Liz UnMuzzled

What is Public Relations? Framing Not Spinning.

April 9th, 2012

What is Public Relations? To answer that question, I searched the Internet and found the following definitions of PR:

The function responsible for shaping and managing the image of a company;
The protector of a company’s reputation;
The practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its publics.
The practice of creating favorable relationships between a company and its publics.
The practice of putting a company in the best light.

Public relations is all of those things but I would frame it a little differently. To me, the best public relations is simply this: starting and nurturing ongoing conversations between an organization or company and the various stakeholders and audiences it needs to engage to thrive and grow. Public relations helps an organization tell its story to the outside world; it also helps leadership and staff inside organizations understand how their work connects to the rest of the world.

PR in today’s porous, 24-7, always on world is not so much about control as it is about engagement. It isn’t about sending out press releases, holding events, Twitter and Facebook posts or web site hits. Those are some of the tools in the public relations arsenal. PR is about give and take: Sharing information, taking information in, listening, and helping people understand why what you do matters and why it should matter to them.

Those of us who practice this profession need to think less about “spinning,” a word I despise. There is far to much of that these days. The best PR is about telling the truth, always.

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What to do when you get negative press?

March 20th, 2012

There are some who would say that negative press is better than no press at all. “As long as they spell your name right,” the old adage goes. While there is some truth to that, getting negative press can seriously damage your company or nonprofit’s reputation, endangering your funding, your customer base and your very future. For recent examples, you need look no further than the Komen Foundation, United Way, Penn State, or Bank of America, to name a few.

Each of these entities made some missteps that received intense media scrutiny. The constant barrage of negative press has tarnished their reputations. While some are on the road to recovery, it’s a hard road–and one of the most challenging strategic communications issues. What should you do if you find yourselves in a media firestorm?

1) Assess the situation. What has caused the fire? Is this something that was caused by your actions or inaction? Have you been the target of a smear campaign? How is the discussion about you being framed? What else is going on in your industry? Is this an assault on your work or industry? Or are you merely a vehicle to talk about a much larger issue?

For example, suppose you are a nonprofit that provides food and clothing to homeless individuals. Perhaps another large nonprofit in your area that provides similar services is found to have an employee that embezzled funds, the majority of which came from state and federal government sources. The organization tries to cover up the mismanagement of funds, but the press gets wind of it and then writes a series of article about the corruption at this agency and how government funds were wasted. The target isn’t so much homelessness and the agencies that help combat it, but rather the use of taxpayer dollars. If you don’t understand the frame, you can’t mount a counter attack effectively. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Ultimate Lesson in PR: Treating People Well

March 4th, 2012

Nearly 30 years while volunteering as a driver for the Kennedy Center Honors, I made an enormous mistake. I dropped off television director Don Mischer and his camera crew at the wrong gate to the White House, forcing them to run around the block, heavy equipment in tow, to get into the White House to film President and Mrs. Reagan, and still have time to get back to the Kennedy Center for the rest of the show. It was an honest mistake. New to Washington, I didn’t know 15th Street from Pennsylvania Avenue, and no one had told me exactly where I was supposed to let them off.

Mischer could have been a jerk–he was greatly inconvenienced–but instead he couldn’t have been nicer. He saw I felt so badly and he tried to make me feel better. It’s something that has stuck with me and I was reminded of it again when watching the Oscars last week. It appeard that Mischer’s crew was having trouble with the microphones. At times, the sound sounded well, off. I cut him a huge break because I remembered how kind he’d been to a young nobody.

More companies and organizations ought to heed that lesson. Being nice to your customers, your employees and your partners builds up good will. It’s so obvious but so many enterprises fail to heed it. It happens everywhere: the rude receptionist at the doctor’s office who is doing you a favor by making an appointment; or the telecom company that makes you jump through multiple prompts on their phone system to get you to a live person who, when you do speak to them, asks for the same information all over again. BTW: none of their prompts addresses your issue.

These are the kinds of things that make or break a reputation. PR could stand for Perfect Reputation. All the effort on social media to engage customers or the carefully crafted PR campaigns won’t change your image if your product doesn’t work and your team is rude. It’s that simple.

Don Mischer–thanks for being a good guy and teaching me a valuable lesson. And I loved the Oscars.

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The Power of Framing Messages

February 26th, 2012

Ripped from the headlines, here is an example of the power of framing messages. Before I begin, I want to be clear that I am not taking any position on the issue of abortion and use this example simply to highlight how framing can redirect the thinking about an issue and how important it is to effective public relations.

Last week the Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell backed away from a controversial abortion bill that only a week before seemed to be gathering steam. The bill would have called for an invasive ultrasound to be performed before any abortion could occur. What started out as a debate about limiting the access to abortion and fetal rights within a week became a discussion of government intrusion. How did that happen? Framing. Women’s groups and others opposed to the bill changed the tone and substance of the conversation.

The opposition started calling the use of the transvaginal ultrasound, which is required to be able to measure gestational age of the fetus within the first three months, state sponsored rape. Strong stuff. The concept of the government literally intruding inside a woman’s body was too much. Now the very politicians, who have framed themselves as defending the public from government heavy handedness, were now sponsoring a bill that represented the ultimate in “Big Brother.” The bill died.

Framing messages has never been more important than in today’s fast paced, 24-7 media environment where it is so challenging to get people’s attention. Those who are masters of framing win the day. Public relations practitioners and advertisers have known this for a long time.

What are frames? According to the Frameworks Institute, a Washington, DC- based communications research organization focused on the nonprofit sector, frames are “organizing principles. [Framing is] the way a story is told that triggers shared and durable cultural models that people use to make sense of the world. ”

We all come to issues with frames that have been built in our minds from our experiences and beliefs. Whether we are making decisions on what car to buy, what candidate to support or whether we are for or against a particular issue, we do so through the frames we have constructed. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: FrameWorks Institute, framing, Governor Bob McDonnell, messaging, public relations, Virginia
Posted in Communication, Language, Marketing, Media, Messaging | No Comments »

Want to Communicate Better? – Take Off the Muzzle Gently

February 14th, 2012

Why is it that people cannot say what they really mean? Take, for example, the HR representative who says, “We’ll keep your resume on file,” when they don’t plan to consider you at all; or the reporter who responds to a pitch by saying, “thanks, I’ll keep it in mind,” when what she plans to do with the email is hit delete. In this age of uncivil conversation, this may be one of the most uncivil conversations there is.

On the face of it, this kind of response looks quite polite. It is designed not to offend. But actually, it shows a lack of respect because it is dishonest. It sets a false expectation–maybe they will call me when another opening occurs or maybe this reporter will do a story down the road.

For the HR person, it might be better for them to thank the applicant for their interest in XYZ Company and then say that the experience level doesn’t match what they are looking for. In the case of the reporter a simple, “Thanks but I’m not interested” is sufficient. This kind of direct, yet friendly communication lets the other person know exactly where they stand so they can move onto to something else.

Being direct, however, doesn’t mean being nasty. It is important to keep this kind of communication on a neutral plane, without judgment. Stay away from personal attacks and focus on the facts. As long as it is not mean, honest communication will be constructive and will help someone far more than sugar coating. Being mean will cause the listener to become defensive or angry and not to hear the positive intent behind what you say.

I’ll never forget going in for a performance review in my first real job. I was working as an executive assistant in an office. I hated the work and it showed. I was surly and had a really bad attitude. My work was ok but my demeanor was not and my boss told me so, saying “If you can’t do what I ask on these tasks, why should I give you more responsibility in front of clients?” And she was right. I changed by attitude and was promoted six months later. Moreover, that was a valuable lesson.

Honesty tempered with compassion is always the best policy. What do you think?

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The Best Preparation to be a Communicator: A Solid Liberal Arts Education

January 17th, 2012

Not long ago, the daughter of a friend asked me what she should major in for a career in PR. Without a moment’s hesitation, I said it doesn’t matter as long as you know how to think and how to write. If you can do those two things, you’ll be successful in PR or for that matter in almost any career.

A blog post by Michelle Singletary in the Washington Post today notes that not all majors are created equal. Her point is that any major without an internship or training more than likely will lead to no job at all. Her post was pegged to an article in the Post a week or so ago about a study that reported the majors with the highest levels of unemployment–architecture was the highest with liberal arts majors not far behind.

Singletary says that young people need to think carefully about what they major in and how much debt they go into to do so. And she is also right about getting experience. But I’d caution against picking a major just because it will get you a job. The world is changing so fast that what’s hot now might not be in five years.

But what never goes out of favor are people who can think and write. These two skills seem to be in short supply these days and they are vital in a knowledge-based economy. In our pursuit of the practical major, our young people may be missing out on a certain intellectual discipline. The valuable things about a college education are learning how to learn for a life time, learning how to work and collaborate with different types of people, and exposing and opening the mind up to new things. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: communicators, education, learning, liberal arts, michelle singletary, PR, public relations, Washington Post
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Make Negative Work For You

January 9th, 2012

Many clients ask why positive news about their organization or company doesn’t seem to get much attention. The answer is simple. Negativity is more memorable. And that’s why we are seeing so much of it in this political season.

Psychologists call this the negativity bias. Negative messaging triggers feelings of anger, fear and anxiety—emotions that have helped humans survive over the centuries. These emotions arouse the brain so we can take action: fight or flight to avoid something that might harm us.

We tend to remember the insults that require action to defend against them, versus the compliment which does not. Ruthann Weaver Lariscy, a professor in the department of advertising and public relations in the Grady College at the University of Georgia, in a discussion on negative ads in politics for CNN, notes that negative messages are also often more complex than positive ones, meaning that the brain spends more time processing them, and that causes them to stick. A negative message about a candidate, for example, usually implies some comparison, whether overtly stated or not, and that requires more effort to absorb. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Bank of America, CNN, emotional marketing, human brain, Messages, negativity bias, NPR, psychology, Ruthann Weaver Lariscy, Verizon
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Communication Takes Practice and Work

December 22nd, 2011

An advertisement on the Washington, DC Metro stated boldly: “Happiness is being able to order food without having to talk to anyone.” If happiness is about further limiting one’s contact with other humans, even for simple transactions, it spells trouble.

We already are already a polarized and fractured society. We misunderstand each other because we don’t communicate effectively. Eliminating the need to connect personally with other humans increases isolation and pushes us further away from the niceties that are the glue that helps to bind us together as a society.

When we don’t interact directly with other people, we become like athletes whose muscle mass has declined from lack of use. We have forgotten how to work our communications and persuasion muscles. All you have to do is look at the dysfunction, distrust and dissatisfaction in Congress.

The other day as I did a number of errands, I realized that I didn’t have to talk with another person the entire day. At the grocery store, I checked out using the automated cashier. At the parking garage, there was no attendant–just my card with its metallic strip that tells the machine how much to charge me. Back inthe office, I had numerous conversations and interactions via email, twitter and Facebook and didn’t utter a single sound. It was efficient but very unsatisfying.

A machine doesn’t smile at you or tell you a joke or ask you about your family. No wonder there is a whole industry of coaches, counselors and therapists that has arisen to help people reach out, listen, and communicate.

To be sure, dealing with people can be inefficient, frustrating and error prone. But the benefits of more efficient transactions don’t outweigh what we are losing. Happiness is rooted in meaningful connections with others that build trust.

What do you think?

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The Customer Service Wall of Shame

December 2nd, 2011

A few weeks ago, this blog highlighted some terrific customer service experiences, a rarity these days. Rudeness, inefficiency and callousness seem to be the norm in the relationships between companies and the people who buy and use their products and services. One of the places where customer service can be particularly bad is the doctor’s office and medical facilities where one would expect it to be otherwise.

Tops on my hall of shame this week is a Rockville doctor whom I won’t name. Why does she get this esteemed spot? For starters, her office staff was rude and insensitive. They moved a scheduled appointment because the doctor was going to be out of town, and when I got there, told me that my appointment was actually a half an hour later than the time they told me to be there for THEIR convenience not mine. Then they kept me waiting for nearly 2 hours with no explanation. Only when I said I was leaving, did the doctor magically appear for the appointment. And finally instead of the doctor calling me with lab results (all was well), I had to call several times and practically beg to speak to the doctor to answer my questions.

That is just inexcusable but it is the state of affairs in medical offices. Needless to say, I’m not going back to that doctor. And I plan to tell her why. Doctors, it seems, don’t see themselves as needing to be “customer friendly.” The sad thing is that many have adopted the worst aspects of business in an effort to achieve greater efficiencies and have lost the human touch. And patients/consumers put up with it because we often don’t know better than to demand better treatment.

People tell me not to blame the doctor for bad office staff. But like in any business, the front office staff is the face of the doctor. They convey the first and last impression. And the doctor sets the tone for the office. Doctors are being squeezed left and right by insurance companies. But when people have a choice, as I do, they will vote with their feet and that’s not good for the bottom line.

What companies or enterprises would top your customer service wall of shame? And why is customer service and caring so hard to find in the medical field these days?

And if you have a candidate for the Customer Service Hall of Fame or Wall of Shame, please share it.

Posted in Communication, Customer service, Marketing | No Comments »