BTS (Behind-The-Seen)

Seen is defi ned as something has been looked at or noti ced. But what if everything we
see is more than that? Our group wanted to create an opportunity for people to be seen
beyond fi rst impressions to the unique talents within.

We want to look at things from a point of view other than our own.

As a group of student writers, we are tasked to put into practi ce our observati on,
document search, and interview skills to gather essenti al informati on from Municipal
Hall, Mayor’s Offi ce, Sangguniang Bayan.

Aft er getti ng all the informati on needed, we realized that the data gathering method that
we have used is convenient, we approached the personnel face-to-face and the questi ons
and data were given through oral conversati on. It is eff ecti ve because additi onal
questi ons for follow-up can be asked whenever confusion and discrepancies occur in the
data gathering process.

It was fun but defi nitely not easy. We learned a lot so if by any chance you are tasked to
gather data like what we did, we can give you three great ti ps!

TIP # 1:

Bring a lett er with your intent and the professor's signature because some agencies
require them for data privacy matt ers. T here will come a ti me when you might need to
request something, be it from the company you are working for or a personal need that
you have. Taking the ti me to construct a well-writt en lett er outlining what it is you need
could be the thing that guarantees you getti ng what it is that you want.  Be sure to
proofread your lett er. Typos and bad formatti ng come off as being sloppy and like you did
not pay att enti on to what you were doing.

They might turn you down. But that’s fi ne! Do not be discouraged. You can always make
the request at a bett er ti me or fi nd another route to go.

TIP # 2:

Don't go to the agencies during peak hours because you may not be entertained
immediately.

Put Yourself in their shoes, you must understand that busy people get hundreds of
requests for help or jobs to fi nish. Even if you have the best of intenti ons, at peak hours,
people are busy and can’t possibly respond to every inquiry. They’re not being rude —
they’re just prioriti zing. When you reach out to a busy person, do so with very specifi c
questi ons in mind. You may only get one shot at that.

TIP # 3:

Respect the ti me of the personnel and do not let him/her be delayed from doing his/her
responsibiliti es whilst gathering your needed informati on.
Busy people aren’t selfi sh and inconsiderate, they just want to be effi cient with their
ti me. Remember that the ti me they give to you is ti me they sacrifi ce from fi nishing their
jobs. So, contact them in a way that respects this reality and considering that their
schedule is as lightly as possible. It is important that you are mindful of another people’s
ti me not just yours.

I hope that you learned something from us.

So, together, let’s get a variety of perspecti ves, Let’s look at things at diff erent angles!

We want each of us to look at things from a point of view other than our own.

Because what we’re seeing is not all that there is.

And we are Behind the Seen.

Raizza along with other members of Behind-the-Seen : Lemuel San Gabriel (left ) and
Cedric Kati gbak (right).