For young people who have decided that a career in public
relations will be their Latte Grande in life, here are four
situations in which you do not want to find yourself:

1. You confuse the basic function of public relations with
sub-parts that make up the whole like publicity,
crisis management or employee communications.

2. You feel unsure in approaching public relations problems,
then uncertain about what counsel to give your
employer/client.

3. As the years pass, you rely on career-long misconceptions
about public relations but forge ahead anyway advising
the employer/client ineffectively sometimes with damaging,
if not dangerous counsel.

4. You realize too late that you have gone through your entire
career without a firm grasp of what public relations is
all about.

You can avoid those pitfalls by grasping early-on The Rosetta
Stone of public relations, i.e., a guide to understanding the
discipline and its core strength. Namely, people act
on their perception of the facts; those perceptions lead to
certain behaviors; and something can be done about those
perceptions and behaviors that lead to achieving an
organization´s objectives.

Which is why, when public relations goes on to successfully
create, change or reinforce public opinion by reaching,
persuading and moving-to-action those people whose behaviors
affect the organization, it accomplishes its mission.

The fact is that NO organization – business, non-profit or
public sector – can succeed today unless the behaviors of
its most important audiences are in-sync with the
organization´s objectives. And that means public relations
professionals must modify somebody´s behavior if they are
to help hit the employer/client´s objective and earn a
paycheck. All else are but means to that end.

Once that foundation of understanding is firmly set, an
action pathway begins to appear:

-- identify the problem or challenge
-- set the public relations goal
-- set the public relations strategy
-- identify target audiences
-- prepare persuasive messages
-- select/implement key communications tactics
-- monitor progress
-- and the end game? Meet the behavior
modification goal.

A bonus: you are using a near-perfect public relations
performance measurement. I mean how can you measure the
results of an activity more accurately than when you clearly
achieve the goal you set at the beginning of that activity?
You can´t. It´s pure success

So, as a beginner, can you expect to avoid the four pitfalls
listed above? Yes, and here´s why:

-- With proper preparation, you will not confuse action
tactics with the basic mission of public relations because
you will know precisely what each is and just what fits
where in the public relations problem solving sequence.

-- You will feel more confident about providing counsel to
the employer/client because the public relations problem at
hand can be clearly identified allowing you to select
solutions that obviously fit into the action sequence
outlined above. You will identify your target audiences
because you will know exactly who your employer/client
wants to reach, and the necessary action tactics will
then be self-evident.

-- You realize that you have gone through your entire career
WITH a firm, successful grasp of what public relations
is all about.

Of course, on the way you will also nurture the relationships
between your target audiences and your employer/client´s
business by burnishing the reputation of the organization,
its service and products. You will do your best to persuade
those target audiences to do what your employer/client wants
them to do. And while seeking public understanding and
acceptance of that employer/client, you´ll insure that your
joint activities not only comply with the law, but clearly
serve the public interest. Then, you will pull out all tactical
stops to actually move those individuals to action. And your
employer/client will be pleased that you have brought matters
along to this point.

But when will that employer/client of yours be fully satisfied
with the public relations results you have produced? Only
when your “reach, persuade and move-to-action efforts have
produced that visible modification in the behaviors of those
target audiences you, and they wish to influence.

In my view, this is the central, strategic function of public
relations – the basic context in which you must operate in
your pursuit of a successful and satisfying public relations
career.

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