The Most Powerful PR is 'personal.'
The most powerful public relations tool everyone has is personal - and it's FREE.
Think about how you feel when you receive a 'thank you' note or someone holds a door for you on a windy day as you head into a meeting. If you're a person who lives consciously, this is the type of detail you notice.
If I were handing out advice, like candy canes, this holiday season, I'd probably attach small notes to them that read:
- RSVP to the event; don't let your host, or a colleague, wonder if you're waiting for a better invitation or worry about how much food to plan for - this also applies to BUSINESS
events
- Don't talk on your phone in the 'quiet car,' at a restaurant where others will be disturbed,
at the dinner table, during your children's holiday recital while in the audience
- Grocery carts ALWAYS go back to the store or in the corral - not in someone's potential
parking space, but you know that
- Say "thank you," when they hold the door or elevator; write a "thank you," for a gift or
dinner or the use of someone's vacation home; help your kids become great grown-ups
and have them pick out special stationery to write "thank you's" for their holiday gifts (email may be appropriate in some cases, including colleagues, but never grandparents or
the special people in your life)
Practice civility in very real ways - it will make you memorable for all the right reasons, will resonate well past the deed and onto those who come in contact with the person to whom you were kind. It will 'buy' you the kind of personal PR that no ad or media appearance could ever accomplish. Moreover, you'll feel a lot better about yourself because you've just made the world a better place.
P.S. In case you were wondering - December 26th is both National Candy Cane AND National Thank You note day!
