Recently I spoke on a Zoom conference with a group of students from the University of North Carolina. I have mentor students from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media for over a decade. Every year I host at least one intern at my office, and lecture when students visit the university’s European Study Center in London. This year their visit was cut short because of Covid-19 but we still went ahead with the program remotely, which gave me a unique insight into each of their personal circumstances as they all tried to maintain their studies at home.
Students, I found, suffer the same stresses as all of us who have recently been challenged to work from home. Interestingly, I have always viewed study as being mostly a solitary activity but what this group missed the most was the teamwork and camaraderie of a joint effort. Even though we are blessed with advanced modern technology that lets us to see and talk to each other, it was obvious that how we actually communicate to each other, without the advantage of being in person, has now got to change.
These young people were finding it hard to communicate because we rely on our ability to read body language and sense changes in aura or atmosphere to spark creative brainstorming, or even banter. Communicating virtually affected their daily communications experiences and, therefore, their ability to get their work done as they had before.
Many of us in the workplace are having the same experience. The casual interactions that bring us together have been taken from us in lock down. Think about the office “water cooler chat” or smoking breaks so often pilloried for lessening productivity that bring people informally together, creating a sense of culture, community and collaboration.
These small social interactions simply can’t be replicated or replaced. By recognizing their importance to our communications culture pre-Covid 19 we can all think about how to communicate now. It is necessary now, more than ever, to look at how we listen, talk, and write. Small things, like your boss asking how you are or a colleague from a different department having a bit of water cooler chat with you, mean so much more.
Because we are missing the human touch and the presence of people, we all need to think about our own presentation and communications in a more human way. This translates naturally into corporate communications. The global pandemic has changed how we live, so now it is time to think about changing how we communicate.
We are already seeing very pure representations of our current lives in TV advertising that features Zoom chat windows. Advertising is always the first channel to tap into a current theme and use it to build brands and sell stuff. This is a very effective way for brands to connect with, and identify with, their target audiences, but it is also very much on the surface.
PR is different. We should be thinking on a deeper level about our messages and what our stakeholders need to hear from us in the context of the current crisis. The students from UNC discussed the morality of pushing messaging during this tragic time. My response was unequivocal: we must never give up. It’s our duty to keep going and in times of crisis PR is more important than ever. PR can bring the human touch missing from visual communications: As a corporate communications tool it reinforces brands and creates meaningful connections in a deep and lasting way.
Despite effectiveness of PR, many organisations are cutting back on their PR and communications efforts in this time of crisis and recession. Understandably, keeping jobs and maintaining cash flow are at the top of the list, but even in the short term PR is vitally important. Cutting your communications now is the corporate equivalent of cutting your Zoom, FaceTime, or Skype chats with your stakeholder groups.
Think about that human touch, and look to the future. Communicating now in a way that is positive, meaningful, and forward looking will create lasting connections on all levels, that money can’t buy.
