Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Public Realtion
Public Realtion
Public Realtion
Instructor
Dr. Ilias Hristodoulakis, Ph.D
Athens, Greece
NATURE OF
COMMUNICATION
Maslow's hierarchy has the benefit of attempting a holistic account of human motivation,
considering a range of influences on human behaviour. It is questionable whether, in the
light of contemporary notions such as the decentred self, humanistic psychology's
conception of the self is still tenable, though it has to be said that many people who have
experienced Rogerian counselling will testify to its efficacy.
Maslow's hierarchy has also been criticised for being based on Maslow's study of
successful individuals in Western society. To what extent it might apply to non-Western
societies or to non-middle- or upper-class individuals is not clear. Nor is it clear why
there should be five stages rather than sixty-eight and it is certainly not clear why he
believes that we must progress through the stages - one could think of artists, for
example, who have shown scant regard for their survival needs, or even esteem needs,
appearing to jump straight to working on their self-actualisation.
Certainly, it is hard to see how any but totally isolated people could satisfy their survival
needs independently of, say, social needs. Hunter-gatherers live together, hunt and forage
together, their survival is entirely dependent on society. So is mine of course in the sense
that my ability to buy things from shops depends on certain infrastructures in society, but
it's also the case that I can't buy things from shops without engaging in an at least a
rudimentary form of social intercourse. To separate out each of these needs in the way
that Maslow does seems highly artificial.
Expertise: Does this person know what he's talking about? Hence the
tendency of politicians to spout statistics at the slightest provocation
and the tendency of computer consultants to use computer jargon to
people they know don't understand it.
The perceived expertise of the source is likely to be more persuasive if
the audience have no particular commitment to the subject under
discussion. If people have some knowledge of the subject, then they
probably have some arguments or counterarguments already prepared.
If not, then they'll probably use some general rule of thumb, like 'This
bloke's paid to teach Communication Studies, so I suppose he knows
what he's talking about.' (!)
So, a leader from specific local area might use a strong accent when
addressing a rally in this area, though he uses a regular one when
being interviewed on TV.
There are numerous factors which influence attractiveness, for
example the paralinguistic aspects of speech, which led Prime Minister
Thatcher to take lessons in voice control, so that she appeared less
strident and developed the sound of measured, breathy sincerity which
became her hallmark. Humour is another factor, which explains why
we find comedians being used for the voice-overs on a variety of
commercials.
Message
Is it important to argue your case?
To any rational person, it may seem self-evident that the best way to persuade
someone of your point of view is to present them with a reasoned argument. In
fact, it seems quite clear that much depends on the audience. If people are
unable, or unwilling, to pay close attention to your message and evaluate it,
then there is no point in developing a thoughtful, reasoned argument; in such a
case its better to try to use, say, classical conditioning (see the section on
conditioned reflex) as a means of persuasion. It does seem to help if you give a
reason in support of your views, but research suggests that it doesn't necessarily
have to be a particularly good reason.
In an experiment by Hellen Langer (unfortunately, I've lost the reference), she
arranged with her college librarian that all of the photocopiers but one would be
'out of order'. This rapidly produced long queues in front of the one remaining
photocopier. Her confederates then approached those in the line qith a request to
jump the queue. Not surprisingly, 'Can I use the photocopier?' was a good deal
less successful than 'Can I use the photocopier? I'm late for my class.'
Amazingly, though, 'Can I use the photocopier? I have to make some copies'
was only marginally less successful than 'I'm late for my class'.
Type of Appeal
Fear
An appeal to fear is often thought of as being an effective persuasive
device. Of course, it can be if you're actually threatening the Receiver,
but that's not what is meant here. What is meant here is that the
message appeals to fear, perhaps showing the Receiver what will
happen to her if she persists in her current behaviour. In advertising,
direct appeals to fear of this sort are strictly limited by the ASA,
though they do tend to be tolerated more in public information
advertising, e.g. an AIDS campaign.
You might expect that an appeal based on fear has to be hard-hitting to
be effective. However, a study conducted by Janis and Feschbach in
1954 suggests that a minimal appeal is likely to be more effective.
They used three different versions of a lecture on dental hygiene. The
strong appeal provoked the most tension in the audience, but the
greatest change in behaviour n conformity with the message was
produced by the minimal appeal to fear.
This probably suggests that when people feel they can do nothing about the threat then
they are not likely to change their behaviour. They may well repress their anxiety (see
defence mechanisms). An appeal to fear should probably be counterbalanced by the
reassurance that it is possible to do something about it. It's probably worth mentioning
also that Leventahl and others found in a 1956 study that a high degree of fear did
indeed lead to higher attitudinal change, in contrast to what Janis and Feshbach found. In
their case, however, they were dealing with tetanus rather than oral hygiene, which
suggests that the question of fear arousal cannot be divorced from the subject matter of
the message.
The 1992 drink-driving campaign at Christmas was particularly hard-hitting, in fact
provoking a number of complaints. It showed a close-up of a young woman with a
ventilator in her mouth, her eyes wide open in a glassy stare. The ambulance crew could
be heard busying themselves around her, as the blue lights flashed constantly across her
face. In the background we could hear an anguished motorist asking for reassurance that
she would be all right and protesting that he hadn't intended to do anyone any harm.
Great things were expected of the campaign, but it seems in fact to have been less
effective than others. A possible explanation is that the motor car is seen as an essential
part of everyday life, just as essential as walking. Cars kill, as all motorists know, but
there is nothing they can do about it. Conceivably, the ad was perceived as stating
strongly that cars kill people, rather than differentiating between the causes of accidents.
Vocabulary
If we are persuaded by an 'expert' communicator, then the chances are
that some technical jargon will increase the apparent expertise. The
ability to use certain kinds of vocabulary is also associated with the
'elaborated code' identified by Bernstein and valorised by the
education system, so that may also contribute to the apparent expertise
of the communicator.
Accent
You'll be aware no doubt of the relationship in Britain between accent
and social class, an RP accent being suggestive of status and a high
terminal level of education. The use of accent has to be balanced
against source attractiveness (see the section on the Communicator),
avoiding , for example, the possibility of being seen by certain
audiences as a 'toff'.
Humour
It's not at all clear whether it works or not. British advertisers achieved an
international reputation for their humour, but research studies show contradictory
results.
Speed
You might think, as I would, that the communicator should decrease speed in
order to be persuasive, especially if dealing with a complex topic. However, the
research shows that an increase in speed is likely to be more persuasive - anything
up to 50% faster, in fact! This probably connects with the notion of 'expertise'. If
a communicator can speak fast about a complex issue, then they must know what
they're talking about. It also has the advantage of shutting other people out,
denying them the opportunity to interrupt before you've finished what you have to
say. It's not necessarily as simple as that, though, since a range of variables have
to be taken into account. I, for example, tend to be put off by suits, so someone
wearing a suit and talking fast might well be dismissed by me as merely 'slick'
rather than 'expert'. Speaking fast can be helpful if you're arguments are weak,
because it doesn't give your audience time for cognitive processing of your
arguments. However, if you have strong arguments, it can be useful to slow down
precisely in order to allow cognitive processing to take place.
Selection
I would have thought, as with speed above, that you would increase your apparent
expertise by packing in as many arguments as possible. In fact, it seems that you're
more likely to be persuasive if you limit yourself to the most important and
strongest arguments only.
From the point of view of cognitive response theory, though, this does make sense.
If you present your weaker arguments, you give the receiver the opportunity to
formulate negative cognitive responses. By giving your audience, say, six weak
arguments and two strong ones, you give them the opportunity to form six negative
responses and only two positive ones. Remember that it is not the arguments
themselves which are normally later recalled by receivers, but their own reactions
to those arguments (i.e. their cognitive responses), so you would be best advised to
limit yourself to the two strong arguments.
To an extent, this will depend upon the audience's sense of involvement in the
issue. As we have seen with the question of expertise, they will tend to use some
general rule of thumb if their involvement is not high, saying something like, 'she's
got a lot of arguments, so I suppose she must know what she's talking about. An
uninvolved audience won't even bother to distinguish between weak and strong
arguments, so, in such a case, your best bet would be to produce all your
arguments, whether weak or strong.
Ordering
If you can't avoid giving the bad news, then, according to research, it's
best to give the good news first.
This may be connected with the general perception that 'first
impressions count'. However, it's not entirely clear that they do. In an
experiment conducted by Tomorrow's World on March 25 1995,
viewers were shown a man being interviewed for an ambulance
driver's job. In fact, without the viewers' knowledge, two different
versions of the interview were shown in the east and west of the
country. In the east, the interviewee began by giving the 'good news',
namely that he had been in the army medical corps where he had learnt
various skills and ended with the bad news, namely that, since leaving
the army he had never held down a job for long. In the west exactly the
same information was given, but with the 'bad news' first. In the east
45% of viewers would have given him the job; in the west 54% would
have given him the job. This strongly suggests that first impressions do
not count for much and that it's best to end with the 'good news'.
Conclusion drawing
Hovland's research results are unclear here. Hovland tends to assume
that you should draw the conclusions for your audience where
complex issues are involved. He also seems to believe that it depends
on your assessment of the audience's intelligence.
Timing
The time delay between your presentation of your case and the
audience's having to reach a decision on it is of some importance.
The first side has the advantage when the second side immediately
follows and there is a delay before the receivers reach a decision.
The second side has the advantage if the receivers are to reach a
decision immediately after presentation of the two cases, if there is a
gap between presentation of the first and second sides.
Repetition
Research (following up Zajon's findings in the 60s) has shown again and again
that repeated exposure to a stimulus will increase subjects' liking for that
stimulus. It doesn't seem to matter whether the stimulus is one which would
normally be judged positively or negatively, nor even whether subjects are
aware that they are more familiar with the stimulus than they are with others.
The research seems to suggest that this is more likely to be the case with
complex, rather than simple, stimuli.
So it does seem that, say, a political party with plenty of money for the
campaign has a better chance, simply because it stands more chance of using
the media to increase exposure to its messages and its candidates.
Repetition, then, will certainly strengthen a message, but you can soon reach
the point of diminishing returns and that, of course, is something that
advertisers have to bear in mind. We all know from seeing the same ad for
what seems like the thousandth time that too much exposure can lower our
liking of a message. The problem, naturally, is to be able to gauge where the
point of diminishing returns lies.
Research tends to show relatively little effect of any of the mass media - the
so-called 'limited effects' paradigm, which emerges quite strongly from the
empirical research tradition in the USA. However, it is possible that that is a
deficiency of the research rather than of the media. It is often argued that since
the American researchers were looking for clearly measurable effects they
tended to concentrate on the short-term and thus may have missed the longer
term and more diffuse effects.
A very important piece of research was conducted by Katz and Lazarsfeld into
the effects of radio propaganda in the 1940s. Their research led them to
formulate their Two-Step Flow Model of mass media communication, which
still underlies much communication practice today.
In essence, it emphasises the importance of the influence of our social contacts
in influencing our interpretation of media messages. Sophisticated political
'spin doctors' continue to recognise today that the best form of advertising is
word-of-mouth advertising. They don't only need to persuade us as individuals
of the validity of what they have to say. They must also persuade the people
we come into contact with, especially the 'opinion leaders' in our lives.
Selective exposure
The Labour Party spin doctors know that Conservative Party voters
will switch off when the Labour election broadcast is on and viceversa. We will tend actively to seek out those messages which support
the view we already have and avoid those which may challenge it.
This applies not only to the mass media, but also to interpersonal
communication. For example, it is well known that those with a
positive self-image will tend to remember positive comments made
about them, and those with a negative self-image will tend to
remember the negative ones. (See also the sections on
Selective Attention and Cognitive Consistency).
Selective attention
We maybe can't avoid being exposed to messages we don't like, but
there is plenty of evidence that in such a case we won't pay much
attention to them
Selective interpretation
Even if we are exposed and do attend to messages which conflict with
our views, the chances are that we will interpret them in such a way
that they do fit what we already believe. However good the Labour
Party's arguments might be, the chances are that the Conservative
voter will dismiss them as a load of nonsense.
An excellent example of this is provided by Kendall and Woolf's
analysis of reactions to anti-racist cartoons. The cartoons featured Mr
Biggott whose absurdly racist ideas were intended to discredit bigotry.
In fact 31% failed to recognise that Mr Biggott was racially prejudiced
or that the cartoons were intended to be anti-racist (Kendall & Wolff
(1949) in Curran (1990)).
Interpersonal communication
Visual channel
Physical attractiveness of the Communicator is certainly important and there
are other factors we can be fairly certain of.
The following seem to undermine the persuasiveness of a message:
narrow pupil dilation
a closed and symmetrical posture
self-touching ('self-grooming')
very high and very low levels of eye contact
Auditory channel
In the auditory channel, a high pitch, lots of hesitations, erm's, like's,
sort of's and tag question like 'won't he?', 'didn't he?' etc. will tend to
reduce credibility.
Age
Age is an important variable. People reach maximum persuasability around
the age of nine. Hence the Hitler Youth, East Germany's Young Pioneers and,
for that matter, the Cubs and Brownies.
Sex
Sex appears to be of some limited significance, women apparently being more
easily persuadable than men. However, this research was conducted a long
time ago when women saw themselves and their rle differently, so this may
well have changed.
Personality
Personality variables such as self-esteem, anxiety and depression have an
influence on persuadability. Janis's research suggests that people with low selfesteem are likely to be relatively easily persuaded - which may partly explain
the success of Hitler's propaganda and the success of right-wing parties today
in another era of mass unemployment. See especially the section on the
authoritarian personality.
Group norms
The norms of a group apparently serve to protect members from outside
influence. The more important group members consider their membership of the
group to be, the less likely they are to be persuaded by messages which
undermine the group norms.
Beliefs ('self-schemata')
The pattern of the receiver's beliefs will in part determine whether the message is
given serious attention in the first place. (For further information, see the sections
on Selective attention, Consistency theory and Attitudes.)
The persuasive impact of a message can be increased if it is anchored in the
system of beliefs and values of the receiver.
This seems to be evident in the close parallels between Nazi symbolism and
ceremony on the one hand and Christian rituals on the other. The swastika
replaced the cross on Christmas trees and in public squares and on fountains at
Christmas time just as the Christian cross had been before. Hitler was also careful
to ensure that his rhetoric echoed the values of the 'old guard'. In a not dissimilar
way, Mrs Thatcher, whose programme was entirely revolutionary in its impact,
was careful to refer back to Churchill, the British Empire, Victorian values and
family values.
Social groups
Katz and Lazarsfeld's Two-Step Flow Model makes it clear that,
whether we receive media messages in isolation or not, their effect will
be mediated by the social groups we belong to. The pattern of our
social relationships will determine how we ultimately interpret the
messages we have received.
If the Communicator has some way of influencing those groups,
notably the opinion leaders within the, then she will increase her
chances of success. Education programmes based on the media, such
as those aimed at farmers in third world countries, are often coupled
with group meetings. In the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany,
propaganda messages were often broadcast into factories or public
squares where people would gather together to listen to them.
A public commitment before a group to a particular belief or point of
view is also more likely to be durable than a private commitment - see
for example Alcoholics Anonymous or various religious groups.
Active Participation
Janis and King demonstrated that people who participate actively in
disseminating a message are more likely to be persuaded by it.
Resistance
The notion of cognitive responses suggests that it should be possible to
inoculate people against a message. For example, when you give people your
arguments, you should also give the counterarguments to your position and at
the same time provide refutations of those counterarguments. You will thus be
providing your audience with cognitive responses which can be generated
when they hear those counterarguments. It doesn't matter much whether they
remember your refutations or not. The important thing is that they should
remember their reactions, namely 'Oh, yes, I remember that that argument's
rubbish.'
Boomerang effect
Finally it may be worth mentioning the boomerang effect, where, despite the
best intentions of the communicator the message is rejected. I have chosen to
list it under 'receiver' since it is clearly the receiver who rejects the message,
though the boomerang effect is not solely due to characteristics of the receiver
herself. Merton (1949) suggested the following as possible causes of the
effect:
the communicator, in forming the message, makes false assumptions about, or
has misleading data about the audience and therefore misses her target
the communicator faces the dilemma of dealing with an audience which is so
heterogeneous that she cannot form a meaningful message for all of them nor
possibly formulate enough messages to reach all the subsidiary target groups
to a receiver who is not fully attending various parts of the message seem to
contradict others
the examples the communicator uses to illustrate her message do not
correspond to the receivers' experiences
Relative advantage
Compatibility
Complexity
Trialability
Observability
types of adopters
- Types of adopters
- Innovators
- Early adopters
- Early majority
- Late majority
- Laggards
PUBLIC OPINION
- Multi-step model
source message channel Opinion Leader message receiver.
PERSUASION
What is persuasion?
Is an activity or process in which a communicator attempts to induce a change
in the belief, attitude, or behavior of another person or group of persons
through the transmission of a message in a context in which the persuade has
some degree of free choice
Use of Persuasion
- Change or neutralize hostile opinion
- Crystallize latent opinions and positive attitudes
- Conserve favorable opinions
Audience analysis
Source credibility
Appeal to self-interest
Clarity of message
Timing and context
Audience participation
Suggestions for action
Content and structure of
messages (drama, statistics,
emotional/rational appeal, etc)
Persuasive speaking
LIMITATION FACTORS
Lack of penetration
Competing message
Self-selecting
Self-perception
PROPAGANDA
What is propaganda?
It is the deliberate and systematic attempt to shape perceptions,
manipulate cognition, and direct behavior to achieve a response that
furthers the desired intend of the propagandist.
Techniques
- Plain folks
- Testimonial
- Card-stacking
- Transfer
- Glittering generalities
- Name-calling
Propaganda
"The first casualty when war comes is Truth" -- U.S.
Senator Hiram Johnson, 1917
"It is easier to dominate someone if they are unaware
of being dominated. Colonised and colonisers both know
that domination is not just based on physical
supremacy. Control of hearts and minds follows military
conquest. Which is why any empire that wants to last
must capture the souls of its subjects." -- Ignacio
Ramonet
"In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always
be attended by a bodyguard of lies." -- Winston
Churchill (British Prime Minister during World War II)
Propaganda
It may seem strange to suggest that the study of propaganda has
relevance to contemporary politics. After all, when most people think
about propaganda, they think of the enormous campaigns that were
waged by Hitler and Stalin in the 1930s. Since nothing comparable is
being disseminated in our society today, many believe that propaganda
is no longer an issue.
But propaganda can be as blatant as a swastika or as subtle as a joke.
Its persuasive techniques are regularly applied by politicians,
advertisers, journalists, radio personalities, and others who are
interested in influencing human behaviour. Propagandistic messages
can be used to accomplish positive social ends, as in campaigns to
reduce drunk driving, but they are also used to win elections and to
sell malt liquor.
Propaganda
Propaganda
"We believe in, fight for, live by virtue words about which we have deep-set
ideas. Such words include civilization, Christianity, good, proper, right,
democracy, patriotism, motherhood, fatherhood, science, medicine, health, and
love.
For our purposes in propaganda analysis, we call these virtue words
"Glittering Generalities" in order to focus attention upon this dangerous
characteristic that they have: They mean different things to different people;
they can be used in different ways.
This is not a criticism of these words as we understand them. Quite the
contrary. It is a criticism of the uses to which propagandists put the cherished
words and beliefs of unsuspecting people.
When someone talks to us about democracy, we immediately think of our own
definite ideas about democracy, the ideas we learned at home, at school, and in
church. Our first and natural reaction is to assume that the speaker is using the
word in our sense, that he believes as we do on this important subject. This
lowers our 'sales resistance' and makes us far less suspicious than we ought to
be when the speaker begins telling us the things 'the United States must do to
preserve democracy.'
You shall not press down upon the brow of labour this
crown of thorn. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross
of gold! -- William Jennings Bryan, 1896
"Transfer is a device by which the propagandist carries
over the authority, sanction, and prestige of something we
respect and revere to something he would have us accept.
For example, most of us respect and revere our church and
our nation. If the propagandist succeeds in getting church
or nation to approve a campaign in behalf of some
program, he thereby transfers its authority, sanction, and
prestige to that program. Thus, we may accept something
which otherwise we might reject.
This logical sleight of hand often provides the basis for an effective fearappeal. Consider the following contemporary examples:
If Congress passes legislation limiting the availability of automatic weapons,
America will slide down a slippery slope which will ultimately result in the
banning of all guns, the destruction of the Constitution, and a totalitarian
police state.
If the United States approves NAFTA, the giant sucking sound that we hear
will be the sound of thousands of jobs and factories disappearing to Mexico.
The introduction of communication tools such as the Internet will lead to a
radical decentralization of government, greater political participation, and a
rebirth of community.
When a communicator attempts to convince you that a particular action will
lead to disaster or to utopia, it may be helpful to ask the following questions:
Is there enough data to support the speaker's predictions about the future?
Can I think of other ways that things might turn out?
If there are many different ways that things could turn out, why is the
speaker painting such an extreme picture?
PERSUASION ETHICS
Code of ethics to be used by PR practitioners:
Do not use false evidence
Do not use specious reasoning
Do not falsely represent yourself
Do not use irrelevant appeals as diversions
Do not make false links to favorable values, motives, or goals
Do not conceal your purpose or interest
Do not cover up consequences
Do not use baseless emotional appeals
Do not oversimplify complex situations
Do not feign certainty
Do not advocate what you don't believe yourself
Once goals and objectives are in place, they can be drawn upon to plan
campaigns and programs.
Research on the problem or opportunity
Action that includes evaluation and planning
Communication of the message from organization to publics, and
Evaluation of the effects of those messages
Grunigs Behavioral Molecule further broke the management steps into:
detecting a problem
constructing a possible solution
defining alternatives
selecting the best course of action
confirming the choice by pre-testing
behaving by enacting a program, and then returning to the process of
detecting whether the program met the desired objectives.
Focus group interviews are a marketing research technique that has been
successful adopted by the needs of public relations practitioners. They do not
yield the strictly quantitative data that can be gotten from a survey.
They have the advantage of being open-ended and permitting members of
target groups to speak in their own term of understanding, provide their own
emphasis, and response to the views expressed by other members of the same
group.
The focus group interview requires trained moderators and equipments for
recording the session. Audio and/or video tapes have to be put in transcript
form, and then the transcript must be summarized and analyzed.
Sometimes focus group interviews are used as the basis for designing the
questionnaires used in survey research, creating a valuable linkage between
the two devices and enriching the value of both.
The Final Stage of Research is the Analysis of the Collected Information
Identifying your key publics-those groups that are more likely to seek and
process information and to behave in a way consequences on your
organization- is a fundamental aim of the process we call public relations
management.
Once target audiences have been selected, it is important to decide what
message each group needs to receive from your organization. Rarely does an
information campaign give precisely the same message to each of its publics.
Thats because careful analysis shows that each public has a different stake in
the organization.
A campaign that wants to promote Greek made products it can be spelled
out in three different audiences
Audience
Message
Retailers
A made is Greece label is a valuable selling tool
Manufacturers
Producing at home is a good business
Consumers
Made in Greece means quality
We have learned to identify key publics and make sure that their information
needs are served before we concern ourselves with the so-called general
public.
The campaign or program aimed at the most important publics needs to be
fully funded before additional money is spent on programs aimed on
secondary publics-a concept explored.
If key public have not been identified in the planning stage, there is a
likelihood that a little money will be spent on this, and a little on that- an
advertisement here, T-shirts there, and probably an all-purpose brochure just
because somebody says we ought to have a brochure.
Budgeting must follow the setting of goals and objectives, and it also must
follow the identification of key publics. It precedes media selection and
message design.
If budgeting is done at the wrong point in the process, it is difficult for public
relations people to explain their financial needs to management. If on the other
hand, the homework has been done, management can better understand the
request for the Euros needed to accomplish the objectives set for the key
publics.
Employee Relationship
The first public of any organization is its employees-the people who
make it what it is.
An organization is "a human community" that needs the contributions
of everyone to function and be successful.
Many times it appears that management does not recognize this fact.
Sometimes managers act as if they are the organization and the others
just an impediment.
An interchange at the annual meeting of an auto company illuminates
the truth of the matter. shareholder asked the CEO why funds were
being allocated to improve employee benefits instead of increasing
dividends. "Because," he responded, "you and don't know how to
build cars, and they do!"
The situation is complicated by the fact that, in the overwhelming
majority of organizations today, the managers and administrators
technically are also employees.
DANGEROUS ATTITUDE
It is easy, and perhaps all too common, to view employees as a cost in a
line-item budget determining the price of a product or service. This attitude
fosters the idea that the less an organization has to pay its employees, the
lower the price of the product or service, and, therefore, the more
competitive the product or service can be in the marketplace.
Another major change in the employer-employee relationship is
automation. The computer radical1y changes the role of the individual in
the workplace.
The trend is to a downsizing of the work force and to a service oriented
economy. This movement creates major reshuffling of jobs and people,
with a1l the emotional stress problems attendant on such upheava1 and
readjustment. Layoffs and restructuring of organizations also weaken the
loyalty of workers-which can affect morale and productivity.
Audience Research
The final area of research involves precisely defining the employee audiences
to be targeted for communication. These audiences can be identified using the
following terms:
Management
Upper-level administrators Midlevel administrators Lower-level
administrators
Non-management (staff): Specialists, Clerical personnel, Secretarial personnel
Uniformed personnel: Equipment operators Drivers, Security personnel
Union representatives
Other blue collar workers
Effective research on employee relations is for
understanding of the client's personnel,
the opportunity or problem that serves as a reason for communication with
the workforce, and
the specific identification of the employee audiences to be targeted for
communication.
Output Objectives
Output objectives constitute the efforts made by the practitioner to
accomplish such desired outcomes as employee recognition and
regular employee communication. Such as:
1. prepare and distribute employee communications on a weekly
basis
2. schedule interpersonal communication between management and
a specific employee group each month (specify groups and months)
PROGRAMMING
Evaluation
Impact and output objectives can be evaluated using the same tools of
measurement as in other forms of public relations.
Follow-up surveys. These yield quantitative measures of the stated
objectives. Objectives were also assessed through publicity placement and
employee participation in the programs.
Again, remember that to be effective and useful to the organization,
research - both initial and evaluative - should be conducted by trained,
experienced professionals who work for reputable research firms.
Community relations
This attitude has changed. Employers now know that they must have
more than a general concern for the efficiency and adequacy of
community services for themselves and for their employees. They
have learned that they must become involved in specific community
decisions and actions concerning fiscal policies; honesty in public
offices; attracting new businesses and holding older ones; planning for
the future; generating the enthusiasm of volunteers in charitable,
cultural, fellowship, educational, recreationa1, business, and patriotic
endeavours and that, in general they must apply the collective talents
of the organization to the community in which it operates.
COMMUNITY ISSUES
Community Research
Audience Research
The final aspect of community relations research consists of carefully identifying
audiences to be targeted for communication and learning as much about each audience as
possible. Community publics can be subdivided into three major groups:
community media,
community leaders, and
community organizations.
Impact Objectives
Impact objectives for community relations involve informing the
community audiences or modifying their attitudes or behaviors. Some
examples are:
1. increase (by 30 percent this year) community knowledge of the
operations of the organization, including its products, services,
employees, and support of community projects
2. promote (20 percent) more favourable community opinion to
ward the organization (during a specified time period)
3. gain (15 percent) greater organizational support from community
leaders (during a particular campaign)
4. encourage (20 percent) more feedback from community leaders
(during the current year)
Output Objectives
Programming
Actions) or Special Events
Actions and special events most often associated with community
relations are:
1. An organizational open house and tour of facilities
2. Sponsorship of special community events or projects
3. Participation of management and other personnel in volunteer
community activities
4. Purchase of advertising in local media
5. Contribution of funds to community organizations or causes
6. Meetings with community leaders
7. Membership of management and personnel in a variety of
community organizations-civic, professional, religious
8. Participation of management and workers in the political affairs of
the community-service in political office and on councils and boards
Effective Communication
Evaluation
If the objectives of the community relations program have been
phrased specifically and quantitatively, their evaluation should be
relatively easy. The success of a program should be directly linked to
its attainment of the objectives stated at the program's outset.
Research for community relations assesses the organization's
reputation and its existing and potential problems with the community.
Targeting audiences usually includes a detailed analysis of community
media, leaders, and organizations.
Impact objectives for community relations are such desired outcomes
as informing or influencing the attitudes and behaviours of the
community. Output objectives consist of a listing of public relations
efforts to enhance the organization's relations with the community.
Media Relations
Media relations does indeed make up the core of most public relation
programs- in part because of the historical development of public relations as
an attempt to control and influence media coverage of organizations.
Although the media are critical to public relations, many practitioners become
so preoccupied with media coverage that they forget why relationships with
the mass media are important.
Many practitioners consider the media to be the public for their organization
and believe that media coverage automatically means that they have reached
and influences a large audience This is far away from the truth.
Media relations occupies a central position in public relations because the
media serves as a gatekeeper who control the information that flows the
publics in a social system. Media workers really arent publics in the sense
that they are affected by organizational consequences that do not affect other
people.
But, in another sense, journalists are publics. They seek and process
information just like other people, then pass on that information to their
readers and viewers. The communication behavior of journalists, therefore,
sets limits on the information available for other publics to seek and process.
Media Relations
An Area of Conflict
Journalists feel overwhelmed by mass of press agents and publicists- flacks,
as they call PR people- who dump unwanted press releases on their desk and
push self-serving stories that have little new value.
Public relations practitioners, on the other hand, feel that they are at the mercy
of reporters and editors who are biased against their organization, who would
rather expose then explain, and who know little about the complexities of their
organization.
Media Relations
What Helps and What Hurts Media Relations
You will probably find it easier to learn a few principles, however, from which
you can derive more specific rules of press relations. Our four models of
public relations provide such principles.
Develop a brief statement of the companys position on the topic or issue. The
statement should present the situation in a positive light and have the approval
of company management.
Identify and coach your spokesperson and others who may be called by the
news media. Rehearse them to avoid answers that can be taken out of context,
and have them practice aloud, converting tough questions to positive points.
Never issue a non comment statement
Never lie. Discuss positive actions, but stick to the facts.
If you dont know the answer to the question, find out the reporters deadline
and call back with the appropriate information.
Media Relations
Never repeat the negative. If a reporter asks a negatively phrased question and
you repeat the negative words, then you should know that the negative words,
the negative impression will survive along after the facts. Positive responses
are best.
Use transition techniques to give a straight answer to the questions and move
the conversation in the direction you desire. Bridge to positive points.
Speak in a conversational ton. Avoid jargon, and provide examples or
anecdotes to illustrate your points.
In television or radio interviews, frame responses in quick bites. Do not
provide a lengthy background in order to reach a conclusion.
Remain calm, courteous, and cooperative regardless of where the reporter is
headed.
Media Relations
Press Agentry Abuses.
Most of the abuses of the press that spoil PRs relationship with the press stem
from the press agent / publicity model.
Threads to withhold advertising if editors do not use an item, or a promise
to buy advertising if they do use it.
Calling an executive of a newspaper or broadcast station to pressure
his/her reporters
Sending reams of news releases with little news value to an extensive
massive mailing list of media that have no use of them (very common
practice for showing to superiors or clients that we are constantly busy)
Taking the attitude that the more releases sent, the greater the chance that
they will be used, in the belief that editors use them randomly when they
have space to fill.
Catering to TV at the expense of print media, in press conferences
Sending multiple copies to different departments of the same organization
Failing to understand how news media work (deadlines, news values, and
beats)
Media Relations
Public Information Abuses
Usually the specialist following this model of PR are working as journalist in
residence
Two of the most common errors of this model are:
The jargon error: often they write in a coded language mostly because their
work must be cleared by superiors
The Parkinsons law error: this is the production of press releases to fill the time
available. Although there is no need for articles, because of free time the
specialist write many articles without news value
Two Way Press Relations
Both the practitioners of two way asymmetric and two way symmetric models of
PR approach their task more systematically, they make fewer errors that
alienate them from journalists, and they do more research and planning.
There are some conflicts, however, that still result from the asymmetric model
because media relations specialists usually try to control coverage of their
organization and to limit it to organizational PR objectives.
Media Relations
Symmetric practitioners, on the other hand, think less about controlling the
content of information that flows from their organization to the media.
Their objective is to open up their organization to the media and to help journalists
cover it, in the belief that such openness and assistance will result in more
accurate and less biased coverage.
Some suggestions for creating effective symmetric media relation are:
Send out fewer press releases and rely more on direct contact with journalists, at
both their initiative and yours .
Be available to the media
Call reporters when you think you have a story that interests them (make sure that
the story has a local angle or content relevant to the reporters publication)
Set up interviews for journalists with management or specialists in your
organization. Help the reporters to cover your organization don't try to do it
for them.
Instead of press releases, send to the media a sheet of one paragraph news tips that
they can follow up themselves.
Media Relations
Interview people in your organization yourself and record the interview on
cassette tapes. Provide these tapes to journalists so that they can integrate the
interview into their own stories.
Set up an information storage and retrieval system in which you maintain fact
sheets, complete articles, interviews, and background information. Have this
data base available to the journalists. Make sure to update the information
regularly.
Take a chance on the accuracy and responsibility of the news media. The more
open you can make your organization, the greater is the likelihood of fair and
accurate media coverage
Media Relations
Media Relations in a Crisis: The three asymmetrical models assume that
the flow of information to the media can be controlled. During a crisis,
the media become active in seeking info related to the organization.
However, the media go to sources other than the organization
experiencing the crisis.
Research has shown that symmetrical communication is even more
important than the predetermined plan during a crisis.
Media Relations
Some Key points about Journalists
- Most of us think of journalists as communicators who disseminate information, but
they also seek and process information when they cover events, interview new
sources, or assign stories.
- Although we see journalists as active seekers of information, more of their behavior
can be described as the passive processing of information rewriting press
releases, routinely covering events or hearings, reacting to the initiative of new
sources.
- If reporters process information more than they seek it, then media relations
specialists can influence their communication behavior much more than they could
if reporters actively sought information.
Media Relations
Media Relations
at the organizational level, media specialists would work with editors to get a
story assigned to a reporter
At the Institutional level, they would stage events and cater to the tendency
of one reporter to copy others.
The Role of the Media
- Hypodermic needle theory assuming powerful; media effects on attitudes
and behavior
- Agenda Setting Theory assuming that there is a strong relationship between
the amount of space given to different issues in the media and the
importance people think those issues have.
Media Relations
A story must be on the media agenda for some time 3 to 5 months before people become
thoroughly aware of it.
Newspapers seem to set the public agenda more than television.
Television introduces issues but doesnt stay with them long enough to affix them on the
public agenda. Newspapers do.
Not all people pick up personal agendas from the media to the same degree as other people. In
particular, the more involved people are with issues, the less the media affect how important
these people think the issues are.
Involved people actively seek information form many sources. They dont process passively
from the media
People with a high need for orientation (uncertainty about a problem) they accept the media
agenda more than people with less uncertainty.
When people dont have cognitions about important issues they develop them from the most
ubiquitous source of information the media.
Skillful media relations people can get issues of concern to their organizations on the agenda
for public discussion, and they can be involved in the discussion when other groups build the
agenda although they dont control the outcome, they are able to interject the organizations
position and get peoples attention.
Evaluation of the Media Agenda
Most media relations specialists already use a commercial clipping service so that they
can evaluate their work
Unfortunately they use clippings in a wrong way
One aspect of financial affairs that increasingly affects the national mood is
investors evaluations of the corporations in which they have invested. The
major measurements are Euros sales volume, profit, the increase or decrease in
interest or dividends paid, and whether the price of the stock or bond has
increased or decreased from the original purchase price. Other factors include
the rank of the company among competitors in its field and what percentage of
dividends are paid in comparison with the purchase price.
Experts in the financial world who make a living, and sometimes a fortune, by
analysing and trading equities for themselves and for customers have to be
aware of changing conditions in the money supply, raw materials prices,
international monetary affairs, national economies around the world, and much
more. They use sophisticated measurement tools such as stock market trend
lines, a company' s management capabilities, debt to asset ratio, and several
others.
Today, with stock market news and international monetary or economic status
constantly reported and talked about, public relations practitioners also must
keep abreast of these topics.
Corporations are not ordained by Mother Nature but are a creation of the state.
Until the early 1800s, someone starting a business had no "corporate shield"
but put all his or her assets at risk. If the business failed, the owner was
personally responsible for all debts to the point of personal bankruptcy.
Because this situation discouraged the formation of new business, laws were
enacted allowing for the formation of corporations-business entities in which
shareholders risk only the amount of their investment.
What the state creates it can regulate. Regulatory measures started a long time
ago. In addition to regulations in interstate commerce mandated by the U.S.
Constitution, the federal government began to institute more stringent (tough)
controls over business. In 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed, aimed
at concentration or monopoly within several industries. This act was
supplemented by the Clayton Act in 1914, and in the same year, the Federal
Trade Commission Act set up a mechanism to keep channels of interstate trade
open to competition. The 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression of
the 1930s stimu1ated legislative and regulatory actions in the investment area.
Corporate growth has become a1most a religion in industry. The means of getting
to heaven has involved huge investment in research and technology,
diversification of products and services, acquisitions, mergers, conglomeration,
and mu1tinationalization.
From these actions has come an increasing concentration of corporate ownership
among a few thousand very wealthy individuals, investment funds, and banking
and insurance interests, both national and foreign. Boards of directors of huge
corporations more and more have been woven in a crisscross pattern of a few
thousand individuals whose views of the system are similar and whose attitude is
dependably reactive when the system comes under criticism of any kind.
In the 1970s and 1980s, conditions were not reassuring for the small investor or
average wage earner. Inflation helped wages but hurt buying power. Borrowed
money for car or home was at high interest rates, mortgaging the future. Available
jobs for traditional functions shrank as corporations went abroad for cheap labour
and automation displaced people. Savings decreased or disappeared for many.
In the latter 1980s, conditions were ripe for the rich to get richer and for the highrolling risk takers and arbitrageurs to find market manipulation and insider
trading irresistible. The mood seemed to be that "anything goes if you don't get
caught." Each new rumour of a corporate raid, takeover, issuance of junk bonds,
or bit of privileged information spurred speculation.
Government Relations
Government Relations
Boston University survey showed that 67 percent of the responding
companies monitored government activity in Washington through their
trade associations.
Second on the list were frequent trips to Washington by senior public
affairs officers and corporate executives;
58 percent of the respondents said they engaged in this activity.
Almost 45 percent of the responding firms reported that they also
had a company office in the nation's capital.
Government relations specialists spend a great amount of time
disseminating information about the company's position to a variety of
key publics.
Spoken tactics may include an informal office visit to a
government official or testimony at a public hearing. n addition,
public affairs people are often called upon to give a speech or
write one for a senior executive
Lobbying
Lobbying is closely aligned with governmental relations or public
affairs, and the distinction between the two often blurs. This is because
most campaigns to influence impending legislation hae multiple
levels.
One leel is informing and convincing the public about the
correctness of the organization's view point, which the public
affairs specialist does.
Lobbying, on the other hand, is a more specific activity. Webster's New
World Dictionry defines a lobbyist as "a person . . . who tries to
influence the voting on legislation or the decisions of government
administrators:' In other words, a lobbyist directs his or her energies to
the defeat, passage, or amendment of proposed legislation and
regulatory agency policies.
good example of how the two functions work in tandem is how
Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm, responded when it was accused
of massive negligence in covering up the financial problems of Enron,
the energy company, just before it went bankrupt.
Public affairs specialists for the accounting firm had the major job of
reassuring the public and influential financial leaders that the company
had the scandal under control and was taking steps to maintain the
credibility of the brand name. One approach was a series of issue
advertisements titled 'ndersen will do what is right."
At the same time, Andersen hired a number of high-powered lobbyists
with good connections to the Bush administration and the House
Commerce Committee to assure that the U.S. Congress would not pass
legislation that would place more restrictions on the accounting firm
and the industry.
Andersen's ability to reach key legislators was assisted by its longterm program of political contributions. Since 1991, the company had
contributed corporate "soft money" to national party committees. In a
ten-year period, the Republican Party received $2.5 million and the
Democratic Party had received $859,000. The accounting firm,
through its political action committees (PACs), also contributed
$146,000 to the presidential campaign of George W. Bush.
PR and Campaigning
The tools of today's political campaign are many and varied. Constant
focus groups and polls continually test messages and determine the
"hot" buttons of the voter. Extensive use of modern communications
technology such as satellite media tours and video news releases, bulk
faxing of background material, and the use of the Internet have greatly
expanded message delivery.
According to James Perry, writing in The Wall Street Journal: The new
media label covers a broad band of new technologies. With satellites,
candidates can, and do, hold rallies in several places at once;
strategists in different parts of the country meet in teleconference,
direct mail gives way to videocassettes delivered door to door; voters
with personal computers log on to candidate bulletin boards and call
up vast amounts of information. It's an explosion of technology.
Here are several ethical guidelines for people working in political public
relations formulated by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA):
1. It is the responsibility of professionals practicing political public relations to
be conversant with the various local, state, and federal statutes governing such
activities and to adhere to them strictly. This includes laws and regulations
governing lobbying, political contributions, disc1osure, e1ections, libel,
slander, and the like.
2. Members shall represent clients or employers in good faith, and while
partisan advocacy on behalf of a candidate or public issue is expected,
members shall act in accord with the public interest and adhere to truth and
accuracy and to generally accepted standards of good taste.
3. Members shall not issue descriptive material or any advertising or pub1icity
information or participate in the preparation or use thereof which is not signed
by responsible persons or is false, misleading, or unlabeled as to its source,
and are obligated to use care to avoid dissemination of any such material.
Since the time of the ancient Egyptians 5000 years ago, governments have
always engaged in what is known in the 21st century as public information,
public relations, and public affairs.
The Rosetta Stone, discovered by Napoleon's troops and used by scholars as
the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphics, turned out to be a publicity
release for the reign of Ptolemy V.
Ju1ius Caesar was known in his day as a master of staged events in which his
army's entrances into Rome after successfu1 batt1es were highly orchestrated.
There has always been a need for government communications, if for no other
reason than to inform citizens of the services availab1e and the manner in
which they may be used. n a democracy, pub1ic information is crucia1 if
citizens are to make intelligent judgments about the policies and activities of
their e1ected representatives. Through information it is hoped that citizens will
have the necessary background to participate fully n the formation of
government po1icies.
The objectives of government information efforts have been summarized by
William Ragan, former director of public affairs for the United States Civi1
Service Commission:
Consumer Relations
"Who are the three most important publics?"
The answer is "Customers, customers, and customers." If you
don't succeed in attracting and then building continuing
relationships with them, you'11 be out of business and nothing else
will matter.
During the rise of marketing as a cure-all in the mid-1980s, this view
frequently prevailed in corporations. Hospitals, universities, public
agencies, and even churches adopted marketing as a response to the
increasing competition for people's interest and dollars.
On balance, the marketing revolution was helpful to many
organizations-particularly large or very successful companies, which
had often forgotten that it is the customer who pays the bill, and to notfor-profit entities, who often treated users of services as a nuisance to
their routine, rather than the reason for their existence.
Consumer Relations
Ironically, while this trend re-established a key point of public relations
philosophy, it sometimes pushed public relations departments into a
secondary role to marketing.
much debated point has been whether public relations is a part of
marketing or vice versa or whether they are both essential strategic
services and thus equal factors.
The question has become prominent because marketing has become a
part of organizations that have not traditionally used marketing
concepts. Hospitals in particular began marketing their "products" in
an effort to gain their share of the health care market. Their patients
began making it clear they did not want to be sold health care, and
hospitals retreated-putting the function back into perspective.
Marketing and public relations share some fundamental concepts.
These include analyzing market opportunities (research), selecting
target markets (publics / audiences), developing a marketing mix
(communication and action plan), and managing the marketing effort
(evaluation).
Consumer Relations
The sharing of these concepts illustrates the close working relationship
of the two fields. However, public relations and marketing are two
different fields.
PR reporter illustrated the differences, stating that public relations as a
strategy does four things marketing cannot do:
Public relations is concerned about internal relations and publics.
Public relations cares about non customer external publics and the
environment in which the organization operates.
Public relations operates on the policies of human nature (what
makes the individual tick), whereas marketing focuses on
consumer behaviour (purchasing and economics, often expressed
number-crunching research).
Public relations may work to stabilize or change public opinion in
areas other than products.
Consumer Relations
In the 1990s, the functions have come close together, as demonstrated
by the dominant customer relations strategy: relationship marketing.
As the name suggests, this approach adopts public relations principles
such as personalized, one-on-one dialogue regarding marketing of
products and services.
The buyer-seller relationship concerns every public relations
department and every public relations counsellor. Ideally, their role is
to help create conditions of understanding so that the objectives of
sellers can be attained by satisfying needs of consumers. As a
landmark conference between public relations and marketing leaders
concluded, public relations must both help motivate purchases and
create a hospitable environment for the organization to sell product
and services.
The Role of PR
Technically, both marketing and public relations support the sles function.
"Nothing happens until a sale is made," says an old bromide. The difference is
that marketing is totally engrossed in selling, whereas public relations is more
holistic. It supports sales to customers, but also is concerned with relationships
with all other stakeholders of the organization.
Originally, public relations supported sales almost exclusively through media
publicity, promotional events, and consumer information programs. The
objective was to make people:
1. Aware of the product or serice in the first place.
2. Knowledgeable about the benefits and advantages of the particular
product or serice.
3. Constantly reminded and reinforced in favourable feelings toward the
product or serice.
Such activity ties in with advertising and authenticates product claims. Media
used are newspapers, magazines, radio, television, features, photos, planned
events, sponsorship of sports or musical activities, and many other venues for
promotion. These are one-way communication vehicles touting the name and
claims of the product or serice.
The Role of PR
Feature articles by and about your company help you explain specific
projects, industry trends, etc., while positioning your organization as a leader.
News releases keep editors and readers up-to-date on positive developments:
business news, technological advances, promotions and new hires, and special
events.
Company profiles present your company's achievements, capabilities, and
leaders in a positive light.
Professional seminars and association meetings let you highlight your latest
achievements and innovations, share information with colleagues.
Business seminars for your customers let you explain new developments,
trends, services, and products in detail -- in a setting where you call the shots.
Trade shows can be a critical sales forum, let you meet face-to-face with
purchasing decision-makers.
Internet/World Wide Web services help you establish an early presence
within this powerful new communications medium.
Crisis management arms you with strategies and tools to deal with
unexpected and unwelcome developments.
Media relations does indeed make up the core of most public relation
programs- in part because of the historical development of public relations as
an attempt to control and influence media coverage of organizations.
Although the media are critical to public relations, many practitioners become
so preoccupied with media coverage that they forget why relationships with
the mass media are important.
Many practitioners consider the media to be the public for their organization
and believe that media coverage automatically means that they have reached
and influences a large audience This is far away from the truth.
Media relations occupies a central position in public relations because the
media serves as a gatekeeper who control the information that flows the
publics in a social system. Media workers really arent publics in the sense
that they are affected by organizational consequences that do not affect other
people.
But, in another sense, journalists are publics. They seek and process
information just like other people, then pass on that information to their
readers and viewers. The communication behavior of journalists, therefore,
sets limits on the information available for other publics to seek and process.
A story must be on the media agenda for some time 3 to 5 months before
people become thoroughly aware of it.
Newspapers seem to set the public agenda more than television.
Television introduces issues but doesnt stay with them long enough to
affix them on the public agenda. Newspapers do.
Not all people pick up personal agendas from the media to the same degree as
other people. In particular, the more involved people are with issues, the less
the media affect how important these people think the issues are.
Involved people actively seek information form many sources. They dont
process passively from the media
People with a high need for orientation (uncertainty about a problem) they
accept the media agenda more than people with less uncertainty.
When people dont have cognitions about important issues they develop them
from the most ubiquitous source of information the media.
Skillful media relations people can get issues of concern to their organizations
on the agenda for public discussion, and they can be involved in the discussion
when other groups build the agenda although they dont control the outcome,
they are able to interject the organizations position and get peoples attention.
PR Writing
PR Writing
PR Writing
PR Writing
Feature Style: used for articles prepared for both internal and external
audiences where the format of the newsletter or magazine calls for luring
the reader with a catchy lead, then relating the information in a tone that is
more causal and light than one would expect in a straight news story.
Legal Style: necessary when crisis confronts an organization and improper
statements to external or internal audiences may jeopardize the legal
position of the organization.
Audience, however, is not the only factor affecting the choice of the writing
style. Your style as well may be influenced by your mass medium choice.
The Broadcast Media: Use few words, tight your writing and tailor it for
reading aloud, make sure to use words that help the audience to picture
what is happening
Trade Magazines: remember that they have such departments as trends
and new products with standardized forms and style use them.
Commentators and Columnists: understand the idiosyncrasies and make
sure to cater to them
PR Writing
Regional Media: it may requires a nod to local terminology and
shared culture values. Remember that the same subject article may
be prepared in different versions for different regions.
PR Writing
In selecting the Right Writing Style ask yourself the following
questions
What is the relationship of the target public to your organization?
Internal or external? Friendly, hostile, indifferent or
unfamiliar?
What is the level of expertise of your public?
Well informed, partially, or uninformed?
What is the interest level of your public?
Motivated to seek information and read it?
Mildly interested in the topic?
Unaware of the need to be informed on the topic?
PR Writing
To what style does the subject matter lend itself?
Serious, straightforward subject?
Human interest angle?
To what extent do management objectives dictate the writing
style?
Personality and style of sources used for the article?
What facet of the organization is being featured?
Are there legal requirements for the information
communicated?
What was the style of past communications with the target public?
Should the new message strike a new tone?
Must the message be consistent with past communications?
PR Writing
Requirements of Public Relations Writing
Maximum Objectivity: The question is how do PR writers reconcile
the need for credibility with the need to be loyal to their employer? It is
a matter of keeping the employing organization in mind when
gathering the information, and then keeping the editor and by
extension the reader in mind when organizing the information and
writing for publication.
Source Review: One of the crucial interpersonal skills a PR
practitioner must develop is the ability to take the criticism of a piece
of writing from a superior who knows the technical facts better than
the writer does, incorporate the necessary changes into the written
message, and still maintain the style, interest, and integrity of the
words so they will attract media audience.
Long Range Implications/ Consistency: The PR writer must review
past articles about the organization, determine how the public
perceives the organization or program, and then write a piece that will
be consistent with how the writer wants the public to view it.
PR Writing
Preparing a Speak
The same person who supervises the preparation of news releases and
broadcast messages is likely, at any given time, to be working on one
or more of the following non media tasks.
Preparing the head of the department to give a press release,
Rehearsing the president of the firm for a public appearance
Making arrangements for a dialogue between the company and
any external or internal group.
All of the above tasks have one thing in common = the need of
someone to prepare a speak on behalf of the company.
Speaking vs. writing
Differences: the written message is impersonal while the spoken
message carries the credibility of the speaker. Enthusiasm,
concern, tolerance, understanding, and empathy are all best
demonstrated through the verbal and nonverbal act of meeting an
audience in person.
Preparing a Speech
The speaking situation is flexible and can be altered to fit the response of
the audience. With the print or audiovisual message, you fire a shot and
hope to hit the target. In a speaking situation, you can make mid-course
corrections.
Similarities: It must be consistent with other message dissemination.
The speaker must be familiar with position taken in written
communication and strive to articulate them in a personal style
Careful and complete preparation is necessary in order to avoid
embarrassment. The speaker must have all the facts straight
The speaking situation as the writing situation poses the same package
and delivering questions for the PR department
Is this the best forum for reaching the target audience?
Will it help us to achieve our goals?
Is it the best use of resources?
Should it be reinforced with other channels of communication?
Will we be able to measure the effect?
Preparing a Speech
Speeches have the following main purposes:
Persuade / defend: present your organizations point of view and
defend its actions. Data should support the views of your
organization. Especially in the two way symmetrical model,
opposing views should be acknowledged.
Inform / Explain: Present information on what your organization is
doing and explain the reason for the action
Entertain / Welcome: greet guests, represent your organization, and
spread goodwill.
Background: similar to the inform / explain but without the
urgency of the breaking news.
Pro-forma: includes welcome speeches, award acceptance
speeches, and other occasions where your organization is
responding to the needs of others rather than serving its own
communication needs.
Organizing and Outlining: a speech should be outlined in a way that you organize a
term paper or an article. The concept can be summarized by that old saying: Tell them
what are you going to tell them; then tell them; and finally, tell them what you told
them.
Working with the Speaker
The writer should work with the speaker on every phase of developing the speech.
The length, rhythm of sentences, the choice of words must be appropriate to
the individual speaking style
The speaker must feel familiar enough to the facts
The speaker must have sufficient confidence to the speech in order to give it
with conviction
The all important introduction
A joke is a great way to start a speech
If, however, the speech is to be serious in tone, then an ominous opening
statement might be appropriate Athens may be a ghost town twenty years from
now.
Intriguing, or little known facts may stimulate the curiosity of the audience
Personal history is also an effective devise for opening your speech this is the
first time after twenty years that I come back to this town..
Using Visual Aids but make sure that you dont misuse them
Make sure to get so9me feedback and evaluation of the speech
A Speech evaluation form may includes
Date, audience, speaker, evaluator
Room was properly set up for presentation
Introduction of speaker was clear and adequate
Speakers dress and bearing were appropriate to occasion
Voice level was satisfactory to the audience
Speaker established rapport with audience
Credibility of speaker was established
Eye contact was maintained
Over dependence on prepared script was avoided