Personal Public Relations - Indulgence or Necessity?

Written by: Anna Niemira

Present yourself well!  Make the right impression! We hear these reminders as often as we hear words of encouragement when others wish us good luck before any big day.

As soon as we start walking and speaking in our childhood, we learn about good manners, proper behavior, and pleasant appearance. We receive praise and rewards when we say "Please" and "Thank you" and behave well at the table, or when we manage to keep our clothes relatively clean after messy sandbox play or monkey bar hoops with our playground friends.

Systematically, when growing up and acquiring more skills, and greater social understanding, we kept developing the best version of ourselves to create our public persona.

Outer Image and Self-presentation

It takes a few moments or sometimes even a glance to create an impression of others. Whether these feelings are accurate or not, they determine how we react and treat each other. Deep down, we understand the mechanics of personal assessment.  Many of us are concerned about what others think of us and how they perceive us.  After all, people's impressions can have great impact on our lives, for example in the context of a job interview.

To establish a good reputation and an easy rapport, consciously or not, we want to manage our impressions to gain the acceptance of others and to attain our goals. We want to navigate our relationships with our self-presentation forming our best image.

Depending on the circumstances, we try to play to the audience's values to fulfill social norms and people's expectations.

Creating Public Persona

Who we are in public when in the company of other people - this is our public persona.

Some people perceive being concerned with appearance and paying attention to our personal image negatively, refusing to be social chameleons. Yet, self-presentation is a natural inclination that is useful for our well-being, growth, and development.

Depending on the circumstances and our social circles, we do our best to fit in, playing our roles accordingly. Our social life and position are fundamental aspects of our existence.  Our motives and behaviors vary and change based on our surroundings and our company.

Our presentation will often be more relaxed and casual in close relationships and will be more official and proper when managing our image at work or in professional situations.

Constructing Positive Public Image

We are curious about others. When we get to know someone, we can recognize our similarities and differences to determine if we can connect and thrive together. We look for connections.

If we work for a company, we want to make sure that we align with its mission, vision, and culture to feel fit for it and bond with our colleagues and associates.   If we have our own business, we become the face of it.  Our persona closely connects with the brand.  Our customers want to get acquainted with us to understand the products or the services we offer.  They want to know our history, motivation, and our why.

It is necessary to create and build our persona and manage our public relations to expand our business and social standing.

The Power of Public Relations

Let's not confuse public relations with marketing or advertisements. It is value delivery and persuading with engaging content instead of paid promotions.  The primary goal is to earn the interest of our audience with effective communication and riveting storytelling. The way we present ourselves, our products or services, can build trust and create fulfilling and long-lasting relationships. It is about supporting our position, recognizing our accomplishments, or purchasing our products or services with purpose; thus, creating win-win, mutually beneficial outcomes for the parties involved.

It is a conscious and well-planned narrative to advance our progress. We use public relations to build, enhance, or even protect our image and our reputation, either through social media, general media press releases or announcements, self-produced transmissions, or public appearances.

Public relations is about shaping our image, building our public persona, and enhancing our reputation.

Effective Personal Public Relations

Per Aspera ad Astra. (Latin)- Through the hardships to the stars. 

It takes time and effort to create and build our image.  The process is very individualized, depending on our interests, goals, and creative pursuits. The most effective way to create a well-defined, positive public persona is to invest in it with zest and determination.

Build your personality.  Think of your interests, hobbies, and passions. Dedicate time to what engages you and what makes you tick. Learn about it in detail as this knowledge will make you stand out from the crowd and engage your audience, giving a chance for others to learn from you, discover similarities with you, or opening up a new path of interest for others to explore.

Define your style of presentation and communication. Remain professional and respectful yet follow your set values. That will help you paint your self-portrait, remain true to yourself, and channel your in-person and online interactions. Do not shy away from showing your enthusiasm and your sense of humor.

Showcase your professional expertise. Share your interests, education, experiences, and professional knowledge.  Present problems your business solves and the solutions it provides to the community. Comment on topics you know about either online or in live discussions. Share your advice and your content with groups you connect with and circles you attend.

Watch your social media presence.  Not everything should be shared.  Tailor your content accordingly to the platform and your audience.  Consider having a separate account for personal photos and stories to be shared with family and close friends only. Leverage your online presence by connecting with industry influencers and groups, as well as your clients and associates to exchange information and intelligence.

Foster transparency.  Not everything goes according to plan.  Mistakes do happen. Hiding errors and mishaps can surface and backlash badly.  It is much better to address issues and indicate your commitment to making changes and implementing improvements. It helps to keep a positive line of communication and maintain a good personal image, even during difficult situations.

Persona Behind the Mask

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance." - Aristotle

Our public persona is what we show to the world, being a key asset in our representation. We envision and then create our persona, the same way we create a painting or a sculpture.  We are becoming our creation, an art.

Investing early on in our knowledge and experiences and pursuing our interests with passion helps build our personality and character. We emanate inside out with confidence and shine with our eloquence and expertise. We present who we are and what we feel not just through outward appearance but also through our inward significance.

When we deliver substantial value, and what we say correlates with what we do, there is no need to put a mask on to the public. When we are authentically and genuinely showcasing and sharing our rich and abundant inner world, we can proudly present our public persona to an outside audience.

"People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic." - Seth Godin