Feature
Public Relations and
Crisis Management-1
Obaidullah Al Zakir
A 'crisis' can strike at anytime and cannot always be averted. However, those organizations that have survived crisis in the past have done so by anticipating and planning for potential problems, taking action to protect and serve both their members and the public and by being open and receive unflattering or unfavorable public attention, you can learn to turn adversity into advantage through “crisis communication”. There are four rules for overcoming difficulties and minimizing damage whenever an unfortunate situation arises.
Crisis related with events. It is wise to think about the possible crisis before organizing an event. To organize an event, if we remember a technique, the crisis may be handled in a smooth way. Events are organized and conducted to carry out a specific objective and to communicate it to the desired target audience. The target audience differs in different cases. Events must be strategy based and must be based on following qualities: Why, When, How, Where and Who to reach. I have seen many top management officials done silly mistakes. The reason is they always depend on other people and event management companies. Here lies the role of a PR person to monitor the whole process of an event. PR person should remember that he/she is an artist, psychologist, sociologist, political scientist, economist, and watchdog of the management ethics.
At this point, I remember my New Delhi YMCA faculty Mr. Iqbal Sachdeva , Public Relations & Communications specialist, who taught us the techniques of PR, what are the points that a PR student & a PR professional should remember. As a senior communications officer, public affairs, & communications department of BRAC, I did a diploma on PR & Marketing from New Delhi YMCA in 2002-2003. Still I have the printed cards where Mr. Iqbal Sachdeva has stated 10 commandments as the key factors of a PR student and a PR professional. In 2003, while reading these commandments, it came to my mind after doing my job for BRAC for a period of 12 years that if we remember these commandments our day to day work would be smoother, more calculative, more calm and planned.
10 Commandments for a PR student
1. Be friendly, pleasant & empathise with people 2. Take keen interest in national & global issues 3. Take lot of notes in your notebook 4. Read a newspaper every morning 5. Read business papers & magazines frequently 6. Watch at least one TV news bulletin in a day 7. Select one corporate & collect all pertinent information 8. take press clippings of human & professional interest & maintain a scrap book 9. Keep sharpening oral & written communication skills 10. Enjoy intellectual freedom. Know thyself. Dress neatly. Smile.
10 Commandments for a PR Professional
1. Be frank, fearless but polite, polished & positive. Smile 2. Develop trust with management- be a guide, friend & counsellor 3. Be genuinely interested in people & problems- listen & empathise 4. Make creativity your forte- conceptualise ideas into words & visuals 5. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate up, down, sideways 6. Build a sound media network & be responsible to mediamen 7. Don't white wash or glorify lies or half-truths to mislead people 8. Endeavour constant intellectual updates & be a culture vulture 9. Organize yourself- plan your work & work your plan 10. Generate organizational excitement to build a 'win-win' environment.
If we look at the both commandments, one-word “smile” is common. This smile is very important at our work place. I remember one Indian Bangla Magazine where the cover story was, 'Laugh is the Life Tonic'. This is absolutely true. There are many offices where you could find people with stony face. For me its really awesome! What I try is try to smile. No matter what a day it is what a situation around me. So, try to ask yourself ----did I smile today?
To be continued......
(Public Relations Officer, BRAC University)
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