What PR pros wish their bosses or clients knew about their job

Even the best bosses don’t always understand what we’re going through in our roles. When the person you’re answerable to doesn’t even work in your company or in PR, it can get even harder.

More than 125 communicators shared their wishes for what the powers that be need to know about their roles. These were some of the most interesting responses, lightly edited for style and brevity.

PR strategy, fundamentals and alignment

Derek Herman is executive director of communications at CAI.

Comms needs to be brought in at the very start, not when it’s time to communicate. The message is already lost at that point.

Colleen Herndon Penhall is principal advisor, global brand & strategic communications at TrueNorth Strategy Group.

PR can’t fix poor decisions — we’re not magicians, we’re strategists.

Alison Patch is director of communications at ICEYE US.

You can’t have effective communications strategy without a clearly articulated business strategy.

Justin Herndon is director of public relations and enterprise reputation at Thrivent.

Bringing PR to the table is great, but getting us in the kitchen is even better. If we help select the ingredients, it’s going to be a better meal.

Amanda Coffee is a communications consultant.

Every story has tension. If you don’t discuss what the pitfalls or learnings are, the reporter will find it from another source.

Patience, consistency and relationship building

Chad Corley is vice president of corporate communications at Corpay.

Can’t turn PR off and on and expect it to work when you need it most. It’s a muscle that has to be exercised regularly to get the full benefit.

John Gonda is vice president of PR and media relations at Sage Growth Partners.

Successful and well-done PR takes time. It is about building and nurturing relationships… providing data… connecting that data to timely stories… not built on unrealistic quick wins.

Dan Mazei is principal at All Tangled Roots.

Reputation is perhaps your most important long-term investment, but it does not and will not fit neatly into OKRs and quarterly business reviews.

Bethany Meban is head of press & policy communications at SolarPower Europe.

Realistic expectations are everyone’s friend. “Good” earned coverage doesn’t always read like a fluff piece… sometimes the best outcome is balanced reporting.

Proof, data and experimentation

Sue Dillon is co-founder & public relations strategist at Dun & Dun.

PR needs proof points. Fluffy language doesn’t cut it. A good story needs data, case studies and concrete examples to prove your point.

Michael Ricci is a partner at Seven Letter.

To worry less about following the herd, adopt an experimental mindset. Try things. Test different formats, framings, and angles… Track what lands and what doesn’t. Treat comms like a cycle of testing and learning.

Crystal Quast is director of business development at Robson Capital Management.

Great news internally doesn’t make it newsworthy externally. Even a major milestone might not move the needle if bigger stories are dominating the industry or world. Coverage is never guaranteed.

Audience, channels and credibility

Kristin MacRostie is director of The New Drug Talk Oregon Program.

Making an impact isn’t about the biggest headline… It’s about reaching the right people. Success shouldn’t be measured by how loud you are, but by whether the right people are listening and moved enough to act.

Cynthia Floyd Manley, senior director of communications and creative at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Organic social is more earned media than owned. We earn our way into newsfeeds by being relevant and meeting the user’s intent.

Adam Cormier is principal at JAC Comm.

The change you want to influence will start to take shape when you stop talking about yourself and start speaking to the challenges, trends, and issues impacting the lives of those in your key audiences.

Cate DeBenedictis is comms strategist and operator at Pluck.

• Reporters don’t work for you. 2) Assume no one cares what you’re working on, then build from there.

Leadership, authenticity and engagement

Jake Doll is director of client relations at PANBlast.

PR is most effective when leaders enjoy engaging in it… If the time commitments and POV development feel like a burden, we should reevaluate our spokespeople.

Kelley Lynn Kassa is a marketing consultant.

You can’t fake thought leadership. You also shouldn’t farm it out. Be brave. Take sides.

John O’Leary is head of storytelling and content at TCS North America.

That it can be fun! Some leaders are entirely different people when presenting to customers or leading internal meetings vs. speaking with a reporter or writing a byline. “On record” shouldn’t be a red flag — it should be an opportunity to channel the same energy and inspiration they bring to their daily roles.

Erica Ettori is senior vice president of corporate communications at Universal Destinations & Experiences.

Communications is an important bridge between a company’s ambition and the reality of seeing it manifest and making it happen.

Kristin Smith is senior vice president at ROKK Solutions.

I wish more leaders understood that comms now has a double mandate: building trust in human relationships and navigating how AI reshapes the flow of information. Messages don’t just land with people; they also land in algorithms.

Roles, style and internal discipline

Kenneth Ziegler is a customer success specialist at Your Company Name Here.

You have to hire people to do the entry-level stuff so they can learn to do the harder stuff that you can’t replace with an AI clanker.

Rhiannon Hendrickson is founder of Orapin.

That “PR” doesn’t stand for “press release.”

Stu Opperman is founder and president of Impact Players.

When your title comes after your name in a news release and isn’t capitalized, it’s not minimizing your position, it’s just using correct style.

Jeannette Rivera-Lyles is a public relations consultant at Accent Communications.

Too many cooks in the kitchen never deliver positive outcomes. Let me do my job, please.

Jeannine Feyen is director of communications for Talkspace.

Sometimes going dark or hitting pause is the strategy, not the lack of one.