What Are We Teaching PR Students?
How to do brochures, throw parties, talk to reporters and
write press releases? Or, are we teaching them what PR’s
fundamental premise says we should be teaching them?
In so many words, whether they go to work for a business,
non-profit, government agency or association, students
will soon discover that people act on their own perception
of the facts before them, which leads to predictable
behaviors about which something can be done. When we
create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching,
persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people
whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the
public relations mission is usually accomplished.
Which is why, after public relations students digest
THAT basic touchstone, they should be made aware that,
as future managers, their core public relations mission
will be to pull together the resources and action
planning they need to alter individual perception leading
to changed behaviors among their most important
outside audiences.
But that’s not all! Then PR students should learn that
they will have to persuade those key folks to his or her
way of thinking, then move them to take actions that allow
their subsidiary, division, department, group or office to
succeed.
What we want for our new crop of PR students is the
knowledge that the right public relations planning really
CAN alter individual perception and lead to changed
behaviors among the very outside audiences who will help
them succeed as managers.
Should you find yourself explaining the role of public
relations, you must ask your audience to remember that their
PR efforts will demand more than the use of special events,
news releases and talk show tactics if they are to receive the
quality public relations results they deserve.
As to the results they can expect, tell them how glad
they’ll be that they took your advice when capital
givers or specifying sources begin to look their way;
customers start to make repeat purchases;
membership applications begin to rise; new proposals
for strategic alliances and joint ventures start showing
up; politicians and legislators begin looking at them
as key members of the business, non-profit or
association communities; new bounces in show room
visits occur; prospects actually start to do business
with them; and community leaders begin to seek them
out.
Discuss with your audience why it’s SO important to
know how your most important outside audiences
perceive your operations, products or services. Above
all, be sure they really believe that perceptions almost
always result in behaviors that can help or hurt their
operation.
Go over with them the need for monitoring and gathering
perceptions by questioning members of their most
important outside audiences. Have them ask questions
like these: how much do you know about our organization?
Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased
with the interchange? Are you familiar with our services
or products and employees? Have you experienced
problems with our people or procedures?
They should learn that the cost of using professional survey
firms to do the opinion gathering work will be
considerably more than using their PR colleagues who
are already in the perception business. But whether it’s
their people or a survey firm asking the questions, the
objective remains the same: identify untruths, false
assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies,
misconceptions and any other negative perception that
might translate into hurtful behaviors.
Public relations students need to know that here they
must establish a goal calling for action on the most
serious problem areas they uncovered during their
key audience perception monitoring. Will that goal
be to straighten out a dangerous misconception?
Correct a gross inaccuracy? Or, stop a potentially
painful rumor before it really gets started?
An equally important lesson is this. Setting a PR
goal requires an equally specific strategy that tells
you how to get there. Only three strategic options
are available to you when it comes to doing
something about perception and opinion. Change
existing perception, create perception where there
may be none, or reinforce it. The wrong strategy
pick will taste like mushroom gravy on your
pumpkin pie, so be sure your new strategy fits
well with your new public relations goal. You
certainly don’t want to select “change” when the
facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement.
Most students of public relations already know the
importance of good writing. Explain to them that
now is the time that good writing comes to the fore.
They must prepare a persuasive message that will
help move their key audience to their way of
thinking. It must be a carefully-written message
targeted directly at their key external audience.
They must come up with really corrective language
that is not merely compelling, persuasive and
believable, but clear and factual if they are to shift
perception/opinion towards their point of view and
lead to the behaviors they have in mind.
This step many of your students will find especially
interesting. They must now select the communications
tactics most likely to carry their message to the
attention of their target audience. There are many
available. From speeches, facility tours, emails and
brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews,
newsletters, personal meetings and many others.
But be certain that the tactics they pick are known
to reach folks just like their audience members.
Another reality PR students need to know is that
the credibility of any message is fragile, so how they
communicate it is also a concern. Which is why they
may wish to unveil their corrective message before
smaller meetings and presentations rather than using
higher-profile news releases.
As always, the need for a progress report should cause
them to begin a second perception monitoring session
with members of their external audience. Fortunately,
they’ll want to use many of the same questions used in
the benchmark session. But now, they will be on strict
alert for signs that the bad news perception is being
altered in their direction.
Reassure your student audience that, should program
momentum slow, they can always speed things up by
adding more communications tactics as well as
increasing their frequencies.
Students everywhere need reassurance that they’re on
the right track, and future business, non-profit, government
and association managers getting their first exposure to
PR are no different. What they need to know about public
relations are three realities.
First, as outlined above, they must marshall the resources
and action planning needed to alter individual perception
leading to changed behaviors among their most important
outside audiences.
Second, they must help persuade those key folks to his
or her way of thinking.
And third, move them to take actions that allow their
division, subsidiary, department, group or office to succeed.
Please feel free to publish this article and resource box
in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.
A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.
Robert A. Kelly © 2005
Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit, government
and association managers about using the fundamental premise of
public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has
published over 200 articles on the subject which are listed at
EzineArticles.com, click Expert Author, click Robert A. Kelly.
He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR,
Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.;
director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and
deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a
bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in
public relations.
mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net
Visit:http://www.PRCommentary.com
