Honesty in PR

Honesty is one of the keys to an effective long-term public relations campaign. By that, I mean that your organization's message must be an accurate reflection of your organization's character and performance.

Simply put, building credibility is one of the goals of every public relations program, and credibility is rooted in trust. Once you break that trust, it is difficult to regain.

For example, you would be ill-advised to market yourself as being an expert in a particular field unless you really are an expert in that field. If you falsely hold yourself out as an expert on a particular topic, you will be labeled as dishonest and disingenuous once your cover is blown. That kind of negative reputation is difficult to overcome.

As author John Maxwell said on page 201 of Talent is Never Enough, "character communicates consistency." On page 202 of the same book, Maxwell adds: "While one may be able to make an impression with 'trappings, ' the real person always comes through in the end. Impressions are like shadows -- they disappear when a strong enough light is shone on them." He adds, "Character shows that who you are and who you appear to be are one and the same, and that is the first key to greatness."


A few thoughts on this issue:

"What you do thunders so loudly in my ears I cannot hear what you say."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Character is the sum total of all our everyday choices."
- Margaret Jensen

“No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar.”
- Abraham Lincoln

“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.”
- John Wooden

“Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”
- Margaret Thatcher