The Art of Framing

In class, we have been talking about the concept of framing and how it applies to our careers as PR practitioners.

According to the FrameWorks Institute, framing is described as "the construct of a communication - it's language, visuals and messengers - and the way it signals to the listener or observer how to interpret and classify new information. By framing, we mean how messages are encoded with meaning so that they can be efficiently interpreted in relationship to existing beliefs or ideas."

I know that was a really long definition. Some of you might learn through scenarios as I do. So here is a real-life example of one.

A couple of weeks ago we had a guest speaker come in and talk to us about the earthquake in Haiti and the effect that we, as Americans, had on the environment. Just giving you some background information, I am a Christian and not one of those Christians who are just Christian in their words. I try to please God with all of my actions. I mess up. A lot. But at the end of the day, I live my life with a strong conviction.

So flash forward to the guest speaker. His opening slide (after his title page) was the scripture Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." He proceeded to tell us that we interpret that scripture wrong. He told us that God was actually a group of people and that when the Bible said in the beginning it was actually referring to "A beginning", because with evolution there is a beginning for everything. So sirens are going off in my head at this point, but I opted to continue listening.

The next slide was titled "False Hopes". He then went on to say that we are the only people who can change ourselves, but we have these false hopes. Down on that list was Jesus Christ. I immediately stopped listening at this point and began staring off into space.

As Walter Lippmann describes it, "We define first, and then see." If you believe one thing, then you will be drawn to facts that support that frame. If a fact does not fit a frame, we throw out the fact, not the frame.

That's exactly what I did. I had a frame and his information did not support my frame so I threw away the fact. After realizing that that was what I did, I started noticing patterns of that in my life.

Can you recall a moment in your life where a "fact" didn't support a frame in your mind? What was that frame? How did you react?

Kryolan: That Fire!!! (I think)

I work at Verielle Hair Salon and Beauty Supply Store and my boss allows us to get one free item each month and this month it was foundation.

Now I'm usually an advocate MAC but my skin is so oily that it takes my face like 3 hours to look like a grease monkey after applying foundation. (I know my oily-skinned sisters feel me on that, LOL.) So I have always wondered if there was something out there that could last longer.


Today I decided to try to find a foundation that would last longer than the MAC and I'm 95% sure that I have found that in the Kryolan Ultra Foundation. It goes on really smooth acting almost like a filler making your skin clear and evening out your skin tone.

After having it on for an hour, I see no signs of a grease monkey That makes me really excited. With the MAC, you could see the oil from my skin coming through my pores after only an hour.

What's really cool is that it is used by professional dancers, actors, and musicians. Now you too can look as good as they do. LOL

Have you ever tried Kryolan? Do you like it? Would you try it? Let me know what you think :)

I'll update you guys and let you know how I think it held up after a couple more hours.

Scholar Ladies (Get An A On It)

The cutest video ever. These children are promoting good grades and that warms my heart. Too many young children now a days are listening to the wrong type of music (eg. selling drugs, having sex with multiple girls, violence) and trying to imitate them.

Plus they go to a Christian school ;)

My Blog Background

So tonight I spent the latter part of my night trying to find a background for my blog. It took forever but I finally decided on the current one: I like to dream.

At first, I was looking for a background that would reflect the style of my blog. Major fail. I couldn't find one for the life of me.

Then it dawned on me, my blog is a reflection of, period. So my blog background didn't necessarily have to reflect my blog, just me.

I decided to use the background "I Like to Dream" because I do. I actually love to dream.

Dreaming is one of the reasons that I have gotten where I am today, in the major that I'm in.

It is through dreaming (daydreaming mostly) that I realized my love for people and my boredom with science (I came to FAMU as Bio/Pre Med major).

My dreaming has allowed me to learn myself, to know my ins and outs, to find my voice (Why is it that we are more bold in our dreams?) LOL

This background sums me up because whatever I'm thinking, whatever I'm feeling, whatever is in my heart, I dream about it.

This is the perfect blog background for me (in this moment, I might end up changing it, LOL).

Kind of a random post, but hey, I'm random ;)

Guest Speaker: I Have No Idea What His Name Is

Ok, so yesterday (Wednesday) we had a guest speaker in class who came to talk to us about Global Warming and how we (Americans) caused the earthquake in Haiti.

I love controversial topics and so I was ready to hear what this man had to say.

Then he started his presentation. The first slide (aside from the cover page) was a scripture, Genesis 1:1. "In the beginning, God created a heaven and an earth." He proceeded to tell us that the way we interpret the scripture is all wrong. Slam on the brakes!

He explained that God was a group of people and that "In the beginning" wasn't really in the beginning but in A beginning.

Stop the presses!!!! I could have sworn that throughout my whole educational career at FAMU we were always taught that the easiest way to get people to throw out anything that you are saying to them is to talk about religion and politics. Those are the two things that will make a person shut down and ignore you completely.

And that was the first place he went; religion.
His next slide was about False hope and on the list was Jesus Christ. That was it. I totally tuned him out after that point. And the crazy thing is, I didn't even realize what I was doing. It was like my brain went on auto pilot.

In class on Monday, we discussed framing. One of the articles stated that when people have a specific frame and they are presented with ideas or concepts that contradict that frame, they throw away those ideas and concepts not the frame.

That is exactly what I did. I have a frame (Christianity) and even though the evidence that the guest speaker presented might have been right ( I doubt it with everything in me) I threw away the evidence not the frame.

All in all, I have no idea what that man was talking about. I was only half listening and I don't think anything he said held weight to me even though he told us to research his facts.

Did anyone else do the same thing?

The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point is a great example of Public Relations in its finest. Malcolm Gladwell uses this book to explain the idea of “the tipping point”. The tipping point is the moment that a trend catches on and the role that key players have in making the trend stick.

Malcolm Gladwell describes three different types of people. These people are called Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen.

Connectors are people who are not only great at networking, but they connect others to the people who can help them move forward in their field. Gladwell also emphasizes the importance of the weak tie. These are people who are not in your immediate circle who you might not communicate with on a regular basis. These people are important because they might have a totally different set of contacts that you have and are able to tell you about opportunities you otherwise would have never heard of. Public relation practitioners need connectors in order to network and be effective. Public relations, unlike advertising, is about free publicity which often comes from one of these connects.

Mavens are people with a plethora of knowledge about everything. These people would often win the random fact award. These people are beneficial in the world of public relations because they are natural researchers who retain information just for the fun of it. They can offer valuable information at the drop of a hat that would regularly take time to look up.

Salesmen are people with charisma, likability, and personality. They are usually the face of an organization. They do the people to people contact often meeting new people to draw them in and win them over with their charm. These people are crucial to the public relations field because they are the people who outside organizations deal with. There has to be a level of ease that salesmen provide that allows these organizations to trust them with their business and that’s where the personality and likability play a major role.

So many times we recognize things but not realize that there are names for it. After reading The Tipping Point, I am able to put names to these phenomenons.