Conflict, Criticism and the Modern Solo PR Pro

On this episode we're chatting about how different generations handle criticism, especially after some Super Bowl ad backlash. We dive into why tough love is key in PR and how it's essential for solo PR pros to get real with clients. Plus, we tackle the big question: How do we teach the next gen these crucial soft skills? Tune in for an honest, straight-talk session on the art of handling the hard stuff in PR.

 

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Transcript

Michelle Kane (00:02):

Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters, and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim with Solo PR Pro. Hi Karen. It's another week, another beautiful podcast time, not our goodness.

Karen Swim, APR (00:22):

Hi Michelle. I'm doing so well and just glad to be here and been in this time with you and our listeners. How are you doing?

Michelle Kane (00:34):

I'm doing well too. Yes, we're making it through February, which is fantastic. I was just talking to a client and we were both marveling at how it is flying by.

Karen Swim, APR (00:45):

It really is. I cannot believe that next week is the end of February. It's the last week in the month that went so quickly.

Michelle Kane (00:54):

Even with the extra day in it, it's just seems to be just going poof, which is fine.

Karen Swim, APR (00:58):

Yeah.

Michelle Kane (00:59):

It means more daylight for us to soak in and that's good. We've made it through the darkness of the season, so congratulations to all of us. And speaking of how darkness can have an impact, we're going to talk today actually about constructive criticism and how we're kind of sensing a little bit, we're feeling our generation a little bit in light of, I think, Karen, you brought up some comments over on LinkedIn about some Super Bowl ads and just some of the pushback that would you say, is it Gen Z mainly? What were you finding?

Karen Swim, APR (01:43):

Yeah, it's interesting. So there was some criticism of Super Bowl ads and for a certain generation of us it's like, okay, that's normal, right? Come in the marketing industry, push back at the criticism saying, let's all be kind. These people work so hard and it's the biggest stage, blah, blah, blah. And then another person of a different generation, older, not maybe a millennial, stepped up and said something completely different. Basically like Boohoo, get over yourself. And I thought that her point was well taken and I immediately saw that these were generational differences. So all of the people that were team know criticism were younger and all of the people that brought up the point of criticism is beneficial.

Michelle Kane (02:42):

Yeah, absolutely. Were older

Karen Swim, APR (02:44):

And it made me think about how this plays out in the PR profession, what it means to our clients and what it means to this new generation of practitioners.

Michelle Kane (02:57):

Yeah, that's very true because I mean, let's be honest, part of our job as PR practitioners is to be that voice of honesty, to bring the stark realism in, even if it's just to prepare people for the landscape they may face. I always borrow, I borrow a line from Billy Bragg and say, I am that little black cloud in a dress. That's my job. I'm not saying that I'm not coming at you to be negative or to put a downer on our efforts, but just this is the component that we need to keep in mind in everything we do that might happen. Yeah, it's

Karen Swim, APR (03:36):

Important. I love that line. That is such a perfect line, and I know it seems a little morose, but it cannot be more true for us as communicators that we have to deal in reality and we have to tactfully deliver news and we have to be honest with our clients because that trust is sacred. And as strategic advisors, we're not looking at just the now, we're looking ahead. We're looking at all of the around every corner where people may not think to look. And I think that this failure to understand that criticism is valuable, criticism sharpens, you can take insights for criticism, but we have generation of kids that grew up being shielded. So you talk about bad things, everybody got participation trophies and everybody's nice, and I'm all for being kind. So we're not talking about trolls and hatred. What we're talking about is criticism that's necessary.

(04:53):

When you put anything out into the world, it will be judged. That's part of the creative process. It really is. And so as a company, would you want to produce a product or service, have no one say anything about it that's negative, but then have it bomb and you have no idea why? Because no one spoke up. Well, I'm seeing this generation that just cannot confront the hard thing. So we see this play out in our business development landscape for PR professionals. I hear this all the time about clients ghosting you or potential clients ghosting. You have a meeting, maybe you have a couple of meetings, you talk through their needs. You put together what you discussed on paper in the form of a proposal, and then crickets forever.

(05:46):

Often it's because they can't afford the budget, but they're afraid to say that. So they just don't say anything and they just don't talk to you. Well, and it also deprives that PR professional of the courtesy of understanding what the market landscape really is. If somebody presents something to you for a particular price, you've deprived them of the opportunity to walk you through it, the opportunity to examine their own services and how they're presented and whether or not their pricing makes sense for the marketplace. And it also deprives you of the opportunity for them to do a scope of work that actually fits your needs a little bit better. So you have just decided to look at one component and then walk away because it's too hard to talk about.

Michelle Kane (06:41):

Yeah, and there's so much value in talking about it because, okay, well, tell me why you think this is too much and how can we still achieve results for you perhaps at a different price point or taking a different tactic. There are always usually, unless the budget is just ridiculously low ways to be of service, and it's a shame both sides are missing out on that.

Karen Swim, APR (07:07):

It is really sad. And managing conflict is such a fundamental tool for human beings, period. Life is not all rainbows and sprinkles. It is not. And you cannot simply say nothing all of the time. It does not work. It does not serve you and it does not serve others. And I wish that we would take this communication void seriously within the PR profession. And those of us who are more experienced and companies need to recognize this too, you need to be, begin to teach the soft skill sets to your next generation of workers. Do not assume that they have these skill sets. They do not. They cannot write business emails. They do not know these things. Does that mean that they're not smart? Of course not. They're brilliant, but they just don't have these soft skills. And so I think it's on us to ensure that we train them and that we as an older generation teach them how to tackle the difficult things and the difficult conversations. I am sure we've all had experiences, I've had this with the younger workers who are so eager to say that they can do things, that you ask questions and they say they can do it, and they don't have a clue because they're afraid to say, I don't know how to do that, so that you can actually teach them and walk them through it. We've got to get past this because it is going to be disastrous for the workforce if we don't address this issue.

Michelle Kane (08:45):

That is so incredibly true, and I love what you said about setting projects up to fail, especially something as massive and as high budget and high spend as a Super Bowl spot. I mean, those are high, high stakes. And to spend all that time and energy on something that whether you don't realize is going to just bomb out or you know it, but I can't say it. Oh my goodness, that's not going to end well for anyone. It's going to be so demoralizing to you. And also please, as you are going about practicing the craft to public relations, we've got to keep our industry in mind. How does that present as our profession of what we do? I mean, we especially need to have the capability to have those hard conversations. And it doesn't have to be, it's like they say, oh, it took me five seconds to do that task. I've been putting off for five months because I thought it would take five hours. It's kind of like that a lot of time. Those hard conversations that's going to earn you more respect with your clients. They may be relieved that you brought it up. And the point is, it is coming from your caring about the work, your caring about how the client is going to look. So even though it may feel like a negative thing, it may feel like the most uncomfortable, the thing you've ever done. It really is going to lead to a positivity of better work, more progress.

Karen Swim, APR (10:39):

I will tell you that clients absolutely will respect you for standing up for what is right and looking out for the reputation. Not every client is going to like it. Not every client is going to accept your advice. And so there's having the heart conversation, but then also learning how to navigate the solution. So you have to understand how to pick your battles, but you can't understand that if you're never addressing tough things. This is just part of the job and you become better and better at it. So clients will push back, they will tell you, no, I want this, and you can give them your professional counsel and then you have to make some decisions. How important is this? Is this like a fundamental no-No, that we absolutely will not do it. We cannot do it. I'll give you an example. If your client wants to quote someone in print, but they want it to be anonymous, we already know that's not going to fly with reporters unless you're talking in the political arena, deep Russian secrets, murder investigation. But in the business realm, that's not going to fly. You can't have somebody that's an anonymous or a made up name. I've confronted all of these issues over my career once had someone that said, oh, this person is willing to be quoted, but can we just use a fake name? No, we cannot. No.

(12:04):

So let's not quote that. So that was an absolute no, no, I am not doing that. If a client wants you to break the law or do something unethical, obviously you're not going to do that. But you're not going to go to the math over a semicolon or over a headline. That is not the greatest. But it doesn't break any rules. There are just some battles you have to choose because this is the negotiation of a client relationship. But again, have those conversations and I think people, they misunderstand difficult conversations with fighting. You're not fighting. Exactly. It's not ugly. It doesn't even have to be, we're not talking raised voices. We're talking being a professional and understanding that in this role, you're not always going to get agreement. And the more that you advance in your career and as you begin to lead people, whether you're in an official leadership role or not, I promise you, because this is something else.

(13:15):

I've seen this trend of the younger generation, not aspiring to be managers, but please understand that leaders are not always leaders by title. You can be leaders by virtue of the way that people listen and respect you, your experience in the field. And so as you advance in your career, whether you have an official leadership title or not, you will be a leader. And these are still issues that you'll have to learn to navigate. You can't just go through your career in your life just going along to please and never saying anything that conflicts with someone else's opinion.

Michelle Kane (13:51):

Yeah. In fact, that could lead to some disrespect to be completely honest.

Karen Swim, APR (13:55):

Most definitely. And if you are a woman in the workforce or any other ethnicity,

Michelle Kane (14:04):

Yes, yes, exactly.

Karen Swim, APR (14:06):

This is something you don't want to do. And I know that women who stand up for themselves and speak their opinions are often regarded negatively. But I will tell you this, I would rather be respected than popular

Michelle Kane (14:21):

Any day.

Karen Swim, APR (14:21):

This is not a popularity contest. I love my clients. I am committed to them. I will not work with someone if I do not respect them, the individual, the people that I will be working with in addition to the organization. So I'm going to fight for you. I'm going to fight to make sure that we are excellent, that we are buttoned up, and that we do everything that we can to safeguard the trust that your customers put into you. And so that means I'm looking out for you, and if I give you counsel, it's coming from a place of me as a strategic advisor, understanding something that you may not, this is my area of expertise and that's why you hired me. So realize that too. Your employer, your clients, they hired you, not so that you could just say yes to everything or be nice. Oh, okay, I'm going to do that. They hired you to do your freaking job.

Michelle Kane (15:18):

It's hard, Karen. It's hard. And you know what? It's hard some days.

Karen Swim, APR (15:22):

Some days

Michelle Kane (15:24):

You have, but you have to stand your ground and stand up for the right way to move forward. Not that you're always going to be battling something that's unethical, but just if you've made it to the point where you are working as a professional in public relations or communications, you have what you've had, what it takes to get you to that point. So trust that, trust that instinct. And I know it can be very difficult in a world where increasingly sometimes it feels like our profession is not regarded as a profession on par with other professions that have designations. And even though there is a designation in public relations, but hopefully my point's coming across so I get it, but we are every bit the professionals. We know our world, and even though other people dabble in our world that does not make them expert and trust, there are things they haven't thought of and are things they would never even have considered. That to us comes firsthand. So try it. We're going to challenge. If you're in that generation, we're going to challenge you to try it. It'll feel good, it'll be scary, but you know what? I call those a good scared. Take a step into the good scared. And if you're looking for a community that will help guide you, shameless self-promotion, plug segue,

(16:53):

Sign up for the newsletters@soloprpro.com, join the community because that is where I call it the ultimate staff meeting. It is a safe space where we can ask what we might feel is a dumb question or we can say, Hey, I'm facing this situation. I'm really unsure how to handle it. I'm not comfortable. Have you ever experienced this? What did you do? You'll get such wise and supportive counsel, it will blow your socks off.

Karen Swim, APR (17:24):

Agreed. It is a really spectacular community of peers that are not just takers, but givers. And there is a wide range of experiences. And so it really is unique in that you don't have people that are confined to just certain industries. There's wide ranging areas of expertise. Us and I could not ask for a greater group of people to hang out with. And so yes, please. I of course selfishly would love for you to join solo pr, but we also would love it if you told people about this podcast that is geared to communication professionals. We've been doing this for what, Michelle? 300 episodes or so?

Michelle Kane (18:12):

We're getting there. This might be 237. Yeah,

Karen Swim, APR (18:14):

So this is not a fly by night operation. We are committed, we are passionate, and we have been consistent in broadcasting week after week after week. And we still love it today as much as we did on episode one, and we hope that you do too. We're always open to topics that you want to see covered, guests that you may want to have appear. I would say stay tuned in March. We have, oh my God, I'm so excited about guests that we have in March and the things that are going on talk about March Madness. It is just going to be a huge celebration. So please, please share it your episodes. We put them out on social media as well. So if you could follow us on social and share, we would so appreciate it.

Michelle Kane (19:03):

We absolutely would. And we thank you and we value the time you give us each week. So until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.