Q. What qualifications route did you take to realise your career?
I originally studied journalism at the London College of Printing (now the London College of Communications) and worked as a journalist for a number of years before moving into public relations. That is a traditional route into PR – there are many former journalists in the profession but for most people the best way into PR is by studying and gaining qualifications in the subject.

Q. Please explain in detail what students will learn during your course
Well, the first thing to say is that this is a completely practical rather than academic course – in essence, you will learn how to do PR. And I guarantee that you will not have to write one single essay!

The sorts of things we cover include: how to devise a creative PR campaign, how to write a press release, how to handle a TV interview and how to cope in a crisis!  Seriously – crisis management is a key element of PR.

We look at many different aspects of the subject – consumer PR where you are marketing products to potential customers, corporate PR where you are trying to improve the image of a company, financial PR where you might be dealing with mergers and acquisitions, for example.
And you will learn numerous practical skills like media relations, event management and strategic planning. It’s an interesting and varied course – we look at something different every week.

Q. What’s the first thing you teach your students?
What is PR?  Most people aren’t entirely sure what it is.  They have a vague idea that it is something to do with getting press coverage, and they’re not wrong, but it is much more than that. So the first thing we tackle is: what exactly is PR?

Q. What qualities do you need to succeed in your industry?
I think you need to be the sort of person who gets bored easily. Also, someone who doesn’t panic and can cope under pressure. Public relation is a high-pressure job that’s creative, exciting, fast-paced and very varied, but it can also be rather stressful.  It’s not a job for someone who wants to work quietly in a corner from nine to five, that’s for sure.

Q. Please explain why you love your subject?
I love the sheer variety of what you do in PR.  If ever you find yourself doing something you don’t like, you know that in an hour you’ll be doing something totally different.  I also enjoy the sociability of PR – you’re dealing with clients, journalists, members of the public, and you are working in teams with other bright, intelligent, quick-witted people. If you like people, PR is definitely the job for you.  But what I love the most about PR is the fact that it gives you the chance to be creative in so many different ways – organising a fabulous event that will wow your guests perhaps, or creating a crazy stunt that will get your client noticed, or dreaming up some sort of new contest to engage your target audience.  There aren’t many jobs that allow you to use your imagination so many different directions.

Q. What do students normally do once they’ve finished their course?
Have a party!  We always have a party for students at the end of their course.  Then, of course, they try to get a job.

In many countries now – certainly in the UK, US and many other countries – you have to work as an unpaid intern for a number of months to gain on-the-job experience for your CV or résumé before any PR agency would consider employing you.  This is actually a controversial issue in the UK because not everyone can afford it.

However, this doesn’t apply in every country, and many students go home and get a job pretty quickly. Often they send me their first PR proposals or press releases to comment on, and then sometimes they proudly send me the first pieces of press coverage they generate as a working PR executive.  I love it when they do that – I feel so proud for them – even though, depending on what language the cuttings are in, I often can’t actually read them!

Q. Can you describe a typical day in your working life?
Well there is no typical day in PR – that’s the point!  But most days will start with you checking the media – watching TV while eating your breakfast, listening to the radio while in the shower, reading a newspaper on the journey to work.

Perhaps you’re beginning the day with a press ‘photocall’ for newspaper photographers so you’ll need to take delivery of all the ‘props’ and set them up to create an eye-catching photograph.  For example, I once created a desert oasis complete with sand, palm trees, Bedouin tent and stuffed camel in central London for a photocall on behalf of Nestlé ice cream.

Once that’s all over, you might join some work mates for a brainstorming session, helping colleagues think of new campaign ideas for one of their clients. Most PR activities start life as a mad idea in a brainstorm.

This might be followed by lunch with a client or a media contact – building relationships with people is an important part of the job.  But if you’re excited at the prospect of being let loose in a top restaurant with an expense account, think again, it’s mineral water all the way – you’ve got a busy afternoon ahead.

Your next appointment might be a meeting with a record producer say, to discuss the possibility of one of your clients sponsoring a new music album. Then there’s just time to nip back to the office to write a press release for one of your other clients, before you join some colleagues for a rehearsal of a big proposals presentation which you’ll be making to a prospective new client the next day.

In between all of these appointments, you’ll be constantly checking your smart phone for calls or e-mails from clients or journalists – staying in touch is essential.

At some point you’ll check your diary to see what tomorrow has in store. One thing’s for certain, it’ll be totally different from today.