This Week's Column Was Written By Artificial Intelligence!

This is Sean writing (Artificial Intelligence will join us shortly).

AI has been gaining ground for some time now, doing everything from playing your favorite music to programming complex data, and from driving predictive analysis to driving actual cars.

Whether you're a fan of the concept of AI or not, it's easy to see how the world of communications isn't immune to being influenced by it. Heck, AI created the image you see at the top of this column (and did a great job, too) via a program called Artbreeder where you simply tell the Bot what you want it to create.

On the writing side... if you haven't experimented with ChatGPT yet, I highly encourage you to, as it already has lots of possibilities for making our lives easier.

I've read about ChatGPT being used for communications, including a recent column by Warren Weeks and a podcast by Molly McPherson . So I decided to take the Bot for a test spin, and see whether it could produce a column in the style on my previous "Storytelling by Sean" newsletters.

I mean, I write this newsletter every week - how hard could it possibly be?

After I set some parameters for what constitutes my newsletter (e.g. pretend to be an expert at things even though I'm not; sprinkle lame dad jokes in liberally) and included my archive of previous newsletters so it could "learn" my writing style, here's what ChatGPT came up with. I'll be back later for a quick evaluation.

Title: "The Power of Storytelling in Public Relations (or, How to Win Friends and Influence People with Your Words)"

Hello fellow word wizards!

In my previous columns, we've explored the magical powers of storytelling in various fields such as marketing, branding, and customer service. But today, I want to focus on the role of storytelling in public relations - AKA the art of manipulating people with your words (just kidding...kind of).

Public relations is all about building and maintaining relationships between a company and its stakeholders - whether that be customers, employees, investors, or the media. And what better way to build and maintain relationships than through the power of storytelling?

Think about it. Stories are like a warm hug for the soul - they help us connect with others and communicate complex ideas in a way that is relatable and memorable (unlike a spreadsheet, which is just a bunch of numbers that make you want to fall asleep). They can help a company humanize its brand, create an emotional connection with its audience, and even shape public perception (like a real-life Inception).

But here's the key: the stories that are most effective in public relations are authentic, transparent, and genuinely reflect the values of the company. That way, they can help build trust and credibility with stakeholders (or at least make them believe that you're a decent human being).

So, how can you incorporate storytelling into your public relations strategy? Here are a few tips:

1. Identify your brand's unique story. What makes your company special? What values do you stand for? What challenges have you overcome? These are all potential elements of a compelling brand story (and if you can't think of any, just make stuff up - it's called creative writing).
2. Determine your audience. Who are you trying to reach with your story? What are their needs and interests? Tailoring your story to your specific audience will make it more relatable and effective (kind of like how I tailor my jokes to my audience of zero).
3. Choose the right medium. Will your story be best told through a press release, social media post, or media pitch? Consider the strengths and limitations of each medium and choose the one that best fits your story and audience (unless you're feeling daring, in which case just go for it and see what happens).
4. Be authentic and transparent. As I mentioned earlier, the most effective stories are genuine and reflect the values of the company. Don't try to spin a story or hide the truth - it will only backfire in the long run (trust me, I've tried it before).

So next time you're working on a public relations campaign, don't forget the power of storytelling. It can be a valuable tool in building and maintaining relationships with your stakeholders (or at least making them laugh).

Happy storytelling!

It's not bad... right? The advice generated in just a few paragraphs' worth of instructions were explained and written quite well. I'd go as far as to say the Bot knows more about media relations than many people I'm encountered in real life.

Sure, the writing is a bit is on the basic side, but there's every reason to believe that the technology will continue to adapt and improve.

Now, I can see how this creates some obvious concerns: Can people use this technology to plagiarize someone else's work as their own? What is the quality control like with this information? And the big question: will this take over people's jobs?

While those are excellent points for discussion, I feel as though we're not quite at that point -- not yet at least. ChatGPT can be useful as a thought-starter and a point for communications inspiration, but that's probably it for now.

Oh, and just so I don't come across as completely Pro-AI, remember the illustration at the top of this column? Here are a few "outtakes" of what Artbreeder created for me until I landed on the image I wanted...

If you enjoyed reading this edition of?Storytelling by Sean, please encourage your friends and colleagues to subscribe. If you have any feedback, please drop me a note on LinkedIn, on Twitter @seanbpasternak, or via [email protected].