Principles of Public Relations

Read about a few misconceptions of PR

The principles of Public Relations are based on five fundamental pillars, namely-

1. Truth- The basis of honest communication.

2. Service- There must be a commitment to your profession

3. Public Interest - Public Interest should be the core of your professionalism.

4. Two-way communication - The PR Person stands in the middle, acting as a Bridge and not a Barrier.

5. Persuasive communication- The power of persuasion is the base for a harmonious relationship in society.

TEN BASIC PRINCIPLES in PR:

We can describe the function and role of public relations  practice by ten basic principles:

1. Public relations deal with reality, not falsehood. PR deals with facts, not fiction. (Truth)

2. Public relation is a service-oriented profession. Public interest, not personal reward, is the primary consideration. PR is a public, not personal service. (Service)

3. Public relations practitioners must go to the public to know its mind. (They must seek support for their organisation's programs and policies. ) So, the public interest is the central criterion for selecting a program or a procedure. (PR  practitioners must not advise any organisation on a program

or policy going against the public interest.)( Public  Interest)

4. Public relations practitioners must be truthful while reaching the public through mass media. They should never lie to the news media outright or by implication. ( Truth)

5. PR practitioners are in the middle between an organisation and its public, and they must be effective communicators – conveying information back and forth until an understanding is reached. (Two-way Communication &  Persuasive Communication) Be a bridge, not a barrier.

6. To expedite two-way communication and to be responsible communicators, public relations practitioners must use scientific public opinion research. PR cannot afford to be a guessing game. (Truth)

7. PR practitioners must understand what the public demand. For this, they must have the basic knowledge of social sciences – psychology, sociology, social psychology,  public opinion and communications. Intuition is not enough. (Truth)

8. The PR field requires multidisciplinary applications. The PR person must know about other related disciplines, like learning theory, psychology, sociology, political science, economics and history. (Truth)

9. Public relations practitioners must discuss burning issues with the public before a problem turns into a crisis and should always be alert to public concerns. They must practice public relations proactively whenever possible. ( Public Interest)  

10. The success of a public relations practitioner should be measured by only one standard, ethical performance. (Truth)

Read more about the Nature of PR