Online readings in public relations
Red River College (Winnipeg)Don't overlook the parallels between
interpersonal relations and public relations.
Whether you're just beginning to study public relations or are an experienced practitioner with years of experience under your belt, exploring the similarities between interpersonal communication and corporate-level communication activities is an ideal way to conceptually grasp the essence of public relations. It can even be a reasonable basis for practicing public relations.
Ask public relations practitioners about it. Depending on which public relations practitioners you talk with and what kinds of challenges they've recently faced, you may get almost contradictory answers about which types of relationship are more difficult to manage, but they'll invariably agree on the parallels between these two different types of communication and relationship management.
Some will say performing corporate communication and maintaining corporate-level, public relationships is much more complex and challenging than interpersonal relations, while others will say large impersonal corporations and formal organizations are easier to consistently deal with than emotional individuals. But, regardless of how they rank them for difficulty, most knowledgable practitioners will agree that many aspects of public relations can be looked at as outgrowths of interpersonal communication. Most will also admit that improving your interpersonal skills can be an excellent way to hone your public relations skills.
People who have learned to effectively relate to others in their everyday personal lives and who can thoughtfully apply these interpersonal skills in broader and more business-oriented settings can gain a real edge in practicing professional public relations. Conversely, those who successfully handle public relations on behalf of large organizations can sometimes enhance their personal lives by thoughtfully applying the relationship management techniques they use at work when dealing with their families and their social relationships.
Regrettably, this connection between interpersonal relations and public relations which seems so patently obvious is often taken for granted and quickly skimmed over, or not even discussed, in some of the most popular public relations textbooks. I'll even ruefully concede to having made this mistake in earlier years when I was teaching public relations. I omitted talking about interpersonal communication because it just seemed too obvious to waste class time by discussing it or including it in reading assignments.
However, in recent years, after I became more cognizant of just how critical this relationship is and how valuable modeling behavior from one level to the other can be, I wrote the following online readings:
My advice today is to remember that even though some of the tools and techniques used by public relations professionals are now fairly sophisticated and high-tech, the basic process and methods remain rooted in interpersonal common sense and basic relationship strategies. Analyzing what you, as an individual, do or don't do, in relating to the people you deal with as individuals or in groups, is an effective starting point for thinking about how you can help an organization relate to other organizations and to its collective publics. After all, building relationships is what public relations is all about.
Here's a useful online resource:
Public Relations Resources
http://advertising.about.com/od/publicrelationsresources
This Web page is a gateway to a fairly extensive collection of public relations materials including articles on various aspects of public relations. Some were written specifically for this Web site while others were originally published in professional journals, trade magazines, or general circulation publications. The site also has links to numerous other informational sites dealing with public relations and to the home pages of dozens of public relations agencies, organizations and consultants.
The site is hosted by About.com, a company which maintains numerous high-quality sites devoted to a wide variety of subjects. This particular site has been operating since the 1990s, although it has had several different titles and moderators since it was first launched. It has continued to remain a valuable resource for public relations students and professionals alike.
