Success

One of Ralph Waldo Emerson's most famous poems revolves around his definition of success. To have succeeded, he says, is to, among other things, find the best in others, to appreciate beauty, and to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a redeemed social condition or to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. Those are beautiful sentiments and have certainly proved to be a source of inspiration to many, myself included. Re-reading them recently got to me to thinking that perhaps these words could also serve as what defines a successful public relations campaign or communication effort.

This is all well and good, one might say, but how exactly would that apply to a public relations rep who has been asked to promote a film series at a local community college? Or how does that apply to the spokesman who is asked to talk-up the candidacy of a politician? Those are certainly logical questions. The answer is found in how the professional communicator approaches their job in terms of the big question as well as regarding immediate tasks to which they are assigned. We all communicate but none of us do it very well all that time. When communication efforts fall short, it is often because the elements the define their success have been ignored or not given the attention they deserve.

Those elements include being respectful, open, honest, and providing individuals or publics to whom you are attempting to communicate with the opportunity to participate in a dialog or, at the very least, be heard. Communication is more than just an act of transmitting information or message to another. It is attempt to connect or interact with another. Build a bridge between people and then maintain or strengthen that bridge. The challenge comes in figuring out how best to do that regardless of what task you have been assigned or what the immediate, short-term objective of your plan might be. Thus, in all acts relating to communication, one must never stop considering the big picture or high road.