The PR Professional's Handbook: Powerful, Practical Communications

378 Pages·2014·1.724 MB·English

by  Caroline Black

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At a time when rapid changes in communications technology
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are having a major impact on the way businesses choose to
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communicate, more people are having to understand the

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principles of modern public relations and how these can
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underpin effective business management. Whether as a
student (undergraduate or as part of ongoing professional
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development), consultant or business owner, there are areas
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of good PR practice that must be followed, while at the same o
time new channels of communication – notably social f
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media – are creating fresh challenges and opportunities.
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The PR Professional’s Handbook offers practical advice and i
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solutions for anyone involved in the PR function, as well as a
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full breakdown of the individual skills required in briefing,
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writing and presenting. The book covers the role and
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importance of PR and communications in organizations, key ’s
theories for PR, skills and related disciplines, and
H The PR Professional’s
communications channels and creativity.
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The PR Professional’s Handbook is an essential reference for
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anyone involved in PR and corporate communications, whether Handbook
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a student, graduate, manager or trainer.
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o
Caroline Black is a highly-experienced communications
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professional. She has worked with large private sector

organizations, government departments, educational
establishments and charities, is a Licentiate member of the
CIPD and an approved trainer for the CIPR. She acts as a
conference chair, and lectures and speaks regularly on
communications issues. Caroline currently runs her own
Powerful, practical communications
independent PR consultancy.
Series Editor: Professor Anne Gregory, FCIPR
PR in Practice
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a
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k
PR in
KoganPage £24.99 ISBN: 978-0-7494-6842-2 Practice
London Caroline Black
US $34.95
Philadelphia
New Delhi
www.koganpage.com
Public relations
Writing Skills for
Public Relations
The PR Professional’s
Handbook
To my clever and talented nieces and nephews Rupert, Emma,
Sarah and Kris.

Publisher’s note
Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book
is accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and author cannot accept re-
sponsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or dam-
age occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material in
this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or the author.
First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2014 by Kogan Page Limited
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as
permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be repro-
duced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of
the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and
licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent
to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses:
2nd Floor, 45 Gee Street 1518 Walnut Street, Suite 1100 4737/23 Ansari Road
London EC1V 3RS Philadelphia PA 19102 Daryaganj
United Kingdom USA New Delhi 110002
www.koganpage.com India
© Caroline Black, 2014
The right of Caroline Black to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN 978 0 7494 6842 2
E-ISBN 978 0 7494 6843 9
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Black, Caroline, 1956–
The PR professional’s handbook : powerful, practical communications / Caroline Black.
pages cm. — (PR in practice)
ISBN 978-0-7494-6842-2 (pbk.) — ISBN 978-0-7494-6843-9 (ebook)
1. Public relations — Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Communication in organizations — Handbooks,
manuals, etc. 3. Business communications — Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.
HD59.B557 2014
659.2—dc23
2014004437
Typeset by Amnet
Print production managed by Jellyfish
Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
ConTenTs
Foreword ix
Introduction 1
01 The role and importance of public relations
in organizations 3
Why organizations communicate 5
A short history of communications 6
Where are we now? 12
The Edelman Trust Barometer 13
Conclusion 14
02 Key theories for public relations practitioners 15
Theory 1 – Shannon and Weaver – the ‘transmission’ model of
communications 15
Theory 2 – James Carey – transportation/communications
links 17
Theory 3 – Grunig and Hunt’s four models for public relations 19
Theory 4 – Robert Cialdini and influence 22
Theory 5 – Patrick Jackson and others – the ‘people change
ladder’ 26
Theory 6 – Mendelsohn’s ‘Three Assumptions’ for success 27
Theory 7 – hierarchy of effects theory of persuasion 28
Theory 8 – Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) 31
Theory 9 – emotional intelligence (EI) 33
Theory 10 – public relations as diplomacy 34
Theory 11 – the rhetorical and ethical orientation of PR 35
Theory 12 – postmodernist PR theory 36
03 The professional public relations practitioner 39
Working as a communications/PR professional 40
Personal qualities and professional/business skills 41
Getting started in communications 41
Where will I work? 48
Training and qualifications in public relations 49
Client/consultancy contracts 53
Taking care of yourself 55
vi Contents
04 Planning and evaluating public relations 59
Communications planning – writing a brief 62
Best practice in communications planning 65
Planning and evaluating PR 89
05 Public relations, marketing and related disciplines 93
Definitions of marketing 94
What is the marketing mix? 95
Is it seven Ps now? 96
Three new Ps for the 21st century (and all because of Web 2:0) 97
Marketing, communications and customer-relationship
management 97
06 Understanding audiences 103
Definitions 103
Introduction 104
Thinking about stakeholders 105
From stakeholder to target audience 110
Collecting the right data 111
Types of research 112
Four common mistakes organizations make when undertaking
research 114
Psychological insight 115
Erik Erikson and life stages 118
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) 119
Neuro-Linguistic Programming for public relations
practitioners 120
Drawing this all together – developing strategies for public
relations 123
07 Using the right communications channels
and tactics 127
Channels for impact 127
Digital 129
Traditional (aka elite) media 156
Ethics and the media – post-Leveson... where now? 158
Face-to-face 184
Print 192
Further reading 195
Contents vii
08 Creativity in public relations 197
Big ideas about creativity 200
The creative process 201
Twelve ways to wake up your creativity and solve problems 202
Summary 215
09 Visual communications 217
Photography for PR 219
Visual aids 220
Briefing designers 228
What does your typeface say about you? 230
10 Public relations essentials for issues, incidents
and crises 233
Introduction 233
Definitions 235
Risk audit and analysis 236
A word on ‘wicked problems’ 237
Issues management 238
The lifecycle of an issue 242
Crisis management 243
One final point 251
Evaluating issues and crisis management 252
Further reading 254
11 essential skills for the PR practitioner 255
Introduction 255
Writing 255
Further reading 275
Interpersonal skills – and briefing skills 275
Body language as a key part of communications 282
Presentation skills 298
Afterword 311
Appendix 1: Chartered Institute of Public Relations Code of
Conduct and Complaints Procedure 313
Appendix 2: Cross-cultural communications 343
References, sources and further reading 355
Index 360
PR in Practice Series
Published in association with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
Series Editor: Anne Gregory
Kogan Page has joined forces with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations to pub-
lish this unique series, which is designed specifically to meet the needs of the increasing
numbers of people seeking to enter the public relations profession and the large band
of existing PR professionals. Taking a practical, action-oriented approach, the books in
the series concentrate on the day-to-day issues of public relations practice and manage-
ment rather than academic history. They provide ideal primers for all those on CIPR,
CAM and CIM courses or those taking NVQs in PR. For PR practitioners, they pro-
vide useful refreshers and ensure that their knowledge and skills are kept up to date.
Professor Anne Gregory PhD is Director of the Centre for Public Relations
Studies at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK. She has authored over 70 publica-
tions; as well as being editor of the Kogan Page/CIPR series of books which she initi-
ated, she is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Communication Management. Anne also
leads specialist commercial research and consultancy projects from the Centre work-
ing with prestigious public and private sector clients. She is a non-executive director
of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust. Originally a broadcast journalist, Anne spent 12
years as a senior practitioner before moving on to academia. She was President of the
Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) in 2004, leading it to Chartered status
and was awarded the CIPR’s Sir Stephen Tallents Medal for her outstanding contri-
bution to public relations in 2010. In June 2012 she became Chair of the Global
Alliance of Public Relations and Communications Management, the umbrella
organization of over 60 public relations institutes from around the world.
Other titles in the series:
Creativity in Public Relations by Andy Green
Crisis, Issues and Reputation Management by Andrew Griffin
Effective Internal Communication by Lyn Smith and Pamela Mounter
Effective Media Relations by Michael Bland, Alison Theaker and David Wragg
Ethics in Public Relations by Patricia J Parsons
Evaluating Public Relations by Tom Watson and Paul Noble
Internal Communications by Liam FitzPatrick, Pamela Mounter and Klavs Valskov
Online Public Relations by David Phillips and Philip Young
Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns by Anne Gregory
PR and Communication in Local Government and Public Services by John Brown,
Pat Gaudin and Wendy Moran
Public Relations in Practice edited by Anne Gregory
Risk Issues and Crisis Management in Public Relations by Michael Regester and
Judy Larkin
Running a Public Relations Department by Mike Beard
Writing Skills for Public Relations by John Foster
The above titles are available from all good bookshops. To obtain further informa-
tion, please go to the CIPR website (www.cipr.co.uk/books) or contact the publish-
ers at the address below:
Kogan Page Ltd
2nd Floor, 45 Gee Street
London EC1V 3RS
United Kingdom
Tel: [phone]
www.koganpage.com
FoRewoRd
T
rying to write a handbook on public relations which covers ‘the ground’
effectively is difficult. Attempts to do so normally end up several hun-
dreds of pages long, or shorter books skate over the surface without giving
any real detail about anything.
The key, in a relatively brief book, is selectivity. There is always far too
much to capture to give a true and comprehensive overview of public rela-
tions, but too little space. So boiling it down to the important topics is cru-
cial. The comfort is the knowledge that if you have inspired them, readers
will then be prompted to find out more for themselves. In this task, Caroline
Black has not disappointed. She has managed to squeeze into this tome a
good variety of the theories underpinning the science and art of public rela-
tions, along with a thoughtful snapshot of the practice and the practitioner.
The occasional deep-dive into aspects of the practice go to prove its depth,
breadth and importance. What also comes across is the energy and excite-
ment of the profession public relations is. Clearly it is a profession with a
rosy future as organizations increasingly recognize the importance of com-
munication. In an age where they are defined by what others say about
them and where they are held to account by a host of stakeholders who are
empowered by new technologies, public relations has moved centre stage.
Starting with a section on why public relations is important and a brief
history, Caroline goes to the heart of the matter, the issue of trust: why it’s
important and the role of public relations in building it. She then moves on
to describing some of the key theories, before covering the subject of what
it means to be a public relations professional.
What follows is a choice of topics, including the links between public
relations and marketing; planning campaigns; understanding audiences
and channels, and the role of research. These more general themes are then
enhanced by some particular areas of focus embracing creativity, visual
communications, issues and crisis management and evaluation. To round
off, Caroline returns to the practitioner and the specific skills they need to
develop such as briefing, writing and presentation.
This book does not attempt to encompass all the public relations special-
isms and areas of work, but it does give a very good grounding in and fla-
vour to the more generic requirements of those seeking to pursue a career in
the profession. Without these being grasped and honed, success will not be
possible. It is for this reason that The PR Professional’s Handbook should
be on the bookshelf of every person aspiring to enter one of the most excit-
ing, challenging and rewarding professions that is on offer today.
Professor Anne Gregory
Consultant Editor