2008 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America
2008 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America
2008 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America
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will realize they all are expected to contribute to the exercise. Once students know that everyone<br />
must share their work, getting volunteers for future exercises will be easier.<br />
The following suggestions might improve the use <strong>of</strong> these two exercises. Remember to:<br />
• Use a constructive tone for all comments in order to avoid embarrassing students.<br />
• Include every student in the process. Begin with volunteers, but don’t be afraid to<br />
call on other students to ensure 100% participation in the exercises.<br />
• Demand more <strong>of</strong> work prepared as out-<strong>of</strong>-class assignments because students have<br />
had more time to construct them. Be sure such efforts conform to the exact<br />
requirements you have specified for the design and layout <strong>of</strong> your documents.<br />
• Be sure the documents projected on the screen are clearly visible to all in the room.<br />
Zoom in on the document or increase the font size on your computer as needed.<br />
• Identify which written examples are the most compelling or tell the story most<br />
effectively. Don’t just concentrate on technical issues. Be sure the overall document<br />
will achieve the response you desire from your target audience.<br />
Group Interviewing/Listening Exercises<br />
Many written exercises require students to use facts provided by the instructor as they<br />
complete news releases or fact sheets/backgrounders. Other exercises require the students to do<br />
their own research on the subject they are writing about. Though both <strong>of</strong> these assignments are<br />
valuable, this author has used a third type <strong>of</strong> exercise to force students to develop their<br />
interviewing and listening skills.<br />
At least once in the semester, students are told that they will be involved in an in-class<br />
group assignment that will require them to question a source and take careful notes. The<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essor tells them a serious incident has happened on campus and they must prepare a news<br />
release for a news conference the chancellor will hold in two hours. The students will have the<br />
opportunity to interview an <strong>of</strong>ficial from the university police department who can fill them in on<br />
the details surrounding the incident, but they must ask specific questions in order to get any<br />
information for their release.<br />
Students are told before the role play exercise takes place that the entire incident is<br />
hypothetical, but they should treat it seriously. The class takes a short time to review some<br />
important principles <strong>of</strong> effective crisis response since the incident will present a serious<br />
challenge for the campus. They are told they may pose any question they want to ask, but their<br />
source might not have all the answers because the incident just took place a short time ago.<br />
Students may also ask as many questions as they have and may ask to have information repeated<br />
if needed. The pr<strong>of</strong>essor can take on the role <strong>of</strong> the university police <strong>of</strong>ficial (or you could invite<br />
a guest into class to assume the role). When the role play begins, the source simply states that<br />
there has been a shooting at the university center.<br />
The students must extract all the relevant details including how many people have been<br />
killed and injured, what happened to the gunman, what kind <strong>of</strong> weapons were used, where the<br />
injured are being treated and what are their medical conditions, how did the incident happen and<br />
how long did it take police and emergency crews to respond. The source will give very detailed<br />
answers to these and other questions. Students will be told that victims have been transported to<br />
three different hospitals and the general condition <strong>of</strong> each person. Precise times <strong>of</strong> 911 calls and<br />
response times will be detailed. In short, if the students ask the right questions, they will receive<br />
a great deal <strong>of</strong> specific information about the shootings.<br />
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