Struggling to balance ALL the important relationships in life? Use PR Principles.

Public Relations means something different to everyone –– some see it as a vital component of business, while others correlate it to questionable ethics or spin. But the truth is that when used correctly, public relations is, in its simplest form, the ability to maintain and continue to foster the relationships that an organization has with all of its key stakeholders. And we can easily apply that same principle to the way we balance relationships in our personal lives.  

Family members, partners, friends, clients and colleagues –– we spend a major portion of our time balancing all of these relationships, and communicating with them in distinctive ways.  And we are talking about one-to-one communication vs. one to many (ie., social media)…..

In a non-profit, you wouldn’t communicate with a donor in the same way as a client in need; or in a corporation, you wouldn’t communicate with a consumer in the same way as a manufacturer. Even when communicating the same message, it would be shaped differently. 

That translates to the way we manage our own personal relationships. It’s easy to be overwhelmed when trying to maintain positive relationships with everyone in our lives –– we want those who are important to us to feel valued, but there’s no sane way to communicate with every single person we value, every day. And the same goes for PR. An organization has so many vital stakeholders, but they can’t be communicated with constantly. 

So that means that the communication we do have with others must be meaningful. Three important aspects of meaningful communication are content quality, personalization and consistency. To better manage your relationships, consider these three things when communicating to the ‘stakeholders’ of your personal life: 

·       Content Quality: When you do have a chance to communicate with the people who are important to you, make it personal. Cut the crap –– ‘how’s the weather’ talk and make the conversation meaningful.

·       Personalization: Communicate in a way that is unique to your relationship. You wouldn’t talk to your brother and your best friend in the same way. Consider what matters most to the person you’re talking to and make sure to touch on that thing. 

·       Consistency: Consistency doesn’t mean you need to call your grandma every day. You might contact her each month while you contact your best friend every day. Consistency simply means that you have a regular process –– just like a company may email their avid customers about deals daily, but not their entire contact list.  

Show the people who are important to you that you care this Thanksgiving (and always); take the time to connect.