You’ve probably all seen the three proverbial wise monkeys: see no, hear no, speak no. I like this, in fact so much that we adopted the mantra with a twist as a tagline on our own internal blog: see know…, hear know…, speak know…. And why?
Well four years ago, I sat in a ballroom at the PRSA World Congress event in Chicago in what was being billed as their first ever half-day seminar devoted to high tech PR. It was an informative meeting, but I kept getting the sense that the field of tech PR was still trying to discover itself, or better yet, make its mark. There was a lot of interaction, with everyone sharing best practices, but the one theme that permeated the meeting, was the need for practicioners to “be in the know.”
I keyed in on that phrase and have made good use of it in trainings, presentations, regular interaction, etc. ever since. The reason is because it couldn’t be more right. In PR, as in life, knowledge is king. Ask any journalist what their PR pet peeves are and the odds are very good that there will be a common thread traced back to a lack of knowledge, a lack of understanding of a publication, a lack of understanding of a beat, a lack of understanding of a client and their technology, and a lack of understanding of the industry.
Several years ago, I was on a teleconference with Ned Desmond, president and publisher of the former eCompany Now and Business 2.0, when he pointed out this pet peeve. What stood out to me from that conversation was that Desmond said he would actually spend 30 minutes on the phone with a PR rep, regardless of whether they were junior or not, if they could demonstrate a sound knowledge and engage him in a conversation–”being in the know.”
I believed that was true for Ned then and I believe it is true for many media today. It’s true for me. Engage me with knowledge, where I can see the value in the conversation, and I’ll more than listen. That’s the power of this new sphere, of “relations”–the sharing of knowledge and contributing to “being in the know.” See it, hear it, speak it.
5 comments
2/27/2005 at 1:11 pm
Lindsay J
Great post! I didn’t realize how important it was to stay abreast of everything that could have anything to do with PR until last semester, actually, when two of my classes required “current events”. I pooh-poohed the idea, remembering current events days in high school classes, but the instructors were able to show us the PR aspect of the events going on in the media. In your post, you encourage us to go above and beyond just “current events” but stay on top of your clients, your competition, etc.
Now that I’m not in those to classes, I have lost my touch with what’s going on outside of Auburn. It’s a habit I need to pick back up. Thanks for the encouragement. I’ll definitely try to stay in the KNOW!
-lindsay
2/27/2005 at 1:22 pm
Megan R
I couldn’t agree more with this. Being in the know is definately a crucial part of being a PR practitioner. After all, one of our main jobs is to promote understanding between an organization and its publics, and we can’t really do that if we don’t understand things ourselves. In fact, I really think that everyone, regardless of occupation, should be in the know about the industy in which they work and other important events. Not only does it make you more aware of what is going on around you, you will also be able to engage in intelligent conversations with people that might just help you move up in the world.
2/27/2005 at 1:55 pm
maggie_l_e
After reading your post, I was reminded of a speech I heard a year ago. Eric Ludgood, vice president for CNN International and a 1978 Auburn University graduate, came back to his alma mater to motivate students and help them gain a better perspective on how to be successful. He said that if you truly love what you do and are in the field that you should be in, you will learn everything that you can about that field and the current events surrounding it. Essentially what he was saying goes along with your post - Knowledge Is King. It is how you have substantive conversation. It is how you build relationships. It is how you will become successful in your field. I could not agree more!
2/27/2005 at 8:08 pm
Karen
Thanks for the post. It is really easy to get caught up in your own little world at times that you forget about everything else outside of it. Staying on top of current events is huge for PR. The media are the one putting the current events out there. If PR professionals don’t know how to effectively communicate to ones deciding the current events, then we can guarantee our company will never in the news…unless it is bad news. Thank you for helping me realize how important it is to be knowledgeable of things outside of my world.
3/1/2005 at 4:23 pm
Ashley_m_c
You are absolutely right! One of my other professors talks a lot about this problem. She is marrying a journalist and he jokingly says that PR practitioners are the enemy. Then he admits that journalists do need PR practitioners, especially if they are helpful and know what they are talking about. I think the field of PR gets a bad name sometimes. If those of us in this field will stay on top of things and be honest and helpful, we can help turn that image around.
I know I could do a better job of staying informed about what is happening in the world! Thanks for the encouragement!