Smart People Aren't PR People

Now, how many ways could that headline be misinterpreted? Probably alot. I'm going to add to this statement to make it sound even worse. Smart people aren't marketing people either. So, being a marketing and pr person, does that mean, I'm not smart? No. The statement doesn't say PR people or marketing people aren't smart. Let me explain.

In my line of business, I work with many many smart people. Some are office managers, some are front line staffers, and some are the ones that get the big bucks. The doctors and lawyers, the engineers and accountants. I don't know about you, but in general when I think of those people, I think of them as, well, smart. They've probably had more schooling than I have. They're probably much better at numbers than I am. Therefore, they are smarter than me right? Maybe.

Here's the rub. Many smart people believe that because they are smart, they understand the nuances of public relations and marketing better than someone who has spent their life honing the skill. This can be very frustrating for a person who has chosen this profession. I promise not to question your court proceedings or consult on your surgeries if you promise to stop telling me that the only thing we need to do for marking is... (add some no cost, ineffective statement here like, "put up yard signs") I can hear lots of my colleagues nodding their heads.

Now, don't get me wrong. I will be the very first to listen when someone has a valid point. I want to improve my skills and look for ways to do so every day. But days like today, I'm reminded why I ended up in PR instead of say, law. It's a well-known fact that lawyers and PR people generally do not get along well. Lawyers want to say "no comment" all the time and PR people just don't. I'm not categorizing ALL lawyers - in fact, one of my favorite people who works for one of my favorite clients is a lawyer and we have a mutual respect for each other's profession. That's the part that is often missing. The other part is called, tact.

The dropping of the bomb
Yesterday, I was informed that a lawyer, who I never met, ripped apart a press release I had written. That's ok. I have thick skin. He then went on to say that for the money they were paying me, my writing was lousy and the press release earned about a "D" in his book. OUCH. That hurts. I never even got a "D" in my english classes at school. How could I possibly have missed the mark so badly? He then sent a revised version of the release with tracked changes that completely obliterated the document.

My initial reaction was, "Oh my gosh. I am totally in the wrong profession. If I can't get a simple press release right, I better turn in my badge."

Then, as I looked much further into the document, I saw that although I didn't agree with all of his changes, some definitely improved the document. But I realized that he stripped the release of all emotion. It no longer had a hook. Instead, it was a sterile, lifeless document that would probably get no more than a brief. That was when I was able to stand up, dust myself off, check the bruises and dive in for a compromise. I realized that he was writing for his intended target market - a well-educated business person. I was writing for a totally different target - a reporter. I know, because I've worked in this profession for so long that these are two different targets. If I can't catch the eye of a reporter with an intriguing headline and strong lead paragraph, I'm finished. That was when my confidence was renewed. I am not a lousy writer. I just don't write like he does. That's ok with me.

The bottom line, after licking my wounds, I have to say that I'm thankful for this experience. Every once in a while, you need to have someone totally rock your world in order to see where you can improve. If my clients are always happy, that's great, but it can lead to complacency. He was right about some things - although he didn't label them right. He stated that there were punctuation, spelling and grammar errors. That's not accurate. There was one typo and some writing that could have been tighter. That made me step back and say, "How well did I proofread this?"

When we are writing, we become involved in the process. It's a good practice, if there is time to step away from the document for a day if possible. When we return, it's easier to see in a new light. I guess my lesson learned from this is to slow down and rethink. Afterall, these people are really smart. Sometimes they have some good ideas and input. Sometimes they don't. It's our job as PR and marketing people to determine which make sense. Then, because we are communications experts, we'll avoid using the word lousy and say instead, "Perhaps this might be a better way."

Lesson I learned from my 9-year-old
I'll wrap up this story with a short analogy. Earlier this week, my son's U-10 soccer team went confidently into the play-offs undefeated. First play-off game was against the lowest rank team in the league. The slam-dunk game ended up to be 4-2 in favor of the other team. My son's first reaction was to blame the ref, blame the kid that kept slide tackling, then, blame his team for not working together. After recovering from this devastating loss, he realized that it may have been his team's fault that they lost.

Now, they have to really fight for the championship. The next game, they won with a resounding 8-3 victory and are revved up for the last game on Saturday. They were beaten, they re-evaluated their strengths and weaknesses and came back on top. That's what we as adults have to do sometimes too. It's easy to blame the referee (lawyer) when you don't do your best. But it's not until you look in the mirror that you find that the solution to the problem is looking right back at you.