Nine Game-Changing Tips for Publicists

I found myself reflecting on some key pieces of advice from my mentors and thought I'd share them--should you find them helpful, too!?

We're in PR not the ER: We can and should take pride in our work, but at the end of the day, we're promoting a product/service, not saving lives. It puts things in perspective when I have a day full of deadlines or dealing with stressful situations.?

Plan a buffer day: Add an extra day at the end of a vacation to acclimate into working life. It gives time after a longer vacation to unpack, do laundry, and buy groceries before facing the pile of emails. It’s also proved useful with traveling snafus that are beyond your control.?

Invest in art: It took a while for me to get this one, but it hit me when I was contemplating buying my first GREG MIKE . Art gives your home (or office) personality and you get to support artists you know and love. There's also a sense of pride of ownership knowing your hard work purchased the art.

Gates and Dates: Set a gate (what will happen) and a date (when it will happen) for any and every project, especially for evergreen or internal projects. It’s advantageous for those "long term" projects when sometimes the gate is simply "see what's going on."

Over Communicate: It may seem counterintuitive when we’re always trying to be brief, but simply dropping a note to a stakeholder notifying them the project is still on your list but is in a holding pattern, is valuable over radio silence.?

Beware of good work: Beware that word will get around, and your reputation may bring more work when you and your team execute excellent work. It’s not always a bad thing! However, be sure you have a solid manager who pushes back on items out of your scope or advocates to train someone else so it doesn’t always fall to you.?

Do what's right for you: If your manager does their job right it means at some point you'll grow beyond them. It's hard to realize that it may be time to move on or take a chance, and only you can make it happen. Thankfully, one of my former bosses pushed me to do what was right for me when I was afraid to. This has been a valuable lesson, and anytime I struggle with a decision I revisit this conversation and ask what he would tell me.

Quantify your story: Gone are the days of ad equivalencies, but our industry still needs to quantify our work to support the narrative of a strong media relations campaign. A former manager asked me to quantify my work in a review, and it took me some time to figure out which data told the best story. Now I'm always looking for numbers that tell a story and build along the way.?

Read it out loud: A critical step in any proofing process! Actually out loud, don't cheat. In our digital age, reading out loud slows you down so you don't gloss over typos on a screen. It catches words being overused, avoids passive voice, eliminates overly repetitive jargon, and is a different way to read when you’re cross-eyed editing the 10th version of a release you wrote a week ago.?

Pack two pairs of shoes and Chapstick: This came from the days of standing on trade show floors for hours. Anyone who's done those events quickly learns that it's solid concrete beneath the thin carpet of your booth. Changing shoes will avoid rubbing blisters you started on the first day, and Chapstick keeps you moisturized in AC that’s cranked too high and after hours of talking to reporters. I’ve survived several business trips, on and off the floor, with this sage advice.?

A moment for the mentors and former managers who shaped me: Rachel Wingard Candace McCaffery Rachel Hadley Isys Caffey-Horne Amy Salloum Nicholas Clarke Conroy Boxhill Michael McCullough Marie E. Hebert