Today was an exciting day for Centennial College’s public relations students as they joined dynamic podcasting duo Terry Fallis and David Jones for the taping of Inside PR’s 100th show.
At the front end, students were encouraged to contribute with comments and opinions about big picture issues in public relations. Compelling student comments and insightful answers by Mr. Jones and Mr. Fallis offered great insight into ethics, ideals, and future trends in social media and public relations in general.
Needless to say, 50 minutes of taped discussion passed quickly.
Reflecting on the experience, my classmate, Tara Young, and I agreed there was common sentiment among the 40-member student body that made up the majority of the podcast’s audience.
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It’s difficult to muster up the courage to get up and speak into a mic.
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It’s difficult to formulate a value-added question or comment.
Tara and I concluded that these obstacles are largely interrelated. Once the light bulb goes off, and you figure out something great to add to the conversation, it’s much easier to get up in front of any audience.
I eventually mustered up the courage to ask Mr. Jones and Mr. Fallis a question related to ethics and social media. Before asking the question, I had an idea of the direction the discussion would take. This was the main reason for my hesitation.
As we have recently learned during in-class interviewing modules, it’s common practice for interviewers to ask questions to which they already know the answers. Their intent being to get their source to tell the story.
But, do the same rules apply in the realm of social-media? Is it common ground to raise issues to stir up conversation? Or, should questions always be extended out of genuine need for an answer?
6 responses so far ↓
Rayanne Langdon // February 25, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Hi Kristen:
I agree with this statement 100 per cent: “it’s common practice for interviewers to ask questions to which they already know the answers.”
I know what I find interesting, and sometimes it’s difficult to ask questions that aren’t intended to reinforce my beliefs.
Thanks for asking your question, though. I’m glad we got to touch on ethics today. I find it’s a topic becoming less and less common in public discussion.
» Learning to overcome personal challenges Wide-eyed and Jaded // February 25, 2008 at 11:22 pm
[...] posting by my colleague Kristen Zemlak today reinforced my belief that I need to take more risks in social media, PR [...]
David Jones // February 27, 2008 at 9:30 am
We learn more by conversation than just “give and take” Q&A. In everything we do, we should be looking to discuss versus land on an absolute answer. There are so few absolutes in the world.
So, absolutely ask a “question” you have an answer for, or have formed an opinion around. Challenge the answerer and yourself to look at things from other perspectives and you’ll both enjoy the interaction more.
Rick Weiss // February 27, 2008 at 12:44 pm
David, you’re absolutely right. In fact, I’m going to comment on the inside PR blog on this subject.
As newcomers to the PR community its still intimidating to take that risk and get up to the microphone and ask a question. You’ve done a 100 episodes now, and I’ve had the chance to listen to only a small handful of those; a dozen at most. There’s a worry that our question might be seen as redundant and dragging up something that’s been addressed.
Its reassuring to hear that it’s ok to do that for the sake of discussion, and not seen as beating a dead horse.
Terry Fallis // February 27, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Dave and I had a blast recording IPR #100 at Centenniel. There was an energy in the room that we don’t usually feel when we do the show from our respective homes. Your question was an important one and kicked off some interesting discussion, which is what the best questions should always do, whether you know the answer or not. Thanks again…
Ter
Courtney Chambers // March 6, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Hey Kris,
Being someone who’s in the media and has conducted interviews myself, I’d think that asking a question that you genuinely want the answer to is a great way to handle on any interview. What a lot of people don’t understand or think to understand, is that the question you have for a person is 90% of the time a question that someone else wants to ask. So thinking of a question that you might think everyone or you might know the answer too, helps no one in the end and also makes the interview a bit boring for the interviewee at times. Dave Jones also makes a great point, one that Alan Cross gave me when I first started, having a conversation with a person usually brings out more information then asking direct questions for direct answers, Not only that but from the conversation of itself you might find yourslef asking questions you never thought of in the first place.
Courtney
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