You’re looking to improve your public relations game. How can you learn from the failures of others?

Defeats teach us more than victories. If you're smart enough, you can learn a lot from someone else's mistakes and avoid repeating the same yourself. To up your PR game, keeping an open mind is imperative. Feedback is the best source of identifying chinks in your armour. If you feel that you know everything, you will be just another 'Lesson' for someone else when this industry throws a curveball at you.

Humility is a powerful trait of true leaders, and one so few have the courage to show. All too often, some leaders in crises tend to push the blame to others down the food chain, and use vague language with a hint of "apology". Unfortunately, the public, communities, stakeholders, and certainly the media, can differentiate a true contrite apology, and others. With the onslaught of social media (Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, etc), dark social (Whatsapp, Telegram, Line, Wechat, etc), and powerful smartphones with great cameras, leaders should understand how these media and devices can easily turn the tables when vague "apologies", half truths, or untruths, are said. Viral content can be the bane of leaders in duress, as they can live forever.

In the quest to enhance our public relations game, we often overlook a powerful tool - learning from others’ failures. Failures provide invaluable lessons, helping us avoid similar pitfalls. They teach us resilience, the importance of clear communication, and the need for robust crisis management strategies. So, let’s embrace these lessons, not as criticisms, but as stepping stones towards our growth. Remember, every failure you learn from is a potential success in your future PR endeavours.

Concealing the truth or making misleading claims in PR is a path fraught with risk, leading to potential backlash, legal issues, and damaged reputation. Transparency and honesty should be your guiding principles.

The common notion in public relations theory that immediate admission of guilt and unrestricted transparency are the appropriate response to crisis situations often proves to be a deceptive platitude in reality. In fact, premature admissions of guilt harbour the risk of serious legal consequences and high claims for damages, particularly with regard to stock corporation law. It is therefore crucial to maintain transparency but avoid premature admissions of guilt in order not to further jeopardise the company's reputation and authority!

Quedarse callado también dice algo. Al responder, no juzgar, no atacar, hacerse responsable de cualquiera sea la situación y ofrecer una solución para mi es la mejor opción.

An effective exercise for me is asking for feedback via an anonymous questionnaire. Working with teams means you have space for recognition and improvement. Even if those are external teams or a whole department, at least one time/year form where you are asking for feedback is quintessential.

PR is a combination of active listening, customer service, having good resources, and being a problem solver. That's why sometimes PR people are referenced as "fixers" although that might also translate to political comms and other endeavors. The truth is, you're probably going to fail. And a lot, so it's not about copying others so it's more about picking yourself up after messing up. Each individual will have his or her style so it becomes really important to ask yourself: How can I bring my best self to work today? Improve your processes and how you solve things and you will certainly go a long way.