One of the things that attracted me to Flow Communications was the strong vision, mission and values the company upholds. And after a year at Flow, I know that knowledge sharing is one of our main priorities.
Learning is important – irrespective of how old you are or how high you are up the ladder.
In an Oprah Winfrey Master Class interview, actor Morgan Freeman recalled being a new stage actor years ago and learning from the more advanced actors: “I don’t think, to tell you the truth, there’s any actor who has not worked on stage who would ever be quite as good as a stage actor. You analyse, you discuss, you rehearse … but wow, did I have big ears and was I ready to learn, so you just sit and watch. It’s always a learning experience.”
At Flow we recently attended a series of power journalism classes to refresh our memories and make sure we uphold Flow’s values. Part of the company’s mission is “to build and retain a skilled, sustainable and effective team of qualified people who are committed to Flow’s vision and mission”.
“We’ve come up with some journalism topics we think could be of great benefit to the Flow team. Sessions will be short but powerful. Please feel free to suggest topics and invite colleagues,” was the invitation from writing studio manager Melanie Feris.
Like Freeman, our ears were wide open and we took lessons from the “masters”.
“As a sub-editor, anything that helps people to be stronger writers makes my life easier! But more importantly, I believe passionately in mentoring and adding value to each other. I’ve had several mentors during my career, who have taught me more than any course or book. I am forever grateful for the time they spent on me – and it’s my duty to pay it forward, which courses like power journalism allow me to do,” said Willem Steenkamp.
Public relations head Caroline Smith taught us how to make the most of press releases: “The unique thing about Flow is that we understand press releases from the perspective of the recipient as well as the issuer. So, while we write media releases to achieve our clients’ aims of publicising their endeavours, we also know how to make them interesting for journalists receiving them. So, we should always imagine how we would feel receiving the release – would we want to write the story?”
The receptive students are happy to be part of a knowledge-sharing organisation.
Says PR executive Apaphia Lefatle: “I see the classes as a way of learning. It’s great to have a refresher course for free!”
Daphney Mngomeni says being a writer is an ongoing lesson: “There’s always an opportunity to learn new things that will help improve the way we work here at Flow, and the power journalism classes were very helpful in this regard.”
One of the classes was about the importance of reliable sources. Says PR account executive Senzi Dlamini: “The sourcing class has helped me give a voice to my press releases, make them more interesting and get media pickups.”
Thanks to everyone who took time out to share their knowledge with us. We hope to pay it forward in the near future.