How training to run your PR can help you succeed in your PR career
By Emelyn Theriault, Account Supervisor
I love running. Running puts my mind at ease, and the endorphins it sends coursing through my body are unbeatable. It is a sport that can be equally social and competitive. It is what you make of it.
In running, your PR is your “personal record.” Your PR is personal motivation to improve for your own sake.
In the professional world, PR is short for “public relations.” Public relations is about building relationships to shape a brand or person’s reputation.
As an aspiring public relations practitioner, I have found many connections between running and the public relations profession.
Disregarding the pun, the lessons I have taken from running my PR have helped in my PR career.
Getting into it takes ambition. Sticking with it is a passionate pursuit.
Passion and ambition are interrelated and combine to produce fulfilling wins. Passion gets you excited to start and helps you find fulfillment throughout the effort. Ambition means having a strong desire to do or achieve something that requires determination and hard work.
To succeed in public relations and produce tangible results for clients, you must be ambitious in your efforts to form new relationships. Later on, you will have to be passionate about managing and maintaining those personal bonds. The PR practitioner who is committed to their purpose will positively propel public relations.
Training. Just like running requires a first step, public relations means you have to take advantage of the tools at your fingertips.
Before you are able to perfect your running stride, you must take the first step. Trying it yourself will help you figure out what works best for you.
You can learn a lot by reading about PR and watching other PR pros in action, but, in order to actually establish yourself in the industry, you must get out into the world to do the work and practice. Building a reliable and savvy reputation as a PR pro requires your willingness to learn. Enthusiastic PR professionals take advantage of the tools at their fingertips and participate in training programs to develop their skills. Attend conferences, get certified in skills like content marketing, and always stay up-to-date with the latest information by reading newsletters. Some ways I train for a future in PR include participating in the BU PRSSA district conference, completing my MuckRack certification in the Fundamentals of Media Relations, and supervising two teams of account executives in PRLab. But there are numerous ways to constantly improve. All this is especially important in the constantly evolving media landscape.
Confidence. What happens if your shoe comes untied while you’re running? What if you can’t meet a client’s deadline?
Running and self-confidence go hand in hand. Not only does running take confidence, but it also can be a major confidence booster in itself.
Self-doubt is a common feeling among experienced runners and those just getting started. But in any case, improving your confidence will help you come closer to reaching your potential. Imagining negative scenarios and planning how to respond with confidence will serve you well in running and in PR, both of which are full of unexpected scenarios.
Recording my preparation and milestone achievements has helped me feel more equipped when an important event nears so that I can enter with conviction.
To succeed in PR, you must be able to convince the most discerning journalist that the story you have is worth covering. This demands a capacity for selling concepts in an engaging and enticing way. It helps to have a strong sense of self.
Developing your confidence can also give you the courage to advocate for yourself and the respect of the boundaries you have set. This is very important in a demanding industry where the division between work and life is often blurry. In order to avoid burnout and keep the passion alive, balance is necessary.
Make sure you know and recognize your value.
Flexibility. Just as the terrain when running outdoors is rarely smooth and consistent, the media and PR landscape is ever-changing.
Flexibility in running means having the ability to respond and change course as necessary.
Being alert and aware of change is the first step. In order to make it in PR, you must respond to changes in the news or media environment as you continue to generate captivating content. Being proactive and having a premeditated plan will serve you well in these unpredictable times.
However, even if you provide reporters with the best angles, leverage the smartest trends and prep clients with media training before they go on-air, you still are not in control. Always endeavor to make everything as seamless as possible, but recognize that things are likely to change. Adjust as needed and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Endurance. When you fall on the trail, get back up. When you receive rejection after pitching a story idea, roll with the circumstances.
Long runs, hot days. Long meetings, late nights.
While running is a fairly individual sport, encouragement from team members and people along the race course can make all the difference.
Similarly, in public relations, the connections you make with others are everything. Ask for help, provide support, demonstrate your value, and don’t try to do it all on your own. It will all help you in the long run (no pun intended).
Endurance is something that serves you well, because obstacles will always come up — they tend to appear when you least want them to. But patience and persistence will help you pull through. Learn from your misfires, grow from all experiences, and don’t forget your priorities.
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As BU COM Professor Monique Kelley once told my class, “If you want to be a successful PR person, you must be able to do good PR for yourself.” As a runner herself, Kelley may agree that the skills that make you a strong runner can help you become a more impactful PR pro.
Being able to do good PR for others (and yourself) takes a great deal of self-awareness and commitment. Running has helped me develop a deep enough understanding of myself that I feel comfortable embarking on the path ahead. You don’t have to be a runner, but I encourage you to find your own way to develop a thick skin and strong sense of self so you may thrive and generate a real impact in your professional career.