{"id":278,"date":"2021-06-25T15:02:05","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T15:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/?p=278"},"modified":"2024-02-28T21:47:34","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T21:47:34","slug":"pearls-of-wisdom-from-pr-road-warriors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/25\/pearls-of-wisdom-from-pr-road-warriors\/","title":{"rendered":"Pearls of Wisdom from PR Road Warriors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Last week I had the pleasure of moderating a panel at the PRSA Northeast District Conference called, \u201cPearls of Wisdom From PR\u2019s Road Warriors.\u201d&nbsp; One of the things I value most about my membership in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the willingness of our members to share their experiences (as well as their networks) with each other.&nbsp; A few \u201cpearls\u201d from this session with Gail Winslow, APR (Director of Corporate Marketing, LexaGene); Clark Dumont, APR (Dumont Communications) and Gail Rymer, APR, Fellow PRSA (Gail Rymer Strategic Communications):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>&nbsp;<strong><u>Prepare Yourself With More Than Communications &amp; Writing Courses<\/u><\/strong>.&nbsp; Though the ability to communicate succinctly is important, it is not the only skill required in public relations.&nbsp; An understanding of how to motivate behavior (psychology, sociology); how the organization you\u2019re counseling operates (business); corporate culture (organization development) and research (statistics, analysis) are all essential.&nbsp; \u201cKnowing that PR is being called upon to provide metrics on outcomes and how PR contributes to ROI (return on investment), I wish I\u2019d been less afraid of statistics back in the day,\u201d said Winslow.&nbsp; <em>(References:&nbsp; PRSA\u2019s Barcelona Principles and 9 Ways PR Impacts The Bottom Line by Patrick Jackson).<\/em> The good news:&nbsp; we are never done learning in this field, and there are many opportunities for professional development, via courses offered from professional associations like PRSA, going back for a Master\u2019s Degree or developing specialized skills through certificate programs.<\/li><li><strong><u>Take Advantage of Networking &amp; Mentoring Opportunities<\/u><\/strong>.&nbsp; Whether you are attending a PRSA International Conference, representing your organization in a Rotary or Chamber organization or volunteering for a cause you\u2019re passionate about, there are countless ways to build your network.&nbsp; \u201cSay yes to every cup of coffee\u201d &#8212; because you never know where it might lead.&nbsp; It\u2019s never too early to seek advice and counsel; surround yourself with people who can serve as mentors throughout your career as you build your \u201cpersonal Board of Directors.\u201d&nbsp; <em>Reference:&nbsp; <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.prsa.org\"><em>www.prsa.org<\/em><\/a><em> for information on Mentor Connect.<\/em> The good news:&nbsp; every time you invest time in mentoring someone, there is a good chance \u201creverse mentoring\u201d will occur and you\u2019ll learn something new yourself.<\/li><li><strong><u>Building Authentic Relationships Requires Transparency And Good Listening Skills<\/u><\/strong>.&nbsp; Gail Rymer, who had a long and successful career in Environmental Communications with Lockheed Martin and Tennessee Valley Authority, faced many \u201cangry publics\u201d in her career.&nbsp; \u201cThere is no replacement for face-to-face communication &#8212; but it takes time and effort.&nbsp; Only by listening to the issues, finding common ground and providing honest answers (even if they aren\u2019t popular answers) will you earn trust.\u201d&nbsp; Identify those who are influential \u201copinion leaders\u201d who can serve as credible 3<sup>rd<\/sup> party ambassadors.<\/li><li><strong><u>Use Core Values To Guide Your Decisionmaking<\/u><\/strong>.&nbsp; Clark Dumont shared wisdom gleaned from a culture transformation effort he led while working for MGM.&nbsp; \u201cWhen you\u2019re disrupting people\u2019s lives, it becomes personal.&nbsp; Start with the \u2018why\u2019 \u2013 providing the rationale for change is key.\u201d&nbsp; Using values as their guide, MGM established themselves as a leader in DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion).<\/li><li><strong><u>Trust Your Gut And Have Confidence In Yourself<\/u><\/strong>.&nbsp; Confidence comes from a combination of experience and education, but even highly-skilled practitioners can suffer from \u201cimposter syndrome.\u201d&nbsp; Have open conversations with organizational leadership; talk their language but stand by your own principles. &nbsp;Explained one panelist: \u201cI was told by leadership that I didn\u2019t have the pedigree \u2013 meaning I didn\u2019t have a degree from Harvard \u2013 to continue advancing in that organization.&nbsp; During COVID-19 I took an executive leadership course at Cornell University that helped me build the confidence in myself to walk away from that job and find a better fit for my skills, talents and career path.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Robin Schell, APR, Fellow PRSA is Senior Counsel and Partner at Jackson Jackson &amp; Wagner, a behavioral public relations and management consulting firm based in the Seacoast of NH.&nbsp; For more information, visit <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jjwpr.com\"><em>www.jjwpr.com<\/em><\/a><em> or contact <\/em><a href=\"mailto:rschell@jjwpr.com\"><em>rschell@jjwpr.com<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week I had the pleasure of moderating a panel at the PRSA Northeast District Conference called, \u201cPearls of Wisdom From PR\u2019s Road Warriors.\u201d&nbsp; One of the things I value most about my membership in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the willingness of our members to share their experiences (as well as &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/25\/pearls-of-wisdom-from-pr-road-warriors\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Pearls of Wisdom from PR Road Warriors&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,42,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communications","category-jjwpr-com","category-strategy-tactics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":443,"href":"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278\/revisions\/443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jjwpr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}