The worst advice heard about public relations

By Darren Gilbert

‘Let’s not respond to that, maybe it’ll go away’ is one example. Another is this: ‘Social Media is a fad so don’t bother with it.’ Unfortunately, these aren’t the only ridiculous comments out there.

“Are you a ‘people person’? Then you should get a job in PR.”

Every industry has its share of clichés. For the PR industry, one is that people who enter it need to be extroverts. You may hear that the best PR’S are ‘socialable, bubbly and chatty’.

For Roxanne Leibrandt, PR director at 99c, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, it’s the single worst piece of advice she’s heard.

“There is a lot more to PR than simply being an extrovert,” she argues. “In fact, some of the best PR professionals I know are introverts. Many graduates unsure of where to go next decide on a career in PR simply because there is a misperception that if you’re a ‘people person’, you will automatically be great at PR or events.”

PR takes more than being a ‘people person’, it takes skill and passion to do the job well. “Creativity is important and relationships are key, as is an understanding of your clients’ business objectives and needs, and being able to formulate an effective, coherent communications strategy,” she adds.

“Yes, we have an upcoming interview, but don’t worry … we’ll wing it.”

Asked about bad advice he has heard, Kevin Welman, director of ByDesign Communications, admits there isn’t one piece of “mega bad advice”, but there are a few contenders.

One centres around the general lack of planning that Welman believes can be found in external communications. And this is from both consultancies and corporates. “You’ll hear this quite often from a spokesperson,” he says. “’We have an interview on TV, no need to prepare … we’ll wing it.’”

“That is a shocking thing to say,” Welman says. “You might get away with it now and again, but when you don’t, the reputational damage can be immense.”

Of course, you can’t prepare for every question, he points out. There will be one that you’re not expecting. But if you prepare for the most difficult questions, whenever a back-handed question does crop up, you’ll be able to handle it.

“You’ll upset your client if you push back, so just don’t do it.”

For Luanne Slingerland, head of PR at The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town, one of the worst pieces of advice given to her is not to “push back to the client” because it may upset them.

“What’s more horrifying is that I’ve received this advice on more than one occasion,” she says.

“Your clients are coming to you for your strategic council, experience and expertise,” she adds. “If they only want someone to implement their ideas, they shouldn’t be working with you.”

After all, once you are fully immersed in your clients’ business, you’ll understand how best to help them achieve their business goals.

“I’ve yet to push back to a client and upset them in the process,” continues Slingerland. “They may not always agree, but I can assure you the discussion that follows is interesting and you both learn more in the process, and that’s what you want [in order to] be a better consultant.”

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