The longer I work in public relations, the more it reminds me of waiting tables.
If you’ve ever had to turn over an 18-top on a Sunday afternoon in the bible belt, you know there is absolutely a technique to stacking plates.
You learn how to scrape and consolidate without making a ruckus, how to balance the silverware so it doesn’t slide, and constantly surprised at how much you can balance on one arm. But no matter how many tables you've bussed, the plates never stack exactly the same way twice.
Sometimes the table has already stacked them for you. Sometimes the busboy appears out of nowhere like a knight in matte gray bus tub armor.
And, sometimes you launch a tray of dirty silverware on the lap of a very expensive looking man sitting with the Judds. (True story.)
What I'm getting at is, surviving a brunch shift requires being able to quickly and accurately read a situation, think on your feet, and get creative when you end up in the weeds.
I approach public relations pretty much the same way.
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I've been working in communications for more than fifteen years, although describing my career that way makes it sound more orderly than it is.
My professional communications career spans hospitality, technology, entertainment, media, nonprofit, and fashion. Since 2020, most of my work has been concentrated in public-interest and political campaign PR, working directly with candidates and organizations as well as a vendor for other political PR agencies across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
Before and between comms gigs there were a lot of random others. I've waited tables, tended bar, sold radio spots, pulled dents in Tornado Alley, and even worked at a Spencer's Gifts.
By my own accounting, I've done just about every kind of job.
That is because I am curious to the point of occupational hazard. Generalists tend to get a bad rap.
But I'd argue the accumulation is its own kind of expertise and it all informs how I approach my work.
What I know to be true about Public Relations
Make it visual.
People understand ideas better when they can picture them. Whether through words or creative, make the idea easy to visualize.
Say what only you can say.
“I’m a proven leader” is hard to argue with because it doesn't actually mean anything. A claim is always going to be more compelling when its concrete enough to be wrong and an element of what makes it true is the person saying it.
Show, don't just tell.
Anyone can make a claim. Showing the evidence, action, or behavior lets people reach the conclusion for themselves.
Specificity creates meaning.
The more specific, the easier to recognize yourself, and being able to see yourself in a candidate or campaign is a lightening rod for connection.
Tension attracts attention.
Tension isn't always a bad thing, the right kind and amount at the right time can be a powerful invitation.
Strategic does not automatically equal inauthentic.
Being strategic isn't the same as being manipulative, it is about being thoughtful. If anything, I would say it actually makes you more authentic.
Square pegs don't fit in round holes.
You can't just copy and paste a strategy from one person, organization, or campaign onto another and expect to get the same results. Believe me, sometimes I wish it really was that simple.
