So what am I doing, you ask? I’m making a case for some other, often neglected parts of that bigger PR picture: exhibiting compassion and collaborating in a constructive manner. It’s one thing to offer thoughtful questions and suggestions, but it’s another to state that an idea “just wouldn’t work” without offering some kind of alternative solution.

I’m not pointing fingers here—I too asked the questions. Something just didn’t feel right afterward. I hope it was okay to blog about my gut feeling—which, of course may very well have been unfounded.

And yes, “together we are wise”. But together we can also be intimidating, condescending or even bullies, whether we intended it or not. I know I’ve been guilty of that before. I’m just saying that we, the future of PR, should be careful so that those negative things don’t become a part of the bigger PR picture too.

I agree completely with Matt, I expect questions to be asked at the end of a presentation. I expect to learn from my classmates and hopefully vice versa. It has always been the case that discussions arise after a student presentation and so my questions were NOT meant to interrogate or disrespect anybody.

As far as this “cut-throat attitude” you refer to, I don’t believe that I – or anyone else in the class – were asking questions in a competitive or unpleasant manner. As far as asking questions goes, we are encouraged to challenge one another and learn from one another. That is what makes class so rewarding…the whole “together we are wise” situation. …?

I didn’t mean to call anyone out or to hurt anyone’s feelings. If I did, I too apologize.

Kim

I also think that during presentations we should be prepared to answer any questions your client or interrogators have. Maybe it’s because we aren’t familiar with one another but asking fairly tough questions at the end of presentations is the norm where I come from. I don’t mean that every presentation should be a Dragon’s Den but if no one asks questions we would be doing our classmates a disservice.

I’d also like to point out that we had a lot of questions for more reasons other than just to be jerks.

The ‘age-old’ comm plan and pitch is what we do for work. It is the method by which we prove our worth and deliver results. I don’t think there is anything redundant about that. If you aren’t doing research in preparation to develop a strategic plan and answer questions(especially in this line of work)then what are you doing?

Perhaps I’m the naive one, though.

Sorry.