The Public Relations Handbook Reviewed by Michelle Kaye Malsbury of Bookpleasures.com
- By Michelle Kaye Malsbury
- Published December 4, 2022
- Business
Michelle Kaye Malsbury
Reviewer Michelle Kaye Malsbury:
Michelle was born in Champaign, IL. Currently, she resides in Asheville, NC
and is in her second year of doctoral studies at Nova Southeastern
University in Ft. Lauderdale with specialization/concentration in
conflict resolution and peace studies. She has over six hundred
articles published on the web and one book published thus far with
many more in the wings. Hobbies include; reading, writing, music, and
playing with her Australian Cattle Dog, Abu.
Author:Robert L. Dilenschneider
Publisher: Matt Holt Books
ISBN: 979-1-6377-4-0613
Although Robert L. Dilenschneider is shown as the primary author of this book, there are numerous other contributors. Mr. Dilenschneider created the Dilenschneider Group in 1991. (2022, inside back cover).
Their
headquarters is split between New York and Chicago.
They work with
Fortune 500 Companies and other organizations worldwide, providing
advice regarding mergers and acquisitions, marketing, crisis
communication, government affairs, and international media.
Previously, Dilenschneider held the position of CEO for Hill and Knowlton, Inc., where the firm's revenues tripled from 1986 to 1991. He has a BA from Notre Dame and an MA from Ohio State.
Dilenschneider said that Covid caught so many organizations by complete surprise. As such they scurried around to find how best to operate their organizations and what to do with their employees as some share prices plummeted. There was a need to make some critical decisions as they moved forward. What to do? Dilenschneider said, "Best in class companies develop intelligence-collection efforts to support their business objectives. Working closely with senior decision makers, they build a tailored network of intelligence sources to deliver a proprietary stream of timely and actionable information – which they can use for a public relations strategy." (2022, p.14)
As we navigated the pandemic, our modus of communication evolved too. "Seemingly overnight, the verb "zoom" took on new meaning, just as "Google" has, and that's only one manifestation of the newness of it all." (2022, pgs. 23-4)
"Effective public relations is built on credible and impactful communication." {2022, p.39) Dilenschneider says that words create excitement, calm, or havoc. Beyond that, their words must be believable to create or restore public trust.
Furthermore, effective public relations depend on your organizational objectives. "Objectives are the central element of any communications program. What do you want to achieve?" (2022, p.52} Dilenschneider sums objectives up to be three to five declarative statements. When this is done, you can effectively move on to messaging.
This book presents a lot of key information about how you can harness the power of your words to move your organization forward in meaningful ways. I learned a lot while reading it, and I believe you will too.