Without strong, healthy roots most trees cannot survive. This is same for the public relations profession. Its success is rooted in how well its practitioners understand the discipline.
“Too many people who are practicing public relations don’t fully understand what the field is about and what it demands,” says Keith Brown, one of Jamaica ‘s most experienced public relations practitioners. “This is a very diverse discipline. PR is a field that is important to human relations and communication. It involves communication at all levels within an organization and outside of it, and an assessment of the effectiveness of the forms of communication used.”
Get a grip
One way forward, Brown suggests, is getting a handle on the current status of and trends in the industry. This can be done by tapping into the insights delivered in short professional courses and workshops, subscribing to industry magazines and networking with peers through professional associations. PR practitioners work under severe time constraints, and what they need is bite-sized information which they can use to refresh their skills, update their knowledge on what is happening in the industry and bounce ideas off each other – all in a short time frame.
Use it or lose it
The timeline within which information is communicated is also becoming shorter. Advancements in technology such as the Internet and wireless communication mean instantaneous information and “co-operative” communication.
“As the technology evolves so too must PR strategies and PR strategists,” remarks Brown. More and more PR practices are infusing new media technology in their strategic planning. More noticeable, locally, is the move from paper newsletters, for employee and investor communication, to e-newsletters. And beyond our shores the emergence of corporate blogs and forums.
Changing technology implies changing thought and communication processes to match how the technology is used, while still getting the message out.
Keeping true to your roots
Brown insists that the ability to get the message out, is still the critical characteristic for PR practitioners. Strong written and oral communication skills are fundamental prerequisites for the persons entering and working in the profession, since almost all functions are held by these threads. Yet, studies, such as a recent survey by the Public Relations Foundation of Texas, show that employers and educators are concerned by PR graduates’ inability to write effectively.
“There is a great deficiency in language and grammar which is not a Jamaican phenomenon but an international phenomenon,” says Brown. “PR practitioners should be wordsmiths, articulate and fluent in the English Language and versed in its nuances.”
Keith Brown has worked in the field of PR for over 40 years and currently heads his own PR consultancy. He is the founding president of the Public Relations Society of Jamaica and the first Jamaican practitioner to be accepted as a member of the IABC. Brown will deliver a short certificate course on Public Relations June 9 – July 7 at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication. For more information visit www.summerschool.carimac.com or call 977 2111.
