Obama’s lesson for PR pros
I just read the transcript of Barack Obama’s recent speech on race, prompted by his minister’s fiery sermons. Whatever your politics, it was a refreshingly honest, sophisticated and, consequently, powerful address on a controversial topic.
No one really knows how it will affect his candidacy, and that’s not what this post is about. As CNN analyst David Gergen said, it was just refreshing to hear a candidate speak to the public as thinking adults, not children.
There’s a lesson here for high-tech communications professionals, who are continually skewered for engaging in a galling idiom of press-release-ese (example) and BS that simply disrespects its audience. Sometimes the least common denominator exerts a gravitational pull.
As professional communicators, let’s remind ourselves that it's almost always worth the effort to battle for plain speak and authenticity, expressing respect for our readers, listeners and viewers.
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