90% of public relations is “perception.”

How people perceive you to be, is how you are known to the public. 

It doesn’t matter if you think you are X, if you are perceived as Y, then you have to deal with that reality. It is a sucky reality, it sucks because a lot of times - in fact most of the time - the public perception of a person is completely different than who they actually are. 

Or at least there’s a lot of incongruity. 

A lot of politicians who might be perceived to be “nice” are actually terrible to their staff. Politicians known as being “grumpy” are the best spouses/parents to their kids and their staff love them. 

It's unfortunate, but it is the reality of public relations. 

So what can we do about it?

We can remember these 10 basic rules of public relations to help better manage our image, and how we manage difficulties/hurdles in our PR journey!

RULE #1: You as a brand/politician/persona have an archetype, and you HAVE to stick to it.

The first thing you should figure out when you begin your entry into the world of PR is to figure out which archetype you are. Not which one you *want* to be - the one you are. You have to know it, so that you can stick to it.

You can change archetypes under certain conditions. Like when something big happens in your life or during a genuine inflection point in the culture/world. But it has to be believable and organic.

You also need to dress for the style and archetype you have/are/want to be. 

If you want to be in the public eye, you need to dress to impress. That doesn’t mean you have to have the most expensive clothing or all the top brands on you. But you need to stick with who you are and convey that to the public. 

It's why you always see musicians and other famous people dressing in the same kinds of archetypal outfits all the time. Country singers wear cowboy hats. Politicians wear suits. Punk rockers have wild hair.

It helps signal to the public what you are. Which creates connections of trust. And you can use it to your advantage too.

RULE #2: Be Honest. But don’t be a dick and don’t be a weirdo. Watch what you say.

Honesty is the best policy. But be careful with unfiltered/un-thought out honesty which can get you in needless trouble.

Being yourself is essential to living your archetype. But unfiltered thoughts can come back to haunt you. 

You should operate under the understanding that- everything you say can and will be attempted to be used against you. 

Public speaking requires practice. You need to practice putting thoughts through filters. Use classes like Toastmasters to get the hang of it if you struggle.

RULE #3: You cannot please everyone, so keep your base happy.

You can’t please everyone - so don’t try to. But do your best to (honestly and positively) please your base/core followers on a regular basis. Some segments of your coalition will have policy goals that can directly conflict with other segments. You need to find common ground to keep everyone on side. Which again takes time and effort to brainstorm and find. It will not just happen for you. And if you’re good, you’ll grow your base at the same time.

RULE #4: Don’t brag about something that is negatively affecting people.

This really does seem like a “duh!” moment - but you’d be surprised how many people fail to do this, or fumble doing this.

For example - when the economy isn’t doing well, politicians love to find niche metrics to point out how good things are for very particular segments of the population. Some will talk about how home equity values are going way up. Which sounds great to homeowners, but terrible to people who don’t own a home yet. 

Being honest about difficulties is an opportunity for you to present a solution to the public while your opponents may be too focused on attacking you.

RULE #5: Be careful who you piss off, and what things you ignore.

To be clear, you still can’t please everyone. But be careful about needlessly disregarding or debasing a segment of the population. Or ignoring a message people want to hear. Again, you would think this is obvious, but you would be surprised.

And look, you may even have to do it for the sake of keeping a grander coalition alive. But if you can approach it from a position of wanting to hear all the voices at the table you can thread that needle. Because, even if you only peeve off a segment of the population, they all have friends and family who will feel the collateral damage. 

RULE #6: Be humble and apologize when you need to.

The government doesn’t want you to know this but you can just apologize for messing up. People are willing to forgive a lot if you can be humble and apologize. Especially since it's not something that happens too often anymore in a public setting. Be specific about what you’re apologizing for, don’t be vague about it but be pro-active. 

Don’t pass the buck. Accept that you’re in charge and it's your responsibility. This may even mean resigning from a position. But doing so can leave you open for a comeback later if you’re humble and contrite. Lots of successful politicians have done so.

RULE #7: BUT - Don’t apologize for saying something true or accurate. And DO NOT FLIP FLOP

If you’ve upset your enemies, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. It probably means you said something that upset an ideological sacred cow (reminder: don’t be a dick or weirdo about it). When you go after those sacred cows; opponents and detractors will demand you apologize. Don’t. If you can’t stand up for your own positions, no one will want to follow you.

Now, like changing your archetype, you can change your stance on a position - but it has to be done thoughtfully, carefully, and in good time.

RULE #8: Bring solutions to the table when bad things happen (and learn to take out the garbage)

If you have bad news, you need to either carefully explain it to the public while bringing solutions to the table. OR, release it late on Friday night. When people are going home after work, they tend to ignore bad news delivered at that time. That's why it's called “taking out the garbage.” Now that does not mean that it's going to be successful, your enemies will still probably pick up on, but it can give you a head start, if nothing else. And you need to have a plan to tackle it.

RULE #9: Be Bold - you HAVE to present (good) ideas that excite people. Use simple language, and articulate them clearly and consistently.

People want bold leadership. And they want something to believe in. They will choose someone with bad ideas over someone with seemingly no ideas. You cannot sit still or present something that makes them shrug their shoulders. You need to present something that breaks through the noise. Consistency is key, cleverness is not. People will remember what they see and hear repetitively. Make sure you are being seen/heard.

RULE #10: Being a public figure means you will be attacked. But if you can - lean into your flaws.

You are going to be criticized as a public figure; that’s just how it's going to be. You want to get out there, then expect some flak. 

But if you can lean into your flaws, or rather the perceived flaws that you are attacked for - you can win the hearts of the public for it.

Whether it's a speech impediment, physical flaw, age, the clothes you wear, your attitude or disposition, a flub up - whatever it is, if you can judo-flip it back against your opponent, do it.

Acknowledge it quickly, reframe it into a strength, or at least learn to laugh about it enough that it's no longer a weakness.

The purpose of all of these “rules” is to help create consistency for you as a public person. 

Consistency builds trust. Which builds confidence, and helps you grow your coalition of supporters!

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