Human Nature

What's the deal with us as people any way? What, in fact, is our nature? Are we individuals who, when born, grow to make our own choices and decisions based on our self-interest as Thomas Paine suggested? Or are we more compelled to build on our need to come together, establish rules and guidelines, and embrace entities that govern our behavior and leaders that guide us as Edmund Burke observed?  Of the two, which one best defines our innate characteristics that best captures our preferences as living creatures and determines how we most comfortably engage with each other and, ultimately, coexist?


Looking at the two options, is it possible that both comprise our fundamental nature? If so, wouldn't that be something! If the case, then it suggests we are a walking-talking bundle of internal conflict driven by our own interests and needs while seeking to conform with the directives and visions of others. If so, then our nature is one of sharp contradiction. How fascinating! How maddening! Given that, it is a wonder any of us are able to connect with others as well as dwell comfortably within our own skins. Somehow, of course, this is exactly what each of us does every single day: blend in yet follow our own path.  


Given such a reality, is it any wonder that communication remains a constant struggle for all of us? Generally, we recognize others want to do their own thing, yet prefer they embrace our perspectives in order for us to better "get along." Perhaps what separates the misfits of society from the majority that confirms to its parameters is one's ability to cope with the contradictory elements within our nature. Communication, I believe, is a key aspect in helping bridge this gap. How and what we communicate can help all of us contend with this fundamental struggle that defines us. That being said, of course, does not make it an easy challenge to meet.

"That's a stupid idea."

After all these years, I still remember the exchange very well. It was a little over 45 years ago during my freshman year of college. I was a journalism major at the University of Tennessee (UT) and very proud to be a reporter on the institution's student newspaper, The Daily Beacon. My goal was to gain experience, but, more than that, make my mark in a big way. The only question was how I was going to do that. Finally, what I immediately perceived as my opportunity came along. By chance, I stumbled into a conversation with several upper classmen who said they had heard the local police had a reputation for abusing their prisoners. On the heels of that information, I decided to pursue the story.


Right away, I went to the editor of the school newspaper to share what I had been told as well as outline my plan for breaking this story "wide open." Rather than simply talk to the police about this, I said I would get myself arrested , spend a night in jail and, as a result, see first-hand just how corrupt the police were. Following that, I would do a powerful expose that would right this terrible wrong and propel me to..........who knows where? The editor listened to my story pitch and then suggested before I do anything, I see Professor Kelly Leiter of the university's communication department for his feedback.


My meeting with this former journalist, teacher, scholar, syndicated columnist, and military veteran was brief.. Upon hearing my pitch, Leiter sat back in his chair and said, "That's a stupid idea." He then went onto explain the foolishness of getting a police record on the basis of what was, at best, flimsy hearsay information. Looking back, I am thankful for his wisdom. It was, in fact, a dumb idea. Had I tried to carry it out, I would have no-doubt done great harm to my-so called budding professional career, status as a student, and future efforts to become an active citizen. Leiter knew this. He saw I lacked the maturity and experience to jump into such deep water and come even close to staying afloat. (For the record, I later learned there was no truth to the rumor about the local police.)


I mention this not-so-proud incident in my life because recently I learned Prof Leiter passed away. He had been retired for nearly 15 years. Among the many highlights of his most distinguished career was being honored twice for extraordinary service to the university, serving as a commentator for UT's National Public Radio member station, and being the principal co-author of "The Complete Reporter," a highly successful textbook. Following my encounter with him, I ended up taking several journalism and writing classes with Prof. Leiter. I quickly found him to be a man of good humor, great patience, striking talent, and an unshakeable streak of kindness. Thank you, Prof. Leiter.     

The Benefits of Silence

There is wisdom in the old Egyptian proverb, "...silence is golden." In a world that seems to be increasingly noisy, without question at times all of us need a break from all sounds, even ones we like. It can actually be quite comforting to remove ourselves from television, cell phones, music, other voices, etc. and bask in the calm that silence provides. Such a periodic "time-out" is one way of recharging one's mental batteries. This seems to work for me, at least. At the same time, silence can be of benefit in other ways as well. For instance, it can be a buffer against noise one wants to avoid.


A stark example of that at present involves comedian/entertainer Bill Cosby. A number of  disturbing stories have been appearing in the press recently triggered by more than a dozen women who claim over the past several decades they were drugged and then raped or sexually assaulted by Cosby. Not surprisingly, such revelations are causing many who have been fans of this public figure to rethink their admiration for him. In response, through his attorney, Cosby remains silent. Other than releasing a statement in which he refutes the claims of these women, Cosby is resisting pressure to openly discuss charges that may very well bring his career to an abrupt end.


From a public relations perspective, the 77-year-old Cosby is wise to embrace silence. Any comments he makes would only add fuel to this raging fire. Sadly, this is the reality whether or not the charges being put forth by these women are true. Were Cosby to sit down with the press for a comprehensive interview, for instance, anything he said would in all probability incite the alleged victims to provide even  more graphic details to their encounters with him than they already have. Statements by Cosby might even make him vulnerable to legal action. Thus, in this terrible time in his life, silence is perhaps Cosby's best friend. 

The Canons and the Code

Conventional wisdom dictates that journalists and public relations practitioners dwell largely in parallel universes. From time to time, they intersect and, on occasion, even collaborate. But those circumstances are rare and when they do happen, it is only begrudgingly that persons from both camps enter into them. The actual truth, of course, is a bit different. Journalists and folks in public relations connect on a regular basis to the point of being valuable resources for each other in their efforts to communicate with the general population. In fact, the work performed by these professionals is not all that different.


One common trait these professional communicators share is they attempt to carry out their responsibilities under the umbrella of a set of encompassing values. In the case of journalists, it is the Canons of Journalism, a series of principles adapted in 1923 by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. For those public relations practitioners belonging to the Public Relations Society of America, the largest professional organization in that profession, it is the Code of Ethics that was updated in 2000. Among the values put forth in the Canons are the need to operate on behalf of the public, supporting a free press and being truthful, fair and impartial. For those in public relations, values include being truthful and fair, supporting freedom of expression, and avoiding conflicts of interest.


What is striking about the values the two camps of professional communicators operate under is how similar they are. Both are urged to be open in what they do, protective of those with whom they work and from whom they obtain information, and carry out their duties with the highest level of professionalism they can. As agents of communication, they are encouraged to operate in a manner that best serves the general public. Given these similarities, it a wonder journalists and public relations practitioners do not collaborate even more often than they do. 

The Burden of Journalists

This entry is designed to be a virtual hug to all members of the media. I begin by acknowledging that we all have days where we feel like no matter what we do, we are going to make the wrong choice. And then there are days that no matter how we strive to do our jobs, we realize we are going to fall short in the eyes of others. Such as the reality of journalists. Their burden is not all that dissimilar from many elected officials as rarely do those folks have days in which they enjoy unanimous high-fives from their constituents either. In the case of members of the Fourth Estate, however, their dilemma is more striking. 


The conventional wisdom regarding reporters is that they are expected to be objective in what they write and/or broadcast. Their news reports are supposed to be dispassionate accounts of an event or decision by some entity such as the government. Fine. But at the same time, it is not unusual for these professional communicators to be criticized for doing that. People call them glorified stenographers when all they do is recount something that has happened or simply reiterate what an official, such as the President, has said. The public wants reporters to provide analysis of events, policy decisions, etc. Fine. But the moment a journalist attempts to do that, they are often criticized for being biased or having their own agenda. How unfair is all this?


Generally, the public seems to want more from reporters, yet it is not clear what that "more" is. Perhaps the ultimate cross that reporters bear is that their work is never going to be universally embraced. The fact what they do is very much in the public eye makes their work all the more subject to being criticized and second-guessed. This reality, however, does not make what they do any less important. It is and always will be vital to a free and open society. Too bad, then, that the rest of us, including the government, do not always give them the support they deserve.

Standing Tall

Six lions and an elephant. That sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. "Six lions and an elephant walk into a bar........" or "Six lions and an elephant are in a life boat........." If I were more clever, then I would be able to complete each of those scenarios in a way that would at least elicit a mild chuckle out of an audience. But since I am not, I will note the six lions and an elephant is part of short video I saw recently on You Tube. Someone filmed a confrontation between what looked to be six young lions and an equally young elephant. The lions sensed an easy kill and began to attack the elephant which seemed to be nowhere near its herd.


Several of the lions leaped onto the back of the elephant but the big creature kept moving and spinning and was able to shake them off. Also, it was the elephant's good fortune that the incident occurred near a river. The elephant headed into the river with the hungry cats giving chase, As the elephant submerged itself into the river, the cats pulled back. The elephant was free of its attackers. The fact it had survived to live another day - hopefully a great many more days - was due to perhaps a combination of good fortunate, strength, courage and conviction that there are times when one needs to stand tall against others even if those others seem to have more power.


In a number of areas in the world today, including politics, economics and sociology, so much power appears to be in the hands of those with the loudest voices. Rightly or not, there are those who are not unlike that pack of lions, on the prowl, looking to vanquish those who stand apart from them. And then there are those like the elephant who stand alone with little but their own wits and determination. Such an imbalance is not unique to current times. But what is more prominent than ever is the power of communication. With the help of technology and even professional communicators, those who are out numbered and with fewer resources can be heard. Communication gives them a voice and that is no small thing.

Tension

There are a number of elements that comprise any act of communication. One that is rarely, if ever, considered is tension. As an example, think of an innocent encounter between two individuals who pass each other in a hallway. One says "hello." As soon as that occurs, tension enters the mix. Will that other person respond with a similar "hello?" Will they say something else instead? Or will they ignore or not see the initial overture? Regardless of what they do, how will the person who gave forth with the first greeting respond? Will they simply keep walking or will they respond in a way that takes the exchange to the next level? And so it goes.


All acts of communication represent a step into the unknown. None of us know for sure how they will go. There is no guarantee whatever goals we might have for an exchange will be met. This includes a simple exchange of "hellos" between individuals. Such a reality makes any act of communication one not all that dissimilar than rolling a pair of dice. Obviously, saying hello to someone in a hallway is not as risky as rolling for "snake eyes" or a "lucky seven." Nevertheless, risk is present and with it comes tension. The result is communication calls upon all who do it or attempt it - that means everyone - to step, at least a little bit, outside their comfort zone.


The amount or degree of tension one feels depends, of course, on the individual as well as one what might be at stake. If millions of dollars are on the line, then obviously the level of tension is very high. On the other hand, if one fails to receive a "hello" from a person they see in a hallway, then the damage is not so great. Either way, however, tension is present. As we all are communicators, then, it is important to be sensitive to this reality. Such awareness enables us to be better tuned into those with whom we seek to connect. As any professional communicator will tell you, the more one knows their audience, then the better chances they have of communicating effectively with them. And it all starts with tension.   

Weblogs

Currently, one of the most popular forms of communication are blogs. Since coming into existence in 1998, scholars Dennis Wilcox and Bryan Reber estimate over 450 million English-speaking blogs have been started. (I hope "Why Communication Matters" is part of that count. I would hate to be left out and end up not being invited to the group's annual Christmas party.) Including blogs originating from countries where English is not the primary language, that total expands to over one billion, or approximately one for every six people on the planet. When they started 14 years ago, this form of communication was called a weblog.  Between then and now, it must have been decided that saying "weblog" was too time consuming, so all of us began referring to them as "blogs."


The reality of these communiques is that the great majority of them have very few, if any, active readers. For instance, as only two people have actually identified themselves as "followers of "Why Communication Matters,"  that is definitely the case here. Still, I and the great majority of my fellow bloggers continue to churn out entries simply because we no doubt enjoy it and, perhaps on some level, believe our perspectives make some sort of contribution to the overall public forum. There are, of course, blogs that have a great many followers. Generally, many of these are more news-oriented and have a reputation for breaking stories.


All of us, on some level, wish to be noticed as someone striving to make a positive difference in the world. For me, at least, that is one reason I have posted over 650 blog entries and have no plans to stop. Plus, creating a blog and then posting entries is relatively easy and relatively painless for people like me who are technically-challenged. Granted, there may be some who view blogging as a waste of time. "Why do it," they may ask, "if no one is reading what you write?' Possibly the best answer to that is while you never really know if someone "out there" is actually reading what you write, anything that might even contribute to helping encourage interaction between people is worth the effort.

It's All Personal

There is a famous quote in the political world put forth by the late Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill who said, "All politics is local." One can glean several points from this observation: everything politicians do affect their constituents and, perhaps more importantly, it is vital to a politician's success that it is their primary function to work on behalf of the people they are elected to serve. Consequently, it is key the officials maintain ongoing contact with voters, regardless of who the citizens voted for. Some, of course, do a better of this than others and some, as a result, end up being voted out of office because of it.


This political reality is not all that different in the world of public relations.  Even though professional communicators are viewed as spending the bulk of their time preparing and targeting messages to audiences or publics with whom they have no personal or direct contact, nevertheless it is essential they remember that what they do has impact. Their communiques can and do make a difference in the lives of others. Reflecting upon such a reality might fill some with an inflated sense of self-importance. Others may assess this and feel humbled by the fact their communication efforts affect the lives of folks they probably will never know or even meet. 


This points to the fact professional communicators are not without some level of influence or power. This is not to be taken lightly. What they do, in fact, is personal. A public relations team might produce a slick and catchy advertising campaign urging folks to purchase a particular product. A person living thousands of miles away might see this ad and, on the basis of it, decide to actually go out and buy the product - a step they may not have taken otherwise. Such action and reaction is no small thing. It speaks of the power of communication and, more to the point, of the communicator him or herself. Having the ability to be so influential is not to be taken lightly.