The Public Relations (PR) Bureau and Public Information Disclosure (KIP) of Universitas Indonesia (UI) held the 2nd edition of the Public Speaking and Professional Grooming workshop for Public Relations practitioners within UI. The aim of this activity is to improve personal branding abilities through communicating and appearing professionally. This workshop activity was attended by the UI Public Relations Bureau and KIP Team, Public Relations implementers at the Faculty/School level and the UI Vocational Education Program which took place in Meeting Room A, UI Central University Administration Building (PAU) on Thursday (12/10).
This workshop was attended by around 50 people and included presentations from resource persons, namely senior journalists and Editor-in-Chief of Sindonews MNC Group, Aiman Adi Witjaksono, S.T., M.Si., in the Public Speaking session and MetroTV news anchor, Fifi Aleyda Yahya, in Professional Grooming session .
In the Public Speaking session, Aiman said that as a speaker, one must have good public speaking to convey an effective message. “Conveying a message is not just a process of transmitting information from one party to another, but the message conveyed can influence, motivate, and change the behavior of the audience. In this way, the communication carried out was successfully conveyed to the recipient of the message,” said Aiman.
Communication has a role in developing self-awareness, one of which is feeling bad. This is a natural part of the human experience that plays an important role in communication and self-understanding. “Feeling bad is a crucial and important thing that must be maintained and controlled so that it doesn’t become excessive. The importance of emotional awareness of something can provide clues for responding in various situations,” said Aiman. The aim is to help someone understand themselves about their surrounding environment.
“If you are feeling bad, there is resistance within you, thus what you want to express and convey becomes something that has high beneficial value. At least there is a goal, pressure, dignity, power, and preparation to convey this. Having these unpleasant feelings becomes an internal mechanism that must be controlled and not eliminated,” said Aiman.
In the second session, Fifi Aleyda Yahya explained three important aspects of Professional Grooming which are very relevant to the professional world today. These three points are appearance, ways of carrying oneself, and being well-spoken. “As professionals, we have to be good at adapting to our surroundings. If you want to come to an agency, you have to do audience research first, in order to adjust what we want to convey and the way we dress up accordingly,” said Fifi.
Appearance is an important aspect of a person’s personality that first gives an impression to other people. As a professional, wearing clothing that suits the situation and work environment is important. This reflects a person’s commitment to their work. Appearance is also based on personal hygiene through caring for hair, nails, facial make-up and choice of shoes to add a professional impression.
Fifi further added that it is not only about appearance, the importance of presenting oneself is related to attitude, posture, body movements and eye contact. Attitudes or ethics in greeting, waiting for your turn to speak, respecting other people and politeness. Then, stand with an upright and correct posture, walk confidently, reflecting self-confidence and professionalism. “Apart from that, good eye contact along with a sincere smile and listening attentively,” said Fifi, who won None Jakarta in 1995.
In her presentation, Fifi also said that verbal must be applied like being well-spoken because it is the key to creating effective communication. The acts that can be done include choosing the right words, speaking clearly, ensuring the message is conveyed well, avoiding harsh language and using correct grammar. Applying these three important points can improve one’s professional image, ensuring that one makes a positive impression on colleagues, leaders and clients.
The conclusions from the Public Speaking and Professional Grooming Workshop presented by the two speakers are very related to the professional context. Communication is not only limited to what is said but how to convey it, including appearance and attitude as a professional. In the professional world, the first impression is based on visual appearance. Therefore, a person’s appearance and the way they carry themselves will have a direct impact on the effectiveness of their communication.