Societal Factors in Internal Communication

What societal factors have caused internal communications to become more important today than in the past?

Societal factors can consist of online communications and digital communication because with both communication can happen nearly anytime, anywhere, and instantaneously. However, both factors have influenced the efficient means of communicating via online or digitally because the communication is not face-to-face. Therefore the back-and-forth can take place over a long period of time. Five minutes worth of face-to-face interaction could be a day worth of communicating digitally. The importance of internal communication must be stressed because communicating internally shouldn't take an entire day to say five minutes worth of words. Many employees may become complacent with the efficiency of online and digital communication and therefore don't deem face-to-face communication as important. However, the fact is the opposite is more true than it ever has been.

What are key considerations to make when communicating with employees?

Key considerations are trusted communication tactics or guidelines to stick by and include: willingness to express dissent, visibility and proximity of upper management, priority of internal to external communication, attention to clarity, friendly tone, and lastly a sense of humor.

What do important employee communications strategies consist of? 

Effective employee communication starts with how information is received and perceived by the employees, therefore three questions must be asked about employee communication and information:
-Is management able to communicate effectively with employees?
-Is communication trusted, and does it relay to appropriate information to employees?
-Has management communicated its commitment to its employees and to fostering a rewarding work environment?
Furthermore, strong employee communication must be strategic, honesty, open, and consistent.

Writing: Seitel vs. Scott

Seitel seems to be more focused on public relations in the period from 1995 to 2003. Scott seems to focus from about 2005-current (2014). Both adhere their advice and rules in their respective times. Neither is wrong, and for all considerations both are completely right. However, Scott seems to be more effective because his techniques, for lack of a better term, are more up-to-date and involve full use of online public relations and related uses. Seitel is focused on public relations for print, such as newspapers, magazines, etc. The only way to reconcile the differences, in my opinion, is to use both appropriately in the correct context and with the appropriate audience/target market because Scott and Seitel have extremely useful tips and expert advice.

Writing for the Ear, Writing for the Eye

How should one write for the ear?  Do you think these writing guidelines are different from writing for the eye?  Why or why not?

When writing for the eye, one wants to consider writing for the reader. A reader is a person who is more apt to scan material quickly and pickup on important facts and details and all the while comprehending what he or she just read. Also a reader can checkup on a writer in the sense of finding out facts about the article and also the author of the article. However, online readers are impatient and ever changing.

When writing for the ear, one wants to consider if he or she is able to withstand a dramatic increase in standards than writing for the eye. Writing for the ear is a gamble because the writer has but a single chance to catch the listener's attention quickly. Otherwise the listener opts not to tune in again to the message.

Writing for the eye is different than writing for the ear because readers will take extra time to read and/or scan material in the message obtaining pertinent facts and details. Listeners, more often than not, only pay attention to a message once and if the message doesn't stick then the listener moves on.

How Does a Blog or Video go Viral?

Blogs have the tendency to go viral due to a few reasons, which include:

• "Sneezers" who are early adopters in a social group and the sneezers embrace a new trend and spread the word about the new trend.
• People crave authenticity and consumers feel better connected to third-party "endorsers" of products and services, who are respected amidst organizations who attempt to "ad speak" the same product or service.

Sharing videos and blogs has become easier than ever, especially with apps such as Vine and social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.  Advice for posting a video to go viral would be to make the cutest video of kittens and post on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. and watch the view roll in.

Scott vs. Seitel Rules for Media Relations

Scott's rules for media relations seem to focus solely on the Internet and activities within. Some of the rules include online media rooms, following journalists on Twitter to learn what interests the journalists, once you learn the interests you can send a pitch adhering to said interests, and he even covers blogging.

Seitel's rules seem to focus on the rules about dealing with journalists and reporters and the physical side of Public Relations. Scott focuses on the virtual side of PR-ing whereas Seitel addresses the person-to-person side. He addresses topics such as becoming a trusted source, talk when not "selling", don't try to buy a journalist, there is no standard-issue reporter, and a reporter is a reporter.

Chapter 4 Discussion

Discussion example: 

An 18-year-old celebrity is reported to have received a DUI from drinking and driving. His actions are blasted on television. In an attempt to regain goodwill with the public, he submits to go into rehab and then funds kids against underage drinking fundraiser. The emotion aspect under the power of persuasion is used in this example.

5 Examples of Receiver's Bias in Communication

1) Stereotype - A person can make the mistake of being or labeling a stereotype. Stereotypes are an inevitable part of our society and the world.

2) Symbols - People can also make assumptions about symbols such as the swastika, which could hinder communication. 

3) Semantics - The semantics of communication are dire because one word may have one or several meanings. For example saying ‘economic freedom’ over ‘capitalism’, or even Obamacare and The Affordable Care Act. Both are the same, but people may think the words or phrases are different. 

4) Peer Groups -  Peer groups play a huge role as well. Peer pressure can control the say of a group of people and using peer pressure can be used to influence communication within a group.

5) Media - Lastly, since new media is the popular form of communication, people can easily misconstrue a message because you can’t put a tone of voice or show emotion and body language virtually. Communicating through new media is when word choice is a major component of communication. A person could easily miscommunicate a message by the words he or she chooses.

Does the Field of Public Relations Need a Publicist?

In my response to the question, I will initially state there is already a publicist for Public Relations and as a side note of course the content in my post is entirely of opinion. Many sources already capture major public relations such as ESPN coverages of sports teams when a sports organization gives a P.R. campaign or a P.R. representative speaks on behalf of the sports organization. Also, PR Week the magazine indubitably covers major P.R. occurrences.

-Dave D.

Aggressive inline skating has brought me many joys in life. Numerous opportunities for expansion in my personal and professional life. Rollerblading is my number one passion and will always remain so. It has also given me chances to travel and meet a variety of people including people from the U.K. and South America. I've competed in about six contests and have always made it to the finals in each contest and because of that have obtained a sponsorship. I'm looking forward to the future of rollerblading in my life.