As a professional speaker, one of my biggest challenges is to grab attention of my audience within first few minutes of presentation- grab them by throat if you will. I do this by coming out in a suite and tie, following an introduction in which I have been described as a recent college graduate who earned both of his degrees with a 4.0 GPA and placement on Deans and Presidents List. I am portrayed as someone who was once an honors roll student, star athlete, father and family man. Upon entering stage I ask audience to take a close look at my face. “This is face, as your were just told, of a recent college graduate, a recent college graduate who earned both his degrees with highest academic honors available. This is face of a kind man, an honest man, a trustworthy man, and a man of his word. Please take a close look at this face.” Now hook- I then turn around, pull a pantyhose mask over my face and turn back around brandishing a toy pistol. I now ask them to take a look at this face. “This is face of a man who on March 20th, 1992 walked in to First Tier National Bank, pointed a semi-automatic pistol at tellers face and demanded all of twenties, fifties and hundreds. This would be first of five armed bank robberies that I would commit over a six month crime spree when I was twenty-eight years old.” I then pull mask off and explain to them that both these faces are mine. “The transformation between two, transformation from a suicidal, drug induced bank robber to what you see standing before you today took place gradually, over 7.5 years within confines of a federal prison.”

PRISON DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN STEEL BARS AND RAZOR WIRE

What does me earning two college degrees while incarcerated have to do with HR Management? It is my belief that we all have internal prisons, “prisons within ourselves” that are just as confining as those walls that held me for 7.5 years. I am talking about being a prisoner to things like fears, addictions, depression, overeating, overworking, bad relationships- list could go on and on. Only when we ourselves, and those we bring into our companies are “whole” personally can we then become better professionally.

It is also my belief that these “internal prisons” is number one cause in lost productivity and largest contributor to declining quality. If your people are worried about their relationships, their fears or their addictions, are they giving you best eight hours they possibly can? No, they’re going to be on phone mending relationships, feeding addictions and being preoccupied with their fears. If your employees bring to job with them burdens of their personal life, you are getting at very best someone who is distracted and at very worst someone who is contributing nothing to your bottom-line.

WHETHER A PRISONER OR ON THE PAYROLL

What You Don’t Know About PR Can Hurt You

And hurt bad if you are a business, non-profit or association manager. Especially when you rely too heavily on tactics like special events, brochures and press releases to get your money’s worth.

Instead, pursue public relations that does nothing less than alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors among those key outside audiences of yours.

In other words, best approach does something positive about behaviors of those key external audiences that MOST affect your operation.

That approach persuades your important external folks to your way of thinking, and moves them to take actions that allow your department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

Thus it creates kind of stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

Best part is, once you digest underlying premise of public relations, you’ll understand how right PR really CAN alter individual perception and lead to those changed behaviors you need. Here’s how it goes: people act on their own perception of facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action very people whose behaviors affect organization most, public relations mission is accomplished.

Keep in mind that it requires more than good old special events, brochures and news releases if you really want to end up with your PR money’s worth.

Fact is, business, non-profit and association managers who employ this kind of public relations can benefit from results such as new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; rebounds in showroom visits; membership applications on rise; community service and sponsorship opportunities; enhanced activist group relations, and expanded feedback channels, not to mention new thoughtleader and special event contacts.

Over time, you’ll notice customers making repeat purchases; prospects reappearing; stronger developing relationships with educational, labor, financial and healthcare communities; improved relations with government agencies and legislative bodies, and even capital givers or specifying sources glancing your way.

It goes without saying that you want your most important outside audiences to really perceive your operations, products or services in a positive light. So take pains to be sure that your PR staff has bought into whole effort. Convince yourself that they accept reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.