Death, Taxes and Communication

It is an old saying that there are two guarantees in life: death and taxes. This being tax season, it is possible that there are some who might be experiencing both of those right now. Still, I would like to make that duo a trio by adding communication to the mix. Is there ever a time when we are not communicating something? This is an act we do every moment of every day even when we do not mean or intend to. For instance, you are home alone and the phone rings, but you do not want to be disturbed. So, you let the phone ring. By doing this, of course, what you are communicating is loud and clear. On the other end of the spectrum, you are at a party and making everyone laugh with funny stories and clever comments. This, too, is a very definite act of communication.

Given this, the question then becomes not whether each of us is one big non-stop communication machine, but rather what is it we do with this reality. Do we use our communication energies to build, tear down, create harmony, better our own lot in life, reach out, spurn, or keep others away? We are all communicators even though we may not call ourselves that or be labeled that by others. Take the profession of public relations. In recent years, scholars have begun calling professionals in this growing field relationship managers. The responsibilities of many in it have progressed beyond serving as publicists or hucksters in some way. They seek to bring publics together for the purpose of working in unison on to address or support a shared problem, cause, or even product.

Make no mistake, when it comes to communication, those not in the profession and those who are share similar responsibilities. Just because a public relations professional may be able to write a better press release than someone not in the profession does mean their challenge to build relationships is any greater than that of everyone else. As it is with death and taxes, communication is with us every day. It is what we do with it that counts.