Lying

Experts say we all lie. Some lies are big and some small to protect ourselves and others. However, when we get the chance to be honest, we tend to be. In PR, as I have preached since the beginning of my career, lying is deadly. The reason is the media believe we lie and the only way to overcome their distrust is through relentless honesty. PR practitioners have to be scrupulous about facts, and guide the media with regard to them. We are allowed interpretation of data, which the media dismiss as “spin,” but here too we must be careful. Always taking the positive side can destroy credibility. We serve clients through transparency and not through cover-up. It is difficult to do, especially when clients are demanding that we prevaricate. We have to remind and convince them that in the age of the internet, there is no keeping of secrets for long. It is better to take one’s lumps up front rather than later after a search for truth grinds on. Every one might lie, but in PR we can’t afford it.