knowing that I am using my skills and talents for good.

I claim to be a liberal. I am all for freedom of expression, freedom to choose my own form of worship, business and marital status. However, these days it seems that all I hear is whining about the Gen-Y and Gen X’ers not being involved, not doing their part. I happen to believe these claims are WRONG.

In addition I keep reading on various blogs and op-ed articles how young people feel they have no real voice. Even John Mayer (who I detest by the way) immortalized the sentiment in his line”they say we stand for nothing and there is no way we ever could “

I disagree.

I have a voice and I intend to use it.

I had a guest speaker in my grad school class today who was a great example of how the younger generation (and maybe the not so young generation) can make their voices be heard.

No matter what your political affiliation, you can be involved if you want to be. The opportunities are out there, if you just open your eyes a little bit. And maybe, go out on a limb a little to take a few risks.

Want to do more than just don a bumper-sticker? Here is the short list:

1. Volunteer - More than half of American citizens volunteer which equates to more than 100 million people donating more than 19 billion ours each year - Nonprofit Organizations (Holland & Ritvo 2008)
2. Vote In 2004 less than half of eligible voters actually made it to the polls. I think that is extremely unacceptable. How can we declare a need for change if we don’t participate in the process to effect that change?
3. Serve on a board - Stacey Kolomer, President of the Athens Clarke County Council on Aging gave an excellent talk today about why boards are important, the pains of being a part of them but the real impacts you can make within your community. Want to be heard?? Join a board and actually speak up for what you believe in. Even if you disagree aout the issues, at least you are making your concerns heard.
4. serve on a community committee - PTA, homeowners association, rotary club, whatever. For many of these groups there are no specific requirements other than you be committed and passionate about the cause. Want to spay and neuter every living dog and cat, there is a group for you, want to create a lending service for books on tape for seniors, there is a group for that too! A few quick searches can turn up a wealth of knowledge.
5. be a mentor - many schools, shelters, nonprofits and church organizations are in such short supply that I could spend a whole page discussing it (but I won’t). If you really want to help the next generation, who will by the way determine whether we become happy retirees or “soylant green” , find out about giving an hour or so of your time to the local Y or an after-school program that needs you.
6. Take the time to read the papers, read the online news or however you get your daily feed. Skip the celebrity gossip and the livig section (hard I know- I just love “Get Fuzzy” myself) but really pay attention and be aware of the world. There are so many of us who are simply oblivious….a sad state of affairs.

OKay. so by now you may know that I am not a McCain/Palin Fan, but at this point all I want is for today’s gen-y and gen-x individuals to really make a point to get involved. Go to a meeting, write a letter, do what our forefathers intended and create a real democratic republic.

To quote one of my favorite nonprofit groups “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.”

So get out there and do something darn it!

Peacefull….

Having a family and being young and broke to boot, I am constantly on the lookout for ways to either save money or to increase my bank account. I am dabbling in investments, have a savings account and a 401K through my employer. I never thought however that my personal happiness might have anything to do with the size of my purse. Wrong! at least according to the latest issue of Money magazine.

In an article titled “Want to be Rich? Don’t get too happy” columnist and money coach Jean Chatzky spells out why too much happiness can actually be a bad thing in the financial department. She is not the first too broach the topic.

She points to a study done by Ed Diener of the University of Illinois which shows that there can be too much of a good thing even happiness. Apparently being blissful can lead to overspending and less attention to wealth building [read complacency]. Those who rated an 8 or a 9 on the happiness scale versus a 10 were more likely to strive to increase their wealth and to hold on to what they had, probably because they had worked for it to begin with. These slightly less happy folk were also more likely to go to college and to vote.

So does that mean the eternal optomists are doomed to a cheerful but broke life? Not neccessarily. Chatzky gives a couple of tips on how those glass half full types can ensure that they too will approach retirement with a fully developed nest egg.

1. Surround yourself with the right people. It is all about balance. According to the article if you are having financial woes you may need new friends. If you tend toward pessimism then find a few optimists, swing the other way, add a pessimist to the mix. Either way you will balance out your personality and possibly help out your financial situation in the process.

2. Challenge yourself. Super bliss can make even the most intelligent person become complacent. Even of your approach to life is working, you should always be prepared for the worst, simply because nobody can predict the future, no matter how hard we try. You also may become so caught up in “your way of doing things” that you fail to notice when it is no longer beneficial. Ever hear the expression “having blinders on?”

Okay, so maybe I really don’t have anything to worry about seeing as I don’t really count myself among the blissfully unaware. (At least not since puberty.) But I will take the article to heart lest I become complacent in my miser-like ways.

Do you find that too much happiness impacts your ability to build wealth? I know that many Brazen bloggers are looking to increase both their wealth and their happiness, so I open up the discussion. Is it possible to have both?