Guarding your time: 5 strategies for building public relations effectiveness
Public relations folks have the unfortunate benefit of being viewed as multi-faceted experts. Hopefully. From media relations strategies and new media advocacy to writing and editing, we are easily pigeonholed into a particular skill-set.
It’s a trap that is easy to fall into. You can get pulled into time-consuming newsletter editing, being the go-to person for news release distribution (for the most frivolous of “news”) and so on. Here are tips to avoid these traps–and to save precious time throughout the day.
- Present no more than three options. Usually two will do, but three choices provide both options and limit discussions. Be prepared for tangential discussion and revise suggestions on the fly. And at the end of the day, know where your bread is buttered. At the same time, keep in mind that being known for being a pushover earns less respect than being slightly less friendly but quick and effective.
- Train the delegators and delegate in return. Administrative assistants deserve our love and respect. They often present the voice of the CEO and other leaders, so they must also be adequately trained. When receiving direction, ensure the task is in fact best handled by you–if not, find the most appropriate person and delegate. Assistants and clerical staff should be your best allies.
- Act first, beg for forgiveness later. This may sound trite and cliche, but strategy-by-committee sessions effectively kill innovative ideas and waste time. It’s better to complete a task with minor imperfections than to suck the life out of a task or project. Most often, the target audience will never notice the minor imperfections that tend to devour group discussions.
- Be genuine. Nothing is more annoying than the two kinds of public relations personalities often encountered: the stuck-up know-it-all and the shallow kiss ass. It’s better to be an honest straight-shooter than the person who avoids saying anything unkind in fear of appearing “un-PR-like.” Public relations is about relating and often isn’t nice. Reporters are not nice. Clients are not nice. The public certainly isn’t nice. So why do PR people kiss so much ass? PR people should be advocates for being genuine, however. Genuineness emboldens credibility. Those who come off as credible are more effective and waste less time playing in the realm of damage control and wishy-washy behavior.
- Self-reflect. At the end of the day metacognition is a healthy practice. Thinking about how you think as well as knowing how your behavior affects others will put you ahead of your colleagues and endear more loyalty than those who never realize their own arrogance. Ask your coworkers: “How could I have handled this better?”
