What Public Relations Is Not About

To many people, once the term public relation is mentioned, all sorts of eerie feelings come over them. To them, public relations is synonymous with lying, bribery, manipulations and outright propaganda. Nothing can be further from the truth. Public Relations is the tool that holds the key to a more peaceful and corporative society in which individuals get the services they deserve and governments, organizations and corporations live up to the expectations of supportive 
citizenry, communities, groups and individuals.

It is only those who  are not schooled in the science of public relations that can irreverently reduce it to bribery, manipulation and lies.  The cardinal goal of public relations is to win, and not to , undermine public trust and cooperation. Lying  will certainly not do that. Manipulation simply creates bubbles that burst with time. Propaganda can only  go as far. There is no short  cut to a mutually satisfying and beneficial relations between organizations, institutions, governments and their respective publics. Truth, transparency and forthrightness,  even in the face of obvious failing, is the way to winning public trust and sympathy.

Denying the obvious and presenting black as white is certainly not the calling of public relations. Hiding skeletons in the cupboard and hoping they would never be discovered is an aberration to the professional public relations man. And every public relations practitioner who is worth his salt knows that keeping the public in the dark is invitation to the feast of cannibals. An information starved public will  grab anything that looks like information. So they become prey to disinformation and misinformation.

This is so because, unfortunately, society does not spare those who hoard information. In every society there are those who profit from 'darkness'-the public's ignorance.  That is why  the health condition of the President of Nigeria rather than attracting public sympathy  and prayers  is provoking uneasiness. The entire thing is shrouded in secrecy. Public Relations principles dictate that the public be properly informed. They should not be left to second gaze.   

Public Relations well handled, even in the worst scenarios, will reduce damage done, erase negative perceptions and galvanize support for those who want to make real difference in their society, starting from their immediate environment.

Communication Solutions provides public relations  strategies for individuals, politicians, groups, communities and corporate organizations.

Yours In Communication

Kennedy
(+234) 803-529-1667