Unnatural Act

Each day all of us wake, we are driven by one fundamental goal: to survive. We want to get through the day. Of course, we want our day to go well; we want to have fun; we want to achieve an assortment of goals; we want to feel good about ourselves; and we want to feel good about ourselves. While all these and perhaps other objectives are worthy and universal, they represent add-ons to the one basic goal that serves as the primary force that compels us to put one foot in front of the other: survive. To live. All of us are born and devote each day, save for some type of mental and/or emotional trauma, to doing all we can to keep that going for as long as we can.


Such a truism represents a basic truth about us: we are driven by what is best for us. Each of our days and the actions we take within him are fundamentally shaped by our need to do what is best for us. In other words, each days our number one priority is us. This, I should note, does not make us bad. Simply, it makes us who and even what we are. What, then, does this have to do with effective communication and the field of public relations? In a nutshell, those who fancy themselves as being professionals in the communication business function in a way that runs counter to the bottom-line truth about us as living beings.


Those in public relations do what they can on behalf of others. Their goal is to help others meet their goals. Yes, they put forth their recommendations and suggestions, but the client, ultimately, tells them what they want for "me" and the public relations practitioner then devotes their energy toward carrying out the client's wishes. In reference to communicating effectively, the challenge revolves around how well one listens and relates to those with whom they are speaking. The kind of selfless acts taken by professional communicators are not easy as they go against our own instinctive motivating forces. One could even go as far as to say they are unnatural.