Is That All There Is?

I receive a lot of emails and I am sure I am not the only one who can make that claim. It is not because I am all that popular. Rather, much of it is comprised of announcements and/or advertisements about a range of products that I have no interest in (I have no idea how I got on their mailing address) and professional seminars and conferences that do, at least, touch on communication, the field and social science to which I have devoted much of my professional life. Regarding those particular emails, one reason I find them of particular interest is that, collectively, they provide a snapshot into the profession of public relations/communication as it today.

The focus of many of the upcoming seminars and conferences being touted range from ways to write punchier press releases and snappy media advisories to tips on creating more compelling newsletters and giving memorable speeches. On the one hand, all of this is fine as certainly all of us in the field can usually learn ways to improve whatever skills we might have in those areas. But on the other, I am struck by how little new seems to be offered by way of helping practitioners - new and veteran - gain better insight into communication and how to apply it more to everyday lives of themselves and others.

Public relations/communication is a dynamic and ever evolving field, yet one would not appreciate that based on the sameness of seminars and conferences touted year-in and year-out by various agencies. It is time to begin encouraging practitioners at all levels to begin looking at what they do from perspectives that explore how to make communication more meaningful. For instance, how about one that helps practitioners better understand the importance of listening? another that examines ways for professionals to help their clients maintain working ties with various publics? or one that dissects the purposes of public relations itself? There is no time like the present to begin providing practitioners with ways to become more insightful and even wiser about what they do rather than just more skillful.