Helping stakeholders to see things as you do is a core aspect of all public relations
Stuart Ewen is a man of many hats, including historian, author, professor, and artist. Ewen is also a highly esteemed expert on that ever-present factor we know as the media, and it’s that knowledge we’re tapping for today’s Crisis Management Quotable:
“The history of PR is… a history of a battle for what is reality and how people will see and understand reality.” – Stuart Ewen
Are we literally bending reality with our crisis management mind-rays? Of course not. But the idea that perception is reality lies at the core of what we do, and is something you would do well to remember.
No matter the facts in any case, the way people interpret them, and how that interpretation makes them feel, is what really matters. You can do the right thing all day long, but if you don’t package that reality into something your stakeholders can digest then it’s for naught.
Erik Bernstein
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com