public relations n.pl. 1 the work of presenting a good image of an organization, person, etc., to the public
So, I am a post-graduate student at Centennial College studying Corporate Communications and Public Relations. Seeing as it is a post-grad program, my peers and I have all graduated from college or university. We are all mature individuals who are soon to be entering the “real world,” or are we?
I’ve included the definition to public relations from the Oxford Canadian Dictionary because it is the field we are all vying to enter. Soon enough when we have graduated from Centennial, our job will be , as Alan Chumley of Hill & Knowlton stated, “to project and protect your client’s reputation.” But what about our own reputations now?
Alan was a guest speaker this afternoon in one of our classes and was great. Charismatic, informative, funny. I think I can speak for the class when I say that we all walked away with a great impression of Alan Chumley. But I wonder what Alan’s opinions of us were. For the most part, I believe we came across as being mature, interested and well-mannered.
However, with that being said, there seem to be a handful of people who fail to realize that when a guest presenter is speaking, you listen. Do people really think that whispers can’t be heard or that the clicking of the laptop keyboard is silent??? It is not only a bad reflection on the individual but on our class, our teachers and our school.
I don’t mean to attack, but it is something that is quite bothersome. I think a reality check is in order. Think about your personal image and the type of PR you are putting out for yourself. Your day-to-day attitude and etiquette is of the utmost importance, ESPECIALLY in our field.
CJ's PR et al. 
January 23, 2008 at 12:10 am
I mostly agree with you Connie. In an ideal world, we’d all sit silently and absorb everything he said. The occasional wisper, aknowledging a distraction is one thing, but when you sit typing away on a laptop or constant chatter, you’re clearly saying “I don’t care who you are or what you have to say.”
January 23, 2008 at 1:04 am
That’s why I moved to the back row, so I wouldn’t hear the garrulous people behind me. It’s the PR of the self, Baby. Some people just don’t get it.
January 23, 2008 at 2:34 am
Connie, I think the whole class knows my opinion on this matter. I didn’t mean to be rude when last semester I told everyone to shut it, but “please be quiet” does not seem to work with this chatty group of people. I highly doubt that we would show this kind of disrespect during a meeting at the workplace, so why do we do it when our teachers, peers and guest speakers are talking?
January 23, 2008 at 4:57 am
I’m with you Connie. I have often left classes thinking the same thing. I am not pointing fingers because of course there are those days when your head might be aching or you didn’t get enough sleep – we’ve all been there. But I can’t agree with you more about our collective reputation. A handful of people can affect the entire class. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be teaching us on those distracted days and I would probably dread it. So, we’ve paid our bucks, made the commitment to come so let’s show that we want to be there – if not, watch daytime TV.
January 23, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I am glad that I am not the only one who feels this sense of embarrassment. I’m not saying that we all aren’t human and haven’t dozed off or started to chat when we are no longer engaged with a lesson (I could only imagine what it would be like to teach our class sometimes). This is not to say that we shouldn’t be showing our instructors the same courtesy we show guest speakers – obviously this is a given. But when it is a guest – someone who has taken their time to come and visit us, the least we can do is listen.
Thank you all for your comments.
January 24, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Connie & classmates,
I very much enjoyed my time @ Centennial.
To answer your question as to my impressions of the class: I thought, for the most part, the class was about as engaged as any other I’ve spoken to if not a bit more than the norm. I was a student once too and I recognize that measurement’s not the most fascinating subject for PR students. 🙂 Very intelligent questions and great dialogue
Take care
Cheers
Alan
January 28, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Connie,
You took the words right out of my mouth.
I am embarassed by the lack respect we, as a class, display. ESPECIALLY when a guest speaker has taken time out of his busy day to try to help us in our furture field. At the very least, we should be able to give him our undivided attention for an hour. And, if for some unknown reason we’re not capable of that, we should be able to sit quietly and pretend we’re listening.
I guess that’s asking a little much for a class of post-graduate students.