It’s a familiar refrain in the public relations/communications space. With often “impossible” schedules, some executives believe they have insufficient time to invest with their in-house or external PR/comms teams. Even those who know they stand to benefit from such efforts will often, regretfully, opt out. “It’s not you, it’s me. Blame my calendar.”
Though executives’ time is always at a premium, there’s usually more room for this vital work than they anticipate. The reason? PR/comms should not be time-intensive for thought leaders. Their role is to offer top-line insights and perspective, and review/finalize content experienced practitioners put together. If they’re doing the heavy lifting, something is often amiss.
Capable PR/comms practitioners know this red flag when they see it, and seek to make processes more efficient and effective. Sometimes the solution is as simple as external teams taking on more content development legwork, which they should be able to do at the highest level, helping organizations and executives shape their narratives and delivering a better end product. This work should further empower leaders to accelerate their agendas, engage with their teams, build alignment, and, at the same, spend time where they’re needed most.
One of the worst-kept secrets in PR/comms remains that great stories in the hands of great writers have a way of dictating themselves. Real pros can more quickly parse through complex subject matter, pinpoint narrative gems and churn out compelling content in the form of op-eds, white papers, CEO comms, LinkedIn posts, etc. And many of us still love engaging in this interesting, fulfilling and bespoke work. As the athletes say, “put me in coach!”
On the flip side, sluggish content development is often the sign of a larger problem: a viewpoint that runs counter to organizational strategy or is unsupported by facts, for example. But instead of diagnosing the issue properly, too many individuals now just auto generate the piece. This yields what’s becoming known as “AI slop,” which inevitably fails to engage audiences and meet other objectives. This in turn dissuades leaders from taking the time to engage in PR/comms, perpetuating a familiar, unproductive doom loop.
Stopping this cycle requires PR firms to take precious care when asking for thought leaders’ time, winning the trust of their clients, and striving to improve their writing at every turn. This doesn’t prevent them from using AI, as long as output is original and guided by strategy and sound judgment — though I have a close colleague who continues to say these near-automatic tools merely slow her down. That’s what comes from 30 years of storytelling experience, but it’s not everyone’s reality.
And that’s ok. It’s why we exist, to ensure there’s always time for compelling, vital PR/comms no matter what schedules look like. Minimal time investment on the part of leaders can yield big results, and even give leaders time back, though it helps to have the right partner.
Put me in coach!