How to (effectively) work in groups

Depending on personal experience, preferences toward working in groups are all over the map. Some people love working in groups and being able to spread the workload between a few people. Others are control freaks and would rather do all the work themselves because others can't "do it right." Both sides have valid points and I've found myself arguing for both teams, depending on the situation of course. So after reflecting on past group projects, I've assembled a few key points that I think are important when working in groups.

1. Establish some sort of relationship. We all have those professors or bosses who make us team up with people we don't know to "branch out" and get to know others. That's all fine and dandy, but let's face it, it sucks sometimes. (Couldn't they make us go to the bar together? That's how you REALLY get to know people.) We all have busy lives and coordinating meeting times with someone you don't know or is much different than you is tough. So, if you're forced to "branch out" make sure you get to know the people in your group so you don't feel weird or awkward scheduling an impromptu meeting, rescheduling or sending late night emails or texts. By getting to know other people, you might also get a sense of when it's OK to do those things listed above.

2. Everyone doesn't have to do everything. That's why you're in the group to begin with, right? Divide the work! If there are outside meetings, send two group members, not everyone.  Have a portion of the group be on the creative side, while the other is on the analytical side. Yes, all group members should have input, but everyone should not have to do everything. That defeats the purpose of group work.

3. Avoid too much face time. Depending on the people, your personality and the project, the amount of time spent together may vary. With that being said, less is more. With technology being so prevalent in today's culture, communication is so much easier.  Take advantage. Spending too much time with anyone can be overwhelming. The "closeness factor" becomes hypersensitive when there's a million things to finish, no time and stress is at all-time high. Being able to deceiver what can be accomplished electronically and what needs to be done in person will save a bit of stress when crunch time comes.

4. Volunteer. No one likes a slacker. If you aren't sure how or what you should be doing, figure it out. Don't be the person the rest of your group secretly despises.

5. Get through it. Whether we like it or not, sometimes group work becomes a cluster. It may be attributed to yourself and other group members or outside forces, but either way you need to finish. If and/or when the situation becomes a cluster, you must put your head down, man (or woman) up and get the job done. When the going gets tough, the tough get going and the others ... get fired. I made up that last part, but I think it should be permanently added.

Group work. Some hate it, some love it, but most of us have to do it. Create relationships, delegate tasks, avoid too much face time, actually do work and most of all, finish. These few tips should help group work run a bit more smoothly.

What tips do you have for working in groups?

End of the road

As I think back on the semester all that comes to my brain is this Boyz II Men song. Although this is a break up song, I'm singing this song as the most joyful occasion in recent history. No I don't feel like I'm "breaking up with this semester" and it's "unnatural" as they say in the song, but it's the song that popped into my head, so I went with it. If you were wondering, I just listened to the song, it's as sad and depressing as I remembered.

OK, that's enough of that. As you can probably guess my brain is about to ooze out of ears. At the beginning of semester I thought blogging was for the birds. Some of me still thinks that's true, but I do see the importance in blogging. Businesses and corporations can use blogs to help stay personal with their audience, professionals can use blogs to help define their personal brand and show how smart they are and individuals can use blogs to talk about hobbies, experiences and interests. You may ask if I'll continue blogging and the answer may surprise you. This blogging assignment started out as a pain in my rear, but ended being, dare I say it, fun. I think I may try to continue blogging once a week or so just to keep all of my readers (by that I mean my family) updated on my life at ONU. Happy finals week.

Public Relations Events

Attending public relations events for me is crucial. Of course PR events provide aspiring professionals with great experiences, but for me, events are energizing. Learning and practicing PR in a classroom is awesome and all, but it can get boring and monotonous. Sitting in classes, taking notes and talking through hypothetical situations doesn't really cut it for me all the time. Attending events validates my choice of major and gets me excited about PR again.

This week, the most dreaded week of the semester (dead week), our student-run PR firm hosted a media training event. While it was stressful missing classes and a whole day to accomplish end of the semester projects, I think this day was extremely beneficial. Dead week is a time when most students tend to feel burnt out and exhausted. The media training day reaffirmed why I chose public relations as my major and how I may actually know what I'm talking about, and maybe, just maybe be a good public relations professional.

Almost done

One of our final projects for social media class was to create a personal brand website. This will serve as on electronic portfolio for potential employers to look through. It also has some personal touches that aren't necessarily appropriate for a typical resume. My website includes some pictures, a section about myself, my portfolio, resume and contact information. Check it out!

Click here!

Please tell me this is true

First, I would like to preface this blog post with saying that I've been in the PAC Lab, the public relations computer lab, for basically the whole week. It's just about the only place where I'm actually productive and I've basically lived here, it's been a tad frustrating. Our workload has intensified  in the weeks leading up to finals and I'm just trying to make it through. I feel like I've had zero free time, even to sleep. So, when told from a young public relations professional at PRSSA last night that she never felt busier than when she was as a student at Ohio Northern, I was extremely relieved.

So tell me professionals, is it true? Will I have a little more breathing room after I graduate? I certainly hope so because I'm burning my candle at both ends right now. However, if I know anything about myself, which I should by now, I know that I'm not content until I have fifty million things going on and am running my head around like a chicken with my head cut off. Do you think ONU will allow me to come back to the PAC Lab to get work done after I graduate?

Starbucks' Secret Menu

It's been brought to my attention that Starbucks has a "secret" menu. The secret menu is full of specialty drinks with tastes ranging from Captain Crunch to cookies and cream frappuccino. How long has this secret menu existed? Am I the only who has never heard of this?

Of course I got to thinking about the secret menu from a public relations and marketing standpoint. My first question is why? Why in the world would there be a secret menu? Who the heck is going to order from the menu, if they don't even know it exists? Then my light bulb went off, better late than never. Most, if not all, secrets are eventually told, right? Whether it be girly gossip or embezzled money, secrets will get out and when they do, they create commotion. Touche Starbucks. As the secret menu trickles out, people will continue to talk about Starbucks and the secret menu. Good or bad, people talking about your company is free publicity and after all, isn't that what we're all after?

I realize the picture is a little illegible, so here's a link for your Starbucks ordering pleasure.

PR! PR! Rah! Rah! Rah!

For our last project we were required to create a promotional video for the public relations department at Ohio Northern. Please check out our video and our awesome our PR department.

Jeni and Lauren's PR promo