Research: The Act of Listening before Speaking

           I’ve always held an admiration for people who have mastered the art of speaking knowingly, convincingly, and eloquently on any subject at the drop of a hat.   I used to wonder, what is this magic skill that allows some people to have super-secret direct line to words and ideas, neatly lined up in a row?  And so I watched and listened, and I observed that those who speak well also listen well.  They also read a lot, and they converse – they don’t talk “at” others, they talk “with” others.  And when it seems that they’re talking “at” a group, they are also keenly aware of the group they are talking to.  They are aware of the group’s values, level of comprehension, prior knowledge, and the ways that what they are saying will resonate with - or enrage - those being spoken to.  In a nutshell, perhaps it’s part magic, but it’s also part PR.

            With these thoughts of words and magic floating around, it may seem like PR is all fun and games – but then I hear that the first step to a good PR plan is research.  My initial reaction to this was, unsurprisingly, a big yawn.  But then research was reframed in our textbook as listening, and it started to make sense.   All of the attributes I observed among my pool of revered, eloquent, public speakers, involved research - or in other words, listening before speaking.  And though one element of research is the act of being aware, being acutely curious, and taking in reams of information from multiple sources, it seems that there is also quite a bit of more focused research that goes into building a successful PR plan.

            Seeing as research, in itself, is a methodical approach, it doesn’t surprise me that it can be grouped into categories.  Primary research defines types of inquiries that generate new information, while secondary research reviews information that already exists.  Secondary research can include Internet and database searches, poring over your organization’s archives, and reviewing previous PR and marketing plans.  You may also look at customers or clients of your organization, to determine which demographics are most likely to be your target audience.  Secondary research is kind of like an environmental scan – it involves looking at what is already out there, and what the context that we’re working in while developing this PR plan.  Primary research is less directed at pulling context from information that already exists, rather, it seeks to reveal the unknowns, and gather specific information about the environment.  For example, primary research would include asking questions of the public, or other stakeholders, in a formalized conversation, such as an interview, a focus group or a phone survey.

            The information collected through research can also be categorized either as qualitative (“hard” data) or quantitative (“soft” data).  I found the best way to remember the difference between the two is to think that hard data leaves a clear mark, while soft data leaves an impression.  For example, perhaps you are considering using Instagram as part of your campaign, but you’re not sure if it will really take off.  You could collect some soft data through a focus group, and invite some of your customers in to talk about how they use social media.  This would give you a general idea of the behaviors of your target audience, and you could learn some interesting things.  However, these facts might not hold true across a larger audience.  So then you might look at some hard data, and conduct a survey where you learn that – in hard numbers – Instagram has far fewer users than Facebook, however, those users interact with it more often.  If you’re looking to reach a broad audience, research might lead you to decide to forego using Instagram.  But perhaps those few who are on Instagram are the key influencers that you’re trying to reach, and besides, your secondary research found many tech blogs that championed it as an up-and-coming platform that’s enjoyable, and easy to adopt.  If you didn’t do the research, then you’re making decisions on a hunch and a gamble.  And if you were still unsure, then you would do more research!

            In short, good research is about knowing your environment, defining your audience, and determining the best way to communicate with them. Without this foundational knowledge, your PR plan would be all talk and no listening. 

Passion for the Arts, and the art of PR, with Teri Stevens

I met with Teri Stevens, Publicist and Online Media Coordinator for the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, over lunch at the Free Press café.  Teri has been with MTC for a year and 5 months now, and previously worked with Arts& Cultural Industries Manitoba  and Sarasvati Productions.  She entered the Creative Communications program at Red River after completing a B.A. at the University of Manitoba, and initially thought she might go into journalism, but fell in love with PR instead.

Teri did a practicum with the Government of Manitoba, where she learned, among many other things, that she would rather write about theatre than wheat.   Teri reaffirmed for me the importance of following your passion, and also being realistic about what that will bring.   She said, “When you follow you passion into the arts, it’s not going to make you rich, right?  So you have to be there for another reason.”  Enjoying and loving her job is more important than salary, and this came through clearly in her stories and the advice that she kindly shared with me.  I’m sure that if her passion was wheat, and not theatre, she would be an excellent wheat publicist too (although wheat does make it into the arts every now and then).

But I digress.  I did know enough, when I was asked to interview a PR professional, that wheat is also not a passion of mine.  I know that I want to build my PR skills so that I can contribute to work being done in the social/cultural sphere of life, in community development and in the arts, where (unfortunately), many organizations are doing great work with too small of a budget to include PR, or the majority of their focus is directed towards direct service or programming.  So I stared at my computer screen and thought, “what local non-profit is established and large enough to have a PR or marketing department?”  I had an “aha” moment when I thought of MTC, and a second “aha” moment when I looked Teri up on LinkedIn.  I thought, “It looks like she is in a place that I’d like to be.  Also, I think this could be fun!”  And it was.

Fun – or enjoyment, at least – can be found in seemingly tedious work when it aligns with your interests.  In order to write a blurb (a short one-paragraph description of a play), Teri needs to read the entire screenplay.  After reading it, her challenge is to find that one thing that will interest the MTC audiences, and inspire them to come to the theatre.  She also reads through a huge stack of paper to collect the news clippings, reads over and edits pieces written by her colleagues, reads other PR blogs, reads PR Daily…let’s just say she reads a lot.  She writes and compiles pieces for MTC’s program, writes press releases, and writes actor’s bios.

Teri also needs to keep current with work happening internally in other departments of MTC , in order to update the website, and keep current with external organizations whose regulations affect how MTC does their promotion.  For example, the actor’s union has certain rules about publicity: If a photo has 3 or more actors in it, they don’t need to be named independently, but if there are 3 or less, their names need to be listed in full.  If her promo image features 3 actors with long names , well, that could be an entire tweet, with no room left for any other description.  It’s plain to see that to be an effective publicist, you need to be able to balance a micro and a macro view of the area you’re working in, and be acutely aware of every other group you are interconnected with.

Of course, this interconnection also keeps the work interesting, as well as fulfilling.  Teri said that she gets a lot of pride and satisfaction from seeing the effects and the results of her work, in seeing a successful pitch, and in surviving the busiest part of the season.  She started with MTC just 10 days before she had to put on a large media conference for the Fringe Festival, which is always an incredibly busy time for MTC staff.  However, Teri found that through past experience with ACI and her schooling, she was ready for the challenge.  She spends a lot of her time working with the media, keeping her media list updated, and also meets regularly with old classmates and instructors to share experiences and stay current.

Near the end of our conversation, I asked Teri for 3 tips for someone starting out in PR, and I’ll share them with you here: 

1.  Never stop learning.
2. Seek things out.  Go to networking events (CPRS, IABC), where you can meet people and pick up new skills.
3. Maintaining work-life balance is important.  You could do PR 24 hours a day, but you’d burn out, you wouldn’t be very happy, and you wouldn’t be very good at your job either.  Sometimes you need to accept that you can’t do it all.

Thanks, Teri, for sharing your time and experience with me.  This conversation truly helped to illuminate the road ahead.  I’m excited to delve further into the multifaceted and exciting world of PR in the arts and nonprofit sectors, with a few tips and tricks in my traveler’s bag, and the knowledge that though it will surely be trying at times, there is joy and fulfillment in following your passion.

Image credit: fromoldbooks.org