Staring at blank pages… Most PR practitioners in Kenya lack the writing and speech skills critical to their work. (Photo: Courtesy)
BY ERIC WAMANJI
NOTE: This is a Long Read
A recent research by TIFA revealing that Public Relations professionals in Kenya lack communicative competencies – written and verbal – is ironic, dispiriting but hardly surprising.
That PR folks largely struggle with the written word has been one of the best kept secrets. Yet, writing and verbal communication are the soul of PR.
I’m no writing expert though. I also struggle with writing. Still, the TIFA findings are mind-boggling. It’s like someone getting behind the wheels yet lacks driving skills. That’s tragic. And tragedy, methinks, that’s what organisations live with for lack of competent PR writers.
Typically, the world of PR is one of writing. It could be the mundane like memos, emails or responses to complaints. It could be technical and highly intellectual like strategy papers, speeches or position papers. We have to write captivating articles for popular consumption such as features, news, news releases, analyses, OP-EDs or blog posts.
Seductive
Hence, mastery of diverse repertoires of writing is critical. The PR writer has to be as versatile and as prolific as it can get. Indeed, the indispensability of writing in PR cannot be overstressed. It’s through this enterprise that brands and organisations get a life: Power. Profits. Prestige. PR writing articulates the organisations’ vision and strategic direction. Writing seduces the publics towards an organisation and its brands. It defends organisations in the court of public opinion. It wins hearts and minds. In short, great writing is a key business enabler.
The life of a PR chap also involves lots of talking. But not the idle tattler. Nay. Measured, intellectual conversations. Speech, is silver.
For both writing and speech, mastery of the business language is mandatory. How do you construct enthralling content? And for Christ’s sake, how do you deal with crisis, sway perception, attitudes opinions and behaviour if your articulative sensibilities are blunt?
Critical thinking
Of course, there’s more to PR than writing and talking. But, the two skills are at the heart of a successful PR enterprise. And for your information, don’t be misled by narratives that PR is a management function. How can you manage that which you cannot articulate? That’s why, let’s face it, those who cannot write, yet are in Public Relations, are but masqueraders. Period.
That’s why PRSK should crack the whip. It must set irreducible minimums as pre-requisites for ascendancy to its roll of honour. The philosophy of dishing out memberships to folks who are ill-equipped for the job frustrates the very doctrine of a professional body. It dims the prestige and lustre of PR.
Robert White captures the essence of writing well: “To succeed as a PR pro,” he argues, “it’s vital to have a passion for writing and communication, and to be committed to excelling in both. You’re bound to fail if you don’t.”
But how are we surviving in the industry if our technical competencies are dubious? Truth is that most employers, and especially in the public sector, hardly grasp its essence and spirit. And so, they don’t care.
Blonde
In fact, to the public sector, PR is largely feminist and sexist. Here, PR is supposed to be a smiling machine, in heels, cat-walking, neat hair, make-up, and submissive. PR is supposed to be the entertainer of guests. It’s a blonde industry with looks but hardly any brains. Where a strand of brain is needed, it’s in getting stuff to, or off the media. That’s it. How sad. How misplaced.
The Public Sector is yet to consider PR as an intellectual enterprise and integral to the strategic thinking and planning critical to business development. May be it’s not the mistake of honchos. May be, it’s a product of precedence and experience of past flops.
To appreciate the disturbing reality that PR is losing its grove, of late the State Corporation Advisory Committee is restructuring parastatals. And it’s unwittingly detaching PR from the executive’s office. Sadly, PRSK is mum about this grave anomaly. Yet, communication is a function of leadership. It’s only through strategic PR that the executive can competently embody the corporate brand and articulate vision and strategy, and thereby rally people towards the bigger goal.
Painful
It’s understandable though that writing is not as easy as ABC. Writing is complex and painful. It requires thinking. Distilled thinking. It also requires wide-ranging knowledge and robust intellectual enterprise. Thus, great writing is preceded by avid readership. Sadly, most folks hate reading. Reading is painful because it’s done in isolation. Reading too engages the brain, therefore it consumes energy. Our brain largely hates work. It fancies shortcuts and massage. That’s why FM Radio is having a field day for content is shallow and hopeless.
Then, writing being an art, requires flair. So, style, syntax, semantics name it, are critical. Indeed, Frank Luntz, a Republican Pollster in a 222- page memo to U.S Congress puts it simply, “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” This is where language dynamics come into play. Sadly, “how we say it” in writing or in speech is disturbingly wanting.
Thus, small wonder PR offices are swamps of plagiarism (I’ve personally caught folks red-handed stealing my works). They liberally pirate every intellectual item imaginable from online and offline. Speeches, memos, articles… are plagiarised without jolt to conscience. This gross unprofessionalism is shocking and degrading.
Can’t write
In schools of communication, most students eschew writing classes. Why? Because, well, they say “I can’t write. I’ll go to PR.” What a fallacy! See, students of Public Relations, prefer the road with less trouble. Most students dream of becoming news anchors. Others want to organise events and to dress the part, usher guests, check food, flowers, balloons, or décor. It’s not that these matters are insignificant. The reality is that PR is anchored on great writing and speech.
That’s why most PR agencies raid the newsroom (for print journalists specifically). In his book, The Fixer: Secrets for saving your reputation in age of viral media, Michael Sitrick, a renowned US PR strategist reflects that it’s easier to teach a journalist PR than to teach a PR person journalism.
The very face, the texture, the timbre and character of PR in Kenya must change. Professionals must rise to the occasion, but employers should understand that not everyone with a degree in communication is an expert. most of them are masqueraders. TIFA’s research can attest to that!
