The PR pro’s bedside manner

Being a successful PR professional is very much like having a career in medicine. We prescribe solutions to common problems in the hope that our clients take note, follow our considered (educated) opinion and just get better.

However, just like in medicine, our professional advice often falls on deaf ears. While “PR pills” might be popped, if changes in lifestyle don’t follow, the treatment we offer might not deliver optimum results.

We can learn a lot from a Doctor’s bedside manner. While PR professionals need to be sympathetic listeners, they must also be 100% forthright in delivering their advice.

A doctor wouldn’t tell someone with breathing problems to cut back on smoking cigarettes. They would tell them to stop immediately, highlighting the very real risks for the patient if they continue with their bad habits.

Similarly, a PR pro cannot pussyfoot around a client’s ego or misunderstanding of what they believe a PR’s role to be. We are here to ensure the future health of our clients’ reputations and sometimes that will mean delivering a dose of tough medicine.

This means setting clear expectations upfront, explaining risks and opportunities behind your strategies and not compromising for the sake of a happy (in the short term) client.

There are no excuses in medicine or PR, both sets of professionals can only help their patients/clients if they are willing to listen and take steps to help themselves. How’s your PR bedside manner? Are you tough enough to deliver the news (good or bad) to protect the health of your clients’ reputations?