Communication student Rosie Peat (right) was on the panel that helped to select Greg O'Connor as Communicator of the Year.
Former Police Association President and Labour Party election candidate Greg O’Connor received his Communicator of the Year Award at a ceremony on Massey University’s Wellington campus yesterday. Massey University communication students helped Blackland PR, who established the award to promote clarity of communication in public life, to select the winner for the first time.
Second-year Bachelor of Communication student Rosie Peat, who was part of the selection team, said the experience was both fun and a great opportunity to learn about her future profession.
“The main thing that I learned was to analyse and break down all the platforms the nominees were using to communicate and whether they were effective in getting their messages across,” Ms Peat said.
“I learnt a lot of valuable skills about communicating in a formal, professional manner that I can't wait to apply to my future career.”
BlacklandPR director Mark Blackham said Greg O’Connor was selected because of his ability to get to the nub of an issue and express a position persuasively.
“There’s a huge skill behind Greg’s apparent plainness of speaking. Moreover, he is bold enough to be clear and unequivocal. That’s why his communication is heard and heeded,” he said.
Ms Peat echoed this view: “I think he's very relatable to New Zealanders, he speaks in a way that isn't overly formal but is still very well spoken.
“I also found his honesty on subjects to be very refreshing – he speaks from his own feelings. This comes back to him being relatable, he's a good, honest Kiwi bloke, which I think appeals to the mass audience of New Zealand.”
Greg O’Connor with Dr Elizabeth Gray from Massey University's School of Communication, Journalism and Marketing and Blackland PR director Mark Blackham.
'Know where your words land'
Mr O’Connor received a bespoke Māori kōauau, designed and crafted by Wellingto- based Māori craftsman and designer Sam Hauwaho. The kōauau is a traditional Māori flute, reflecting the art and history of human communication.
He described receiving the award as “something I will hold dear as it’s nice to be acknowledged outside of my former profession”.
He told the audience the two key communications lessons from his 20 years in the public eye were understanding the importance of keeping to time when invited to speak and recognising that the interviewer was only a portal to a wider audience. As a spokesperson, you should “know where your words land”, he said.
In his only reference to his Labour Party candidacy for Peter Dunne’s seat of Ohariu, he quipped that just as he felt it was time to go from the Police Association, he hoped he could convince Dunne to do the same in Ohariu.
Associate Professor Elizabeth Gray from the School of Communication, Journalism and Marketing says the award was a wonderful reason for her students to consider the essential question of “What is communication?” – and many are keen to be involved again next year.
Ms Peat said the younger perspective brought by Massey students was valuable to the judging process.
“I think that being at the age where technology is a huge part of my life…I could easily identify when nominees were using social media effectively for their campaigns,” she said.