Our parents don’t know what we do?
This is pretty funny and probably true. It’s an inside joke amongst public relations professionals that our parents don’t really understand PR or know what we do for a living. In the case of Lindsey and myself, our folks actually do. I have them set their DVRs when I get a client on television, so I’ve basically made them understand.
But, a recent survey of 1,000 PR pros found that 72% said that their parents don’t know what they do, nor do they understand public relations. It’s not that crazy to think, as we’ve spoken to many, many high-level, intelligent business executives over the years who don’t really even know what we do or how the process works.
It gets better.
In the survey, they found that 41% said that their spouse didn’t understand what it is they do. I guess they aren’t listening at dinner when you complain after a long day of the media bumping your client’s guest appearance on CNN because of a huge police brutality story that’s dominating airwaves.
So, if you don’t understand PR, it’s okay. Don’t be afraid to ask. The fact that so many people don’t know what PR is or how it works makes it that much more powerful.