(UPDATED 7:50 a.m. 06/08/06: Okay, sloppy reading on my part. The post at Corporate Engagement noted is not by Trevor Cook. It was by Keith Jackson. Changes have been made. Sorry.)
Well, now I can end my blogging career (just a bit shy of a year) — if I were to end it — on a happy note. Strumpette, the much beloved (relatively) new blogger about public relations agrees with me.
What, you don’t believe it? See for yourself:
The characteristics mentioned as to what makes a good flack are all tactical. However, they are all worthless without empathy. In our business, empathy is rare.
The comment came on a good post by Corporate Engagement’s Keith Jackson on a survey of how PR practitioners view themselves, and what qualities a good PR person should have.
I touched on that topic in February — and this is the part where Strumpette and I agree — about the qualities a public relations professional (whether in-house or with an agency) should have.
To sum it up, I listed:
Integrity
Empathy
Curiosity (or nosiness)
Being open-minded
Not sure how rare empathy is in PR, as strumpette notes, but it definitely is a trait that should be widespread. So, until we all can agree it is, then I guess I’ll just say it’s something we all need to work on.
– Mike
Okay, I’ll cut AC/BC some slack. My February post was before the strumpette blog started in March. So, if she/he/they would’ve been blogging earlier and read my post, she/he/they would’n't have made that empathy comment today. Heaven forbid that strumpette should develop credibility. (Though, think there could be some legit good signs.)
