Photo credit and a beautiful note on the picture…at the end of this post!
That’s a question to people in the communications business – PR, advertising, corporate/ marketing communications and so on. Given my PR background, let me isolate the PR function here for a deeper observation.
One of the basic facets expected out of a PR professional is the ability to influence others. It could be journalists/ media. Could be potential customers of a product/ service. May be a celebrity. Could also be a client. But you need to think coherently and interestingly enough and communicate to make a change, in someone else’s mind.
In the real world, PR professionals are assumed to be smooth talkers. Some call them slimy because all they seem to be doing, as alleged, is sell something on behalf of their clients. But the function’s requirement is like that – act as a convincing bridge between two parties and help one communicate something relevant to the other, so that the other spreads the word around.
This is where I need to go overboard on the ‘I’ since it is personal – I’ve been in the communications function right from my first job – a quick glance at my LinkedIn profile would reveal that. I started with Corporate Communications, moved to communications design, then to PR and now in social media/ digital communications.
And to think I’m a stammerer!
Yes, I started stammering since I was in class 7. I have no idea why, but having checked enough doctors back then, I saw that nothing worked. I was usually the last person to volunteer to read anything aloud in class and rarely asked questions. Its a different thing that I used all that opportunity to become a better listener.
But, when I came out of college, I was sure that I wanted to get into a line of work that involved communication – to take my stammering as a challenge. It was a tough period but I was looking at ways to compensate the stammering with something else that I could influence others with.
I zeroed-in on the written word. I’m still under the impression that my written communication is significantly better than my oral communication.
I started my first website back in 1999 – the website that tracks plagiarism in Indian music. Started my 100 word music review blog in 2005 and this blog, much later, in 2008. Short of writing a novel, I’ve written in most other forms – perhaps a novel is due too, later in life. Digression: The reasonĂ‚Â behind the music-related site and blog is my mad interest in the subject and the fact that I have not learnt it in any formal manner. The online expression was an outlet to continue and extend that interest.
But here’s the deal – I use my writing as an introduction, in many instances, to create an impression about what I know. It works like magic, at least in my case.
In my PR experience, it worked with journalists – they saw the opinions I shared online, on forums, groups, blog comments, email etc. And made up a mental image of a person that I could be.
I engage a lot with people on assorted forums even today and find it odd that very few PR professionals in India are content creators. I have no idea why!
I mean, here is a fantastic opportunity to opine on something…anything, and use that as a basis for impressing/ influencing one of the most important groups of our eco-system – media/ journalists. How long will PR folks be using brute force to send dumb press releases to media and expecting them to ‘cover’ them the next day? Don’t you want respect from the journalist you’re pitching to? And be able to ‘sell’ stories by convincing them and not sounding unconvinced yourself, and letting the client brand make that impact? Or stop using personal influence/ relationship with a journalist to sell stories and instead let the power of your story-telling and articulation sell it – isn’t that a more scalable approach?
That brings me to one of the most under-rated words I’ve known – articulation!
I’ve interviewed quite a few people in my life and the common factor is that, on an average, most of them are scared to write even a paragraph. Mostly in the fear that they may do it wrong. I’ve given people random topics to write on…asked them to choose their own topics, but barring one or two people, almost everybody consistently wrote stuff that was unsatisfactory (to me) or plain silly.
I see PR folks having extended chats in the lunch room with colleagues on assorted topics – most of these discussions and arguments are well worded, well intended and intelligent enough. But when it comes to articulating it for a written paragraph, so many problems crop up – grammar is the last thing I’d point out, by the way.
With blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn and the likes, PR professionals have a phenomenal opportunity to not just improve their written communication but also use it as a powerful personal promotional tool. We’ve all dreamed of having the power to be an impactful speaker in front of a large crowd – online tools give precisely that power, but with the written word.
(Note that I have not added Twitter here – I have tremendous respect for Twitter as an echo chamber, but the lack of context kills it for any meaningful communication. It works best for short bursts of thoughts, but if you intend to communicate an opinion by setting perspectives and context, avoid Twitter)
It’s a question of how well you articulate your thoughts and opinions and how well you promote it to the right segment by putting their needs first. Strange – don’t you do precisely that for your clients in PR?
So, if you cannot create and sell your own thoughts (in the form of content, online), how confident are you to do it for your clients?
This does not mean, however, that old-world/ conventional PR professionals who don’t do anything online are no good. They have come up the hard way – in the real world, where target audiences and relevant groups are hard to find and assemble. Things are almost on a platter online – it is where you see and engage that makes all the difference. You do not need to start a blog tomorrow to be a content creator. Any form of thought expressed online usually stays there forever – it could be a well-worded comment to someone else’s blog post…could be an answer/ response in a LinkedIn discussion forum…could even be a customized introduction you jot down while adding a journalist friend on Facebook….every small thing makes an impact.
The need is to think about the recipients’ needs and craft your writing. Try it as a rigorous exercise for a fortnight – I can assure you it will not only boost your online influence, but also your self-confidence!
Note on the photo, from the owner (via Flickr), Hylda_H:
The Small Writer – statue created by Ellen Klijzing in 2005 , displayed during Summer 2007 at the seaside resort of Noordwijk, Holland. The artist explains,
Man is the only being that writes, that marks to reflect what happens in his mind and that which we leave on the face of the earth. Writing is proof of our humanity and existence. The small writer has a long arm. He has a lot to write, and an entire ocean lies in his writing. In the end, he will survive on an island of his own text.