CORPORATE COMMUNICATION
& PR 101
(BACK TO
BASICS)
By Rod C.
Estrera
Issue No. 008
– 04 October 2013
The C.C.P. Formula
For Career Success In Communication – Part 2
HOPE ALL
CONTINUES TO BE WELL WITH YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES!
Welcome back again! This is now the eighth issue of
my ongoing Blog Series on Basic Public Relations and Corporate Communication
lessons, tips and insights for Industry Professionals and interested
Non-Practitioners. Feel free to visit and re-visit the first to sixth issues (01,
04, 09, 15 & 22 July, 15 August and 12 September) here on my Blog Site.
Many thanks once more to the readers and followers who continue to send valuable
feedback and suggestions, either on this Blog or through comments on social
media. While I have been striving to do this at least every two weeks or, even
better, weekly, I again regret the long gap, which is, thankfully, at three
weeks this time, instead of the nearly one-month gap last time. Hope this has been worth the wait.
In our last issue (Issue No. 7), we discussed the another
easy-to-remember acronym I personally created – “C.C.P.” – which is what I continuously and strongly espouse and
advocate among my college students and seminar participants if they want to
secure a worthwhile job or get ahead in their careers, more so for those in the
various Core Communication fields. I continue to teach three sets of “C.C.P.” acronyms. We previously tackled the Primary or First
Set, which is composed of:
COMMUNICATION SKILLS, CRITICAL THINKING and PASSION.
This time around we discuss the Second Set of “C.C.P.” – as follows:
C – CREATIVE
ABILITY – You
might think that you need to be “artistic” like the creative directors of an
advertising agency. On the contrary,
this refers to one’s ability to “THINK
OUTSIDE THE BOX” – certainly an over-used term, but still an in-demand
ability. If Critical Thinking refers to
analytical ability, thinking outside-the-box requires us to go beyond the
trite, tried-and-tested conventions that lock us inside our comfort zones.
Whether we like it or not, change will continue to be a universal constant. Our
audience, especially if they are today’s young and dynamic consumers, are
always on the lookout for something new, as proven by the ever-shortening
product life-cycle of electronic products, particularly mobile devices and/or
personal gadgets. “Creative” thus is not exclusive to being able to come up
with nice, sleek designs, but, more importantly, to anticipate and come up with
product solutions even before your audience needs and wants it. This is best
exemplified by the late Steve Jobs of Apple. More than being a technological
genius, his greater asset was his market vision and savvy. In the same way, we
Communication Professionals need to constantly defy conventions in the way we
communicate to effectively stand out and reach and connect with our audiences.
This ability is greatly needed when using Social Media which continues to get
more and more crowded and cluttered.
C – COLLABORATIVE
ATTITUDE – Sadly,
we presently live in a “Me First” world that foments a self-centered attitude
among today’s youth. Hence, many of us in the academe, including college
professors in Communication, continue to place a heavy premium in Group or Team
exercises throughout the semester, and not just in the Finals. In the real corporate
world, if you cannot be a Team Player, you’d have major problems getting things
done. However, this should still not get in the way of our “getting ahead” and
being successful individually in our respective careers. What hiring managers
look for are people who can excel both individually and collectively. Tying this
to the Creative Ability above, I can personally attest that many of great ideas
that I had been part of over the years were results of Team Effort. In today’s
highly competitive work environment, liking each other within a team can often
be a challenge. Hence, maturity and a healthy positive work attitude are
crucial in achieving Team Success.
P – PERSUASIVENESS
– As
Communicators, it is rather obvious that we are constantly advocating something
to our audiences, whether these are PR stakeholders or consumer markets. While
there may be some basically similarities to the skills and abilities of Sales
Professionals, the persuasive ability in Communicators is closer to those found
in Leadership Skills. A critical example of this is in Negotiating. Salespeople
negotiate deals to quickly move a product or service by promoting its features
and benefits (ONLY) in exchange for payment. Hence, selling is often referred
to us a “Push” strategy. When negotiating, Communication Professionals,
especially those in PR, strive to achieve mutual understanding through two-way
interaction. For those in the Advertising field, effective Persuasion comes in
the ability to develop highly-convincing material that ”Pulls” prospects toward
a company, product or service, with a minimum or absence of “hard-sell.” Bottom-line
for us Communicators is that, before we even attempt to persuade our
audience/s, we must sincerely respect them, especially their intelligence.
Do continue to stay tuned for my next issue. We
will conclude this mini-series by taking up the third and remaining “C.C.P.” acronym. Again, I do hope
these easy-to-remember topics prove to be useful for both my fellow PR/Communication
Professionals and our Clients/Bosses.
Thank you once more for your interest and patronage. As always, may we all have a fun and restful
weekend ahead!
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