The New Balancing Act of Communication

0:18 Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros, marketers and communicators who work for themselves. People like me, Michelle Kane with Voice Matters, and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hey, I'm doing well, doing well. I'm glad to see longer days and the sun is shining. It does kind of perk you up after what has felt like, Yes, well, spring has been interesting. So wherever you are, dear listener, we hope that you are not having some of the extreme spring weather with tornadoes and bad storms and hope that you're safe and sound and enjoying a Yes, absolutely. Because today we're going to talk about, we're going to enter what's been a shaky zone these days. You can't open your eyes without being aware of the Israeli-Gaza conflict and what's happening on our shores in the United States with a spate of protests across the country. And we thought today we would tackle the angle of how do you address this as, you know, how do your clients address this? Should they need to? and also helping to guide them through navigating this within their workplaces. Just really from a purely business perspective, where does the protest end? And

1:51 the, hey, this is work time. Come on now, give us your eight hours and then do your thing. And to say it's a complex issue is minor, right? This is thousands of years. you know, in the making. There's no easy solution to the conflict at hand. Absolutely. No one likes to see major death or destruction. Nobody does. Well, I'm sure there's that little percentage out there that starts it. But it's just really been an interesting road and just seeing different entities having to navigate these waters. And maybe some of you out there, it's coming across your desks as Yeah, I am sure that all professional communicators have been watching what's unfolding on college campuses and sort of analyzing the actions that they're taking and how they might have handled this crisis a little bit differently, or in some cases where it's been managed very well. And I think what came up for me as questions are that we are in an era where this is not the only conflict, and this is not the only thing that divides us. And people have very strong opinions. And some of the ways that we used to manage those things or the way that companies used to talk about it or not talk about it, because let's not forget, there was a time that companies really were not involved at all in social and cultural issues

3:23 for the most part. There were big things that sometimes there would be statements. But now, It's very different. We live in very different times. And so do we need to reexamine our policies around how we say things, what we allow to be said in organizations, how we communicate? It's, you know, it's an interesting thing to really take a step back and really reflect and look at what's working Right, right. Because it's, it's not going away. That's for sure. And I think everyone is reluctant almost to enter into the arena, so to speak, because, you know, certainly corporations don't want to make a misstep, because at the end of the day, they're beholden to a bottom line. And, you know, even though it's a humanitarian crisis all around, I think, like you say, it's not really something that they would wade into simply because it's It's not under their purview. It's not under their control for the most part. I mean, there may be some out there, corporate entities that, you know, shout their alliances from the rooftops. There may be. But we're talking about those that are, hey, hey, just trying to go about my day here. Just trying to sell french fries, you know, it's just like we're just going to stick to what we do and do it well and understanding that sometimes, you know, disruption may be necessary. But, you know, if you're just, you know, Joe company going along minding your business and this is

4:55 happening in your workplace, how could we help guide them through this process, right? And how can we help them as their communication professionals find Yeah, it's a difficult position to be in because people no longer see nuances. And so it seems that people have a very difficult time understanding that. If an organization says, we don't have a position on this, but we respect all of our organization, people see that as either for or against whatever side they fall on. And so that doesn't seem to be a great option because people don't understand that you can care about an issue. So for example, you can be an American citizen and be pro-American and love your country, but disagree with policies. People feel like if you have any sign of disagreement, then that means you're against, period. And we've seen that bubble up in circumstances. And so for companies, and we as communicators, I think it does require very gentle and a very reflective touch. I saw something where an organization was putting on a webinar, and they used the three wise monkeys, which is the Buddhism symbols. And they used it in the context because it worked in that context. And then they pulled the graphic. because they felt like the

6:26 monkeys would be offensive to other groups of people, to people of color. And I understand, of course, I understand that as an African-American in this country. However, I also understand that that symbol is something completely different. And if in the right context. So again, we tend these days to miss the context. So as communicators, how do we ensure that we tighten up the brands that we serve, the organizations that we serve, so that they are able to communicate and to really articulate that context so that people hear that. Because people really do want to jump to, for, or against, and they don't care about the context. You're either with me, or you're my arch Yeah, yeah, we have lost, we have lost a lot of the concept of the benefit of the doubt, of, you know, the first step perhaps being trying to understand where the company or organization is coming from, and then realizing, oh, okay, they didn't choose that because of anything nefarious. They just meant what they meant by it, and that's okay. And there's a whole other conversation we could have about the co-opting of symbolism. And, you know, not everyone's, it's like, it's like keeping up with, with the kids and their slang, you know, not everyone keeps up with, oh, oh, that's being used by X for

7:59 Z. Oh, oh, oh, okay, well, we can't use that then. Just really, you know, it's funny, sometimes in my more uptight moments, I might scold myself, you know, don't keep up with pop culture, it's stupid. But we do have to keep up with pop culture, so we know all the things. But getting back to this point, yeah, just really being able to guide them. And it's not like you're going to preemptively say, in the fine print, P.S., we chose this image because blah, blah, blah, we did not mean. No, we're not saying that because that's just creating a whole other, and it makes you look foolish, I think. So it's just making choices that ring true with what you're trying to communicate without veering too far into the bland dystopia of not saying anything, about nothing meaning anything.

8:48 I, I agree because I think it's interesting. I was thinking about how companies used to be. We, we didn't really acknowledge like all of the holidays or all of the theme months and, and now there's so many and there's so much diversity. You mentioned one thing, you're leaving out something else. For example, may is national deaf history month, I believe. And it's not widely celebrated. Well, all these years we've been ignoring, you know, the deaf and hard of hearing. by not acknowledging their month. So when we are advising companies, I think one of the first steps is that we really have to make sure that we are providing guidance on constant communication in advance of a crisis. We as public relations professionals, we know this, this is our wheelhouse. So this is nothing different. We know that you actually are contributing to that bank of trust every single day. And so we need to consistently make sure, we need to make sure that our organizations are consistently communicating the culture, the values, the mission. I believe that most companies want to have a culture of respect for the human beings that work for them. It's really important to not only articulate that, but to live that. Because if people are clear on who you are as a company, when you remind of policy, it doesn't come across as you being against them. And then I think that in the past, we would advise companies to stay

10:20 out of certain conversations if it wasn't integral to their publics. However, these people that work for you, this is the world that we live in. I would say that there are ways to invite these discussions, you know, you can host roundtable events like, Hey, we know that this is on the minds of a lot of people, we're going to host a roundtable event, have, you know, a committee staff that have a professional moderator or psychologist there, so that people have an opportunity to air their feelings about it in a safe environment where things can be contained, and where you can help to drive consensus and mutual respect.

11:01 Because it is OK for us to disagree. It's even OK for us to have very passionate discussions. It's not OK to take the stand of hatred. And so in that way, we're tending to the mental health of our employees who clearly live in a world where so many things are happening. We haven't even touched on the horrors around the world that are happening because probably somebody in your organization is affected by something that's happening somewhere. That's just reality. So I think we have to fall back on what we do and the principles in which we operate under and our own code of ethics and take those steps. And we have to make sure that we're helping companies to navigate in that way and to be meticulous Yeah, I agree. And it really falls back to something you stress so many times on this podcast, that we really need to help our companies live out of their mission, vision and values, right?

12:06 And if you're doing that well, and if you're doing that consistently, that helps create that whole benefit of the doubt. I mean, there's still going to be people who may be unfamiliar with you from the outside and, you know, just go after you anyway. But, that definitely helps build a most solid foundation. And certainly then your employees know who you are and what you stand for. And that can go a long way in preventing any Yeah, these are tricky times. And I'm sure for all communicators, we also are living through the horror of the events that are, you know, happening in our own country and around the world.

12:51 But from a pure professional standpoint, it is truly an important and exciting time to be in this profession. And I've always said this, because it's truly what I believe. I believe that public relations professionals are in such an important space. And we actually have the opportunity to change the conversations and to return sanity back to person-to-person communication. We, if anyone can do it, it's us. just by doing our job and by using the skills that we've been gifted with, and the way that we show up in the world. So I love it when we speak up and we allow our voices to be heard, and we share the best practices and things that we're doing that are working well. And when we're out there inflecting optimism and reason and sanity into conversations and leading by example. And so I want to encourage, you know, our audience members to continue doing that, because It is desperately needed Yeah, that is so true. Both, you know, just as the way we carry ourselves throughout the days and also, you know, I'm sure some of you out there and I know I've had it happen where even though you are the communications professional, sometimes you're not the first voice that is sought to advise re-communications. Assert yourself and send the email, have the conversation of, hey, we need to be ready

14:21 for this, we need to be thinking about this, and here's why, and send some points along. At least then you'll have felt that, okay, I've done my due diligence, I can't make people act in a certain way, but at least I have said my piece, so to speak, and made sure that I have provided the professional counsel that's needed in this scenario. Well, we hope you've enjoyed this episode. Not one that we were really looking forward to. We thought, oh, this is so tricky and such a dicey conversation. But just from the communications aspect, we needed to talk about it. So, you know, we'd love to hear your feedback, your experiences. How is this unfolding where you're working? So hit us up at soloprpro.com. And please do share this around. Sign up for the newsletter at soloprpro.com. Do we have any other announcements from that end of the world, We do not. Here's my announcement. Karen Swim is very, very Truth to that. It is. Tired days for both of us. And I'm sure you're nodding to that too, if you're listening to this, but we'll get through it day by day. And until