Thursday, July 30, 2015

How Can I Help?

There are different ways all of us can choose to go through life. One is from a "What's in it for me?" perspective. In this case, the person approaches the challenges of their day with a single-minded focus of doing what is best for them, making their goals their biggest priority. While there is nothing wrong with this, such a mindset does suggest a vision that leaves little room for what others might want or need. Another way, perhaps on the other end of the spectrum, is to approach the day with an attitude of, at least, giving the goals of others equal priority to one's own. There is nothing wrong with this, either, though it does suggest an openness that makes it difficult for one to take care of themselves.


When it comes to communication, of the two, which one is more applicable? Which vision should, say, a public relations practitioner have? Given that these professionals are in the relationship business, their attitude needs to be more of "How can I help?" As is the case in any relationship where individuals or even groups come together to content with a mutual concern or simply because they enjoy each other's company, for the coupling to truly work, each side must view things from a perspective of "us" rather than "me." In such a dynamic, what is best for the group often takes precedence over what is best for an individual member.


For those in public relations, the work day for these professionals is not about them. While they have a to-do list just like any one else, the difference is that which is on their agenda for the day is driven  by the wants and needs of others. The success of  a communicator's day is measured by how well they help others advance and, ultimately, succeed at achieving their goals. The moment a public relations worker gives their own goals greater importance or priority over others - specifically a client -  then their ability to manage how well others connect and collaborate is comprised. "How can I help?" represents a vision that helps ensure that will not happen.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Loss

There are few things in life more permanent or definitive than loss. In sports, for example, one team loses to another. Than cannot be taken back. Once the final tallies are in, one of the participants has sustained a loss. In another scenario, a person loses, say an ear ring. It is gone not to be found again. Thee losses are irreversible. On a deeper level, there is the loss of life. A loved one passes away and that person's physical persona becomes a memory. Sure, there are photos of them, artifacts they once owned, and perhaps even recordings or videos of them. But the actual presence of them where they can be experienced first-hand is gone. It is a loss.

A communication challenge everyone faces in life is helping others cope with the loss a loved-one. What words can adequately fill the gap that has suddenly appeared in their lives?  What message can be put forth that truly balances the pain and sadness they feel from the passing of one close to them? If specific words that do all this exist, then I have yet to hear them. I certainly have not yet been able to conjure them up when talking with one who is attempting to come to grips with such a severe loss in their life. This is not to say I do not try. Everyone does in these situations. To my mind, however, it remains a communication goal that has not yet been met.


Perhaps the best communication strategy at these times is found in not trying to come up with specific words. Instead, it is a time to let feelings - non-verbal communication - take over. The one suffering the deep loss is overwhelmed with feelings. Perhaps it is simply best to match them with like-feelings. Let the feelings take center stage and save the words for another day. At these times, people do not needs words as much as they need hugs and permission to let their emotions takeover for awhile. The experience of loss is a common denominator for us all. Our struggle to properly communicate during such reality is another.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Relationship Managers

Almost by definition, any one involved in communication should be involved in cultivating and maintaining relationships. Such people concern themselves with disseminating information and/or examining how those messages are received. Give and take. Consequently, they spend their days working to gain a better understanding of who and what those on the receiving end of their output are. The result is these communicators are tied to others if for no other reason than to be better at what they do. As what they do is connect with others, then the greater amount of information they have about others, then the better the chances are they will be successful communicators. 


I mention this as a way of suggesting this is one more quality that public relations practitioners and journalists have in common. Both are in the business of cultivating and maintaining relationships. In essence, they are relationship managers. My guess is this shared quality is not something many have acknowledged. Still, it has existed since the beginning when public relations agents first began hounding reporters to write something about their client nearly 200 years ago. Before then, journalists worked as relationship managers though they probably never thought of themselves in that capacity. The coming of those pesky PR types only added to that aspect of their work.


So, in addition to being able to write well, having to often work under the pressure of meeting deadlines, and producing work that is highly visible to others, journalists and public relations workers also need to do well at interacting with others but ensuring those interactions, generally, are positive. The two do not operate in a vacuum. Because they need others in order to do their jobs, this calls upon them to display some level of niceness. So, to any journalists reading this, play nice. To any public relations practitioners also taking a few moments to wade through this entry, do not be put off if reporters seem to fluff off any of your overtures. Their relationship with you is just as vital as yours is to them.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Utilitarianism

Each day we wake, we are driven by our own interests and priorities. Even if on our "to-do" list is a chore for someone else, we largely do what we do based on meeting our needs and satisfying our own sense of accomplishment, ego and/or self-worth. This observation represents the crux of what philosopher John Stuart Mill termed "utilitarianism."  All human action, including acts of kindness, Mill said, are derived from one's self interest. In other words, each day we do what is best for us. Without question, this sure does make all of us sound selfish. Perhaps, we are. Perhaps, being this way speaks to our fundamental need and desire to survive.


What is the impact of this reality on communication? Specifically, how does striving to feed our self interest affect the way we communicate with each other? For instance, does this speak to why we seem to be more interested in getting our own points or messages across than we in hearing what others might have to say? Is this why in the world of pubic relations communicating to persuade others dominates attempting to establish partnerships? Is this an explanation as to why more and more we seem interested in talking at rather than talking with each other? Does this mean the primary reason we listen to others is to meet our own needs? It would seem so.


Given this, it is no wonder so much of what is emphasized in communication classes taught at the college level revolves around teaching students how to be effective at creating messages and then imparting them to targeted publics. Without question, these skills are definitely required of practitioners post-college in the communication industry. It would seem, then, the notion that all of us should be motivated to help and even do what is best for others needs to be recognized as being little more than a pipe dream. Perhaps, after all, communication is the ultimate act of satisfying one's self interest. For me, Mill's utilitarianism may be the truth, but it does not mean I have to like it.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Those Who Came Before Us

One thing I enjoy doing is hiking, especially in surroundings that are beautiful. Just recently, for example, I spent time in Park City, Utah, exploring a small portion of the Wasatch Mountains. It was great fun, particularly as this region of our country is one of the most scenic. (Quick recommendation: If you can, hike to the top of Bald Mountain. At 12,000 feet, the view is simply wonderful.) Hiking the trails in Utah and other places I have been fortunate enough to see is made so much easier because they are clearly marked  - even though they are, at times, quite rigorous. Obviously, that means folks long before I came along navigated those pathways and helped make it possible for people like me to take advantage of them.


No matter what area of life one might select, one would be extremely hard-pressed to not find pioneers of some sort, men and women who struggled to plant, compose, or establish guide posts for those who followed behind them. This is certainly the case in the field of communication. Yes, it is no-doubt true that how we communicate today is unlike how it was done in the past. Nevertheless, there were men and women who devised ways for one public to connect or interact with another in ways that provided with mutual levels of satisfaction and advancement. Whatever initiatives are happening today in that regard represent additions to what was done in the past.    


Such a reality is no small thing. For all of us who compile media kits, email blasts, marketing strategies or talking points - to name a few communication tools - just know there were professionals  whose initial struggles with these instruments make it possible for today's practitioners to generate positive visibility for their clients. They, whose names include Bernays, Lee, Harlow and Fleischman, did far more than navigate the trails we walk today. They actually built them. Our responsibility in today's world is to try and improve upon those trails. Also, along the way, we should recognize that whatever success we might have is due, at least in a small way, to the efforts of those who came before us.   

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Communication Paradox

All of us are a mass of contradictions. Is there any one who disputes that? Even though many of often claim we are totally consistent in our actions and views, the truth is just the opposite. Using myself as an example, I am introvert yet each semester I teach several college classes and enjoy the challenge of standing in front of a room full of students trying to be engaging. Does that make me a flip-flopper? Maybe. But it definitely makes me human. The same, I believe, holds true for many of us when it comes to communication. There is one perspective on what is the most effective form of communication that runs counter to how many of us actually seem to carry out this act.


Generally, communication scholars, including the top brass at the Public Relations Society of America, view effective communication occurring when two people or publics are engaged in a two-way flow of interaction. In other words, effective communication is at-play when the parties talk with rather than at each other. But then there's the reality of communication. Using as an example the many so-called news talk shows on commercial and cable television these days, one would be hard-pressed to see much "talking with" going on. Instead, we see folks often talking over each other in their quest to be heard.


An increasing number of polls indicate growing dissatisfaction among the general population with many of our country's major entities, including the media, government and elected officials. The unhappiness is triggered by feelings that these entities are not doing an adequate job of addressing our needs and concerns. Not nearly as much "talking with" is going on as we would like. The result is a contradiction between the ideal of communication versus the reality of it. It is a classic paradox in which contradictory realities exist much, unfortunately, to the detriment of us all. This is definitely one area where I, for one, would prefer a lot more consistency.    

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Safeguarding Relationships

Under pretty much any circumstances, writing is a challenge. Specifically, I am talking about good writing as opposed to some quick note on a post-it or something you scribble-down and leave for your spouse or roommate on the kitchen table on your way out of the door. (In all fairness, even those communiques need to be understandable so they do require some level of thought.) Communiques such as letters, press releases, copy for a brochure, emails, etc. are of a higher order and therefore require greater attention and word-smithing. But what makes them so particularly challenging is not making sure they are well written but rather paying attention to the context in which they are composed.


Folks working in public relations are charged with more than simply generating greater positive visibility for clients. These professional communicators are relationship managers. As a result, everything they do is carried out with the idea of either establishing a connection between a client and a particular public or enhancing a connection that may already exist. Therefore, whatever a public relations worker may write, they must do so with the idea of feeding a relationship. This is a great deal different than simply trying to write something well. For a public relations professional, then, writing a note on a post-it becomes more than slapping down a brief message. Instead, that message must be written in a way that adds to an existing relationship.


Does that reality add pressure to the work of those in public relations? You bet. It also points to the notion that the work those in PR do is extremely important. For all of us, there are few things in our lives more important or fundamental to our well being than our relationships. Public relations workers strive to safe guard those ties. It is these men and women who commit themselves to helping ensure the connections those in business, community service and, generally, the public arena have remain viable and secure. That is why whenever they sit down in front a computer screen to compose copy, it is no small thing.        

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Arbitrary Benchmarks

One of the fascinating aspects of communication is that it is ongoing. Throughout it's duration, things can go well or not. People can be in-sync or have mixed signals. They can be operating in complete harmony or at cross-purposes. Unlike a sporting event where after a designated period of time - nine innings or four quarters, for example - a score can  be tabulated and a determination can be made as to who won or lost, how well communication has been carried out communication has no true point of demarcation. It has no true beginning or end for the simple reason none of us ever stop communicating.  


It, as much as anything, is a genuine process. We do it with a great deliberation. We do it without thinking at all. We do it with others in mind. We do it just because it makes us feel good. With all that, it remains an act that never does not happen. With such a universal presence, how, then, can one determine whether effective communication has occurred? One answer to that is perhaps is found in why all of us set arbitrary benchmarks in each of our days. For instance, we have a conversation with a co-worker. It is from the point that interaction begins to when it ends on which we base our assessment of how well we communicated. We compose a press release and distribute it to the local media. From the point we began writing that release to when it is determined whether the media is going to act on that release is the point of that act of communication.


At the end of the day, we need those benchmarks. Otherwise, communication, much like our ever-expanding universe, would be very hard to really grasp intellectually or even emotionally. We need boundaries even if they vary from one act of communication to another or if our rationale for establishing them seems inconsistent. Those boundaries provide us with a greater sense of control as well as needed points of reference from which we can decide what changes, if any, we wish to make in how we interact with others.

Friday, July 3, 2015

So Long to Songdo

Generally, I try to frame entries into the blog in an impersonal manner so as to showcase varies communication issues in a manner to which others can relate. This specific entry is going to be a bit different. Between February 25 and June 25 of this year, I taught communication classes at George Mason University's campus in Songdo, South Korea. I taught two public speaking classes and one public relations class. Collectively, I had 44 students. (As I write this, Mason has been a presence in South Korea for approximately one year. Enrollment is small but on the rise.) My experience with the students, staff and other faculty was nothing less than wonderful.


While I have traveled to other countries, this was my first experience actually living abroad for any extended period of time. No question, going into it I was apprehensive and nervous. Would I fit in? How would I resolve any problems I might have? Suppose I did not make any connections with my fellow workers or with the students? These were just a few of the many what I might term "insecure-based" questions I had the days leading up to when I traveled over there. Much to my delight, those and other related questions quickly vanished within moments of my time with the folks there.


In terms of communication, one discovery of mine was that so many of my feelings were not universal. My colleagues were very sympathetic to my insecurities and went out of their to help address them. That never stopped. Their attitude and behavior reinforced the notion that so much of we as individuals wrestle them are challenges that are not unique to us. This, I learned, is part of the reality that all of us - no matter where we live - have much more in common than not. Leave it to the good people of Songdo to remind me of that truism. All of us, including professional communicators, need to do a better of job of spreading that piece of news.