Loved professor Anthony D’Angelo’s commentary in regards to the topic of story craft within PR. Key points were Trust, Barack Obama and the Narrative Arc.
Renee Blodgett’s definition of PR, is the idea that PR is about mastering human relationships. That if creating relationships is placed at the forefront, PR has the ability to uplift people. This ideology is key because it helps you understand that PR is not about business first. You need to genuinely care about your publics. Indirectly, you receive the benefit of a stronger brand. Many companies fail at this very simple concept due to PR being “corporate-driven.”
As with any and all forms of communication, the concept of trust is key in creating and maintaining relationships. Many companies now have
a hard time establishing that trust simply because they lack elements of story craft. To make matters worse, it’s hard for companies to esta
blish an effective story because there is no proper representation of both ideas and demographics that reflect the publics, who can impact the abilities of organizations. There may be messaging placed everywhere but, we only let the ones we trust into our minds. That trust is established through story. However, to have a great story there must be commonalities, proper representation and lastly, messaging has to be relatable.
Representation is key because as humans we all don’t share the same life narrative. For example, the perspective of a White male that grew up in the suburbs cannot easily relate to an African-American male or female that grew up in the inner-city. This matters within the context of PR because commonalities create relationships. It is why President Barack Obama– then senator – was able to deliver such an amazing speech back in the 2004 Democratic convention.
Let’s break down through the use of “the Narrative Arc” why his message was so effective. In his speech, we could identify a protagonist. In this case, Obama. His rising action, which was, his struggles growing up as the son of a Kenyan father and White mother from Kansas. Through his story, Obama addressed the crisis that America was being divided. In that short time frame, he made his audience believe most importantly, he made the audience feel included.
As Patric Jackson states,
“People want to be served,
not sold. Involved, not told.”
Link to Obama’s 2004 Democratic convention speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYAr4lhPb_s