Grab your baton and start conducting your public relations orchestra!

image by Frits Ahlefeldt via publicdomainpictures.net   

A Public Relations professional has much the same role as a conductor does during the playing of a musical score. They both require training, knowledge, expertise, artistry and an emotional involvement and connection with the audience, the orchestra members, or in the case of PR, the organization represented and its public.

A conductor must know where she is going with the musical selection. She has studied the musical score and is not only familiar with every part of it,   but as an artist, she feels the message of the piece and knows what message she wants the audience to receive. She knows which instruments or voices to bring in at exactly the right moment, at what volume, with what speed and intensity, and in a way that seems seamless and effortless. She is the master of the musical universe at that moment; she is the emotion of the musical piece, bringing a connection between the audience and the music.

Public relations professionals must be prepared, aware of all the different pieces and situations within the specific organization they represent and anticipate every possible outcome. As with a musical score, the plan needs to be well organized, laid out, studied and committed to. All of the pieces, all of the team members and even the actual public become part of this public relations orchestra.

It’s important for the PR representative to research and carefully select the message and the method of communication the organization wants to share with its public. Using the analogy of a musical performance, a conductor would focus on choosing a genre of music that the audience will appreciate.  After all, if the audience prefers classical music, then country music might provoke a walk-out rather than an enthusiastic “Bravo!” Know your audience and your public. If you still choose to introduce a bold new style, be prepared to educate, encourage, persuade, pacify and of course, eventually evaluate whether the new message or product was met with open minds and resounding success.

The journey of a successful Public Relations Representative can be creative, exciting, stressful, yet rewarding. The goal is to bring a positive, mutually beneficial relationship between the organization and the public. At the end of the task, the PR team is hoping for positive feedback and a job well-done. In musical terms that would mean hearing appreciative applause and being able to bow, with a flourish of the baton!