PRs and Litigators Have a Lot In Common
Posted on December 29, 2008 | Tags: pr, public relations
I sat quietly at a function recently listening to young man who, by his recent admission to law school, apparently felt qualified to argue with anyone at the dinner table about subjects in which he had no expertise. His parents were of substantial wealth and this apparently contributed to his own estimation of the importance of his opinions.
It made me realize that public relations and litigation have a lot in common. That is, they’re not about bullying people into agreeing with you. You only really succeed if you can persuade someone to see things differently,
In PR, our end result is to present our client correctly to the target audience. We want our client’s position to be favorable and to be accepted, while being accurate.
And, like a litigator whose competence is judged on whether he won the case, good PR work, thoroughly prepared and presented, is rewarded by the audience accepting the message.
Like a litigation attorney, the PR has to gather the facts and present them so they are persuasive and understandable.
Honing your analytical skills takes a bit of practice. I grew up with debate as part of every dinnertime meal. My father was a litigator and he bred four attorneys. I learned that intelligent debate is not a use of force. It’s respectful, informed and persuasive. Denzel Washington’s movie on the subject is a must-see classic display of courteous debate you just don’t see anymore.
My dad would throw out a topic for discussion. If you chose to engage, you were forced to substantiate your opinion with fact and the source of the fact. My dad always chose to assume the position of the other side, presenting facts to make his case. From this activity, I learned a valuable lesson that has helped me get coverage for my clients:
Don’t represent your opinion as fact. Be prepared to substantiate your conclusions. Do not present generalities, such as “everybody knows” to back up your conclusions. And don’t become so emotional about your position that you can’t see the other side. There’s always another side. And …. always know your subject before challenging another.
To do otherwise is something I call “sloppy thinking.” It depends on bullying or some position of authority to get another to comply. And even when they do comply, you’ve not really won them over.
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