Final installment of the Public Relations special topic: What qualities do you need to become a Public Relations specialist?

Final installment: WHAT QUALITIES DO YOU NEED TO BECOME A PUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALIST?

In recent years, PR (Public Relations) has been taught in universities and colleges. I was then asked: why did you choose to study PR? My answer was: I like it, teacher.

There's a big difference between "liking" something and being "suitable" to work in PR, so if you really want to be in PR, then... It should have the following characteristics:

1. Having the ability to gossip across continents: knowing how many people live next door; what company that neighbor works for; that the boss at work cried yesterday because of a Korean drama… This doesn't mean you have to be nosy, intrusive, or tactless, but it shows you have the ability to communicate with many different types of people, knowing how to extract the necessary information to respond or act appropriately.

2. Be careful: it's terrible when you accidentally send an incomplete press release to newspapers; or send an article to the wrong person; and even worse, you write incorrect information, mixing things up... 

3. "Stay calm – confident – don't get angry": I've noticed many PR professionals are very enthusiastic about "expressing their opinions," arguing wildly on social media when someone touches upon their work or issues related to their brand or company. Especially when their company is in crisis and facing public criticism, perhaps out of deep affection for the company, they want to "contribute" their personal voice to support it, but unintentionally, they might be "creating new problems" for the community to continue throwing stones at them.

4. Know how to build and maintain relationships: because for PR professionals, relationships are a central and core element of the profession. 

(Source: Ms. Doan Do Ngoc Thi, M.Sc. – Director of External Relations at Tiki.vn e-commerce platform)

Author: Viet My College - Date written: July 31, 2017

Category: Public relations

Tags: PR topic, Public Relations, public relations, Qualities needed to become a public relations specialist.