Authentic communication: Why we shouldn’t hide from our stakeholders

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.” While this speaks for humanity’s – and especially PR practitioners’ – responsibility to act righteously by disseminating the truth and conveying it as accurately as possible, what is often neglected is that, also in the words of Gandhi, “truth never damages a cause that is just” – being sincere, honest and communicating with integrity, even if the information is less favourable or seemingly adverse, will make stakeholders understand, sympathise, appreciate and ultimately trust you, the source of the information. Many don’t seem to see how these pros of admission can heavily outweigh the cons.

Transparency as a virtue: We, the voices of the people

The world can be baffling and confusing enough, and we, as PR professionals, have to provide clarity rather than distorting reality. We are the voices of humanity – those whose keyboard strokes and words impact thousands, or even millions. Instead of spinning facts, which ultimately will be uncovered and damage our reputation, we must tell the whole truth. As a matter of fact, we are obliged to tell the stories that are otherwise untold. We need to identify gaps in knowledge between reality and public perception and fill them with accurate content.

As PR professionals, and thus as a dominating and heavily influencing force in the media, we are “the most powerful entity on earth. [We] have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power”, as Malcom X was quoted saying. Richard Branson would agree that we are more influential than other forms of marketing, having said, “A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front-page ad.” With great power not only comes great ethical and moral responsibility but also a tremendous business obligation in making sure that your organisation cuts through the clutter and has an impact on your stakeholders’ perception.

We as PR professionals need to arm ourselves with integrity, honesty and absolute transparency. These are not mere virtues – they are the key to effective reputation management across various spectrums, boosting whatever qualitative and quantitively KPIs you may have set for yourself – your share of voice, your reach, your sentiment and beyond.

Transparency as a KPI booster

To two-finger zoom in on this – American business magnate John D. Rockefeller once wrote, “Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know that you are doing the right thing.” This couldn’t have been said better, yet the notion that I am trying to convey is that even if you do the wrong thing but are trying to rectify it, you may very well benefit from telling your stakeholders that story as well.

Not only does bad news perform better than good in terms of disruption and public interest, but it also allow you to emerge as an organisation that truly cares for the truth, for rectification, for doing what’s right – one that can be trusted. You are essentially leveraging admission to gain both sympathy and exposure.

I was rendered perplexed when a veteran PR practitioner once explained to me that in this profession, “You tell the truth, nothing but the truth, but not the whole truth.” This very prevalent PR mantra may sound clever at first, but the latter part can, at times, be misleading to practitioners. If truth is discoverable, which it more often than not is, omitting it may backfire on practitioners and their organisations or clients. Forthcoming honesty will always be appreciated as a sign of trustworthiness and authenticity. When portrayed correctly, in a way that evokes empathy, it can make the audience side with a storyteller, no matter the circumstances.

Take for instance the real estate industry. When targeting millennials, who are notorious for their fear of commitment, should you communicate monthly instalments accurately, or the years it will take to pay off the required mortgage? It is a common notion to believe that you should only propagate the positives and hide the negatives – the truth but not the whole truth. Many would think that being transparent, in this case, will intimidate the audience – but I believe the contrary, that the public is smart enough to, for example, know that extensive mortgages are required to purchase property, and that the unknowingness of the process, its duration and the payments it entails is more repelling than immediate, forthcoming and transparent – and perhaps at-times ‘scary’ – facts and figures would be. Unaware of the vast benefits of investing in property, the audience may actually hold false beliefs and be misinformed about the financial implications of property purchases and may disregard the content due to an ignorance in this domain. Their unknowingness may prevent them from clicking their way through to your website and converting into a lead, or equally unfavourable – you’ll end up with thousands of unqualified leads that will be disinterested before making it any further down the purchasing funnel, wasting both your time and theirs. Clarity can fuel curiosity and interest and fosters a sense of trust – we need to educate our audience to filter out those to whom our product or service actually makes sense.

“Public relations specialists make flower arrangements of the facts, placing them so the wilted and less attractive petals are hidden by sturdy blooms,” Alan Harrington said. But all it takes is for someone to look at that bouquet from a different angle, to question it more than others, or for those wilted petals to eventually fall off and expose themselves. Organisations need to leverage the fact that they are the first to know what is happening to solidify their standing as an honourable communicator who wants to bring an issue to the attention of all. As such, they will emerge as a forthcoming, trustworthy entity, rather than being exposed as a dishonest one operating in the shadows of society.

Transparency in the digital era

Another point for your consideration: In today’s digital zeitgeist, audiences expect much more from brands than they did in the past. With access to vast amounts of information offered by the internet, they are much savvier. The digital age paved the way for immediate knowledge transfer. Because social media platforms and review sites grant the public instant insights and uninhibited opinions, the truth has never played a more crucial role. Social media platforms have enabled brands and consumers to have unparalleled access to each other. If you, as a PR professional, don’t operate within the realms of absolute transparency, digital platforms will force it upon you. Shape the story before it shapes you.

Crisis communication and image repair discourse

In theory, the crisis communication model is a framework of tactical strategy that involves preparation, key narrative development and various communication elements for image restoration. There is a myriad of scopes that could be leveraged depending on the gravity of an issue, including proactive, pre-emptive, responsive and reactive management models. For PR and communication professionals, integrity and accountability are rarely seen as feasible options when in fact, they should be treated as well-thought-out absolutes. Crisis communication teaches PR practitioners the art of authentic communication and its role in diffusing a situation through an executional plan with as little collateral damage as possible, and with the potential to even effectuate favourable opportunities.

Delving deeper, the manager director of one of the world’s leading PR agencies once taught me the five key questions the public, and thus the media, is likely to have during a crisis:

1. What happened?
2. How did it happen?
3. Why did it happen?
4. Who is to blame?
5. What is being done to solve it?

The public generally gets hung up on the fourth question – the ‘who’ aspect, as the blame-game is always the most interesting to the audience, and thus to the media. It is in our nature to blame mishappenings on individuals or organisations – this is how our minds process information more easily. Once we tie a crisis to a certain entity, our mind has put it in a drawer – the neurological connection has been made and processed. The key here is to admit fault, preferably proactively rather than reactively, before others uncover or talk about it, and to control the narrative by being first-to-market and thereby having the opportunity to rationally explain the story from your side. The public can sense deflection, fabrications and dishonest responses more easily than is often believed, which then leads to irreparable distrust – nobody likes a bad liar who doesn’t want to own up to wrongdoings. If, however, guilt is admitted, reasons and circumstances are explained properly, and steps being taken to resolve it are all communicated transparently, it is infinitely more likely for the audience to understand and sympathise with you. They may even see you more favourably than before, as someone who can be trusted.

In conclusion – do not make the mistake of seeing absolute transparency, whether proactive, in crises, or just in your usual day-to-day communications, as a mere moral and ethical virtue, or even regarding it as potentially having unfavourable impacts. Rather, embrace it for its power to create meaningful psychological bonds with your audience, based on honesty, integrity and trust. It is a win-win for all.

Tizian H.G. Raab is the Head of Public Relations & Communications at Azizi Developments