What About Me?

Perhaps one of the frustrating aspects of being a professional communicator is that one has very little "me time." Everything is always about someone else. First, there is the client. What is their message? What is their goal? How much of their money are they willing to spend on an outreach effort? Are they pleased with the advertising copy? Does the speech hit all the points they want to emphasize? Are they comfortable with the quotes that have been prepared for them? Do they want to speak to the press at all? Those are just a few of a litany of questions that revolve the needs and wishes of one person or a singular organization.

There is, then, the matter of the publics the professional communicator seeks to connect with on behalf of their client or that which they represent. What are their interests? What are their primary sources of information? Do they have any opinions or history with the client or organization previous to this new announcement? If so, was it an experience that was positive to them? What is the level of education, age range and other demographic pieces of information regarding the various publics? As it the case with the client, publics, too, have their own set of questions revolving around their likes and dislikes, interests, concerns, needs and hopes.

At some point in this dynamic, particularly if it is one that repeats itself as the pubic relations practitioner moves from client to client, the communicator has got to wonder, "What about me? Does anyone care what I like or think? When is someone going to try and please me?" Indeed. All the questions listed above represent the lot of that professional. The communicator is the dot-connector, the one to whom people turn to meet their communication needs. In such a scenario, there is no or very little time to ask the communicator about them. Their career is about others. It is not about them, at least not much any one wants to ask about.