Published 16th Sep 2024
Speaker: Lisa Collin
Report by mentee: Patricia Mihail, Account Director Gallium Ventures, UK
Less than five minutes into our session, Lisa firmly shattered the old PR stereotypes of the “PR girl just making noise” and those PRs practising “some sort of dark arts of spin doctoring for the political or corporate environment”. In their place, she put a mirror in which we saw ourselves – communications professionals from all over the world, successfully operating in an endlessly shape-shifting industry that has kept proving its ability to change, adapt and pivot with every challenge thrown its way by economic, social and political powers at play.
Part of our role is to demonstrate to decision-makers the value that healthy communication practices, both internal and external, can bring to a company and why – rather than being just a function, a department or just an afterthought – it needs to sit at the foundation of any organisation, fueling belief, creating momentum, and acting as the glue that keeps things together. In a nutshell, here’s why:
- PR pros instinctively take a multi-audience view: We know communications do not happen in a vacuum, and audiences don’t receive messages in insolation; we’ve mastered joining dots that few others see (and can connect).
- PR pros think ‘audience first’. We operate outside of companies’ eco-chambers, and earned engagement keeps us honest and grounded.
- PR pros instinctively stress test any argument. We ask powerful questions and always think about the ‘why?’
- PR pros consider the broader landscape and its implications. We know how a company’s words and deeds will be viewed in the larger context.
As we are looking to further tap into our capabilities, dig deep into our confidence, and expand our roles by clearly showing the (too often untapped) strategic value we can bring, here are some of the behaviours and ways of working we need to keep top of mind (and adapt), as individual professionals and as part of teams:
- Adopt a big-picture view. Work together with various departments of a company. Different perspectives – and expressed pain points – will give us other insights into what is happening, helping us build a more comprehensive version of reality. The more we know and can reference the bigger picture, as well as the broader context in which an organisation operates, supported by data and market insights, the better we will become at understanding where comms fit in the puzzle and advise accordingly – and so the more we will be able to impact business decisions.
- Encourage curiosity. Those (successfully) operating in PR are usually curious and engaged by design. We must keep sharpening our critical thinking and nurture these traits, directing them towards asking relevant questions to make sure we are sufficiently informed and knowledgeable about the client and/or the business, as well as the broader environment in which they operate. This way, we are best positioned to present better recommendations in a better way.
- Use context to build support and understanding. As Lisa highlighted, communication between people is often described as a game of catch, when one receives a message from another and then returns with feedback. The human nature of perceptions of reality, coupled with the working environment and the multiple factors that interact with it, means that the ‘ball’ is constantly changing its shape, colour, and speed with which it’s been thrown back. PR professionals are best equipped to excel at this game.
- Anticipate needs. Anticipate consequences. Although these skills are not included in a PR role job description, anticipation and prevention, when and where applicable, are crucial to unlocking the true power of PR and figuring out where the actual opportunities to build more through strategic consulting are.
Agency-side, in-house, or freelancers alike, we’d like the companies we work with (or for) to see PR as an essential tool in shaping the business strategy—it all starts with how we see and position ourselves.
