Saturday, July 25, 2020

The Competent Press Secretary

There are two key elements to a press secretary's job: communicating the desired message of the big boss or organization and doing so in a way that either maintains open lines of interaction with those on the receiving end of the messages or, if possible, improves upon those channels. Such a dual challenge may sound difficult but, nevertheless, this is what the competent press secretaries do. Anything short of that represents failure on their part as professional communicators and a short-sightedness that does a serious disservice to the profession, themselves and the persons, including their boss, with whom they are attempting to connect.

This dual challenge never changes regardless of the message. Even if a press secretary has to speak harshly to a reporter, for example, they must do so in a way that is straight-forward, understandable and honest while maintain open lines of communication. For press secretaries to be at their best, these two objectives go hand-in-hand. Every time a press secretary steps up to the podium, it should be with the intent of achieving both ends. They should never sacrifice one objective at the expense of the other. The competent press secretary recognizes that one is not more important than the other, regardless of what direction they may be getting from their organizational superiors.

Granted, this may not always be easy, particularly if a boss is of a mindset that their message is more important than any one segment of the intended public. As a professional communicator, however, the press secretary must hold-strong to the communication truism that interactions are at their best when the thread connecting all parties involved remain viable and open. Yes, at times this can be a real tightrope walk for the press secretary. But that is why their job is both important and difficult. That is also why there be a lot of press secretaries these days but there are only few that are truly competent.

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