Einstein’s brain weighed 1,400 grams – the same size as the average human brain. Certainly, he was a great creative genius, but it was not as a result of a superhumanly sized brain. Just think: you probably have the same sized brain as Einstein – a tremendous asset at your disposal. Yet what can you do to improve your indi-vidual creative talents as a public relations practitioner?
Here are 10 characteristics of creative public relations people. By considering how you currently measure up to each, you can iden-tify any weaknesses in your make-up. This can then be used to improve your performance, and mark the start of a new, more creative, you.
1. BE UNCOMFORTABLE
I don’t like trying anything new that I cannot do.
PR trainee, aged 41
13
The creative
Public relations people often say: ‘I am not creative’, or ‘I do not have a creative bone in my body’, or ‘I just do not seem able to come up with ideas’.
After the first series of my creativity training courses, I was faced with the problem of some people who, despite being taught about the nature of creativity and the creative process, and despite being armed with a series of tips and techniques, continued to act like ‘wallflowers’; they were still unable to demonstrate any signif-icant level of creative ability. Well, a message to all these people is that YOU DECIDE whether or not you want to be creative. The root cause of you not being creative is your inherent belief. You can choose to believe you are creative.
What you are able to do in life comes from your skill, backed by your core beliefs and values. These values and beliefs are general-izations that we make about ourselves, others, and the world around us, and they are the principles by which we act. It is possible to change beliefs – for example, it is unlikely you believe in Father Christmas, though once you did. While we do have core beliefs that are fixed and important to us, we can also be flexible about what we choose to believe in certain areas of our lives. These beliefs can act as self-fulfilling prophecies.
Each of us has what is called a ‘Comfort Zone’ in how we think and – more importantly – how we address any new challenges.
Think back to the time when you sat behind the steering wheel of a car for your very first driving lesson. You were probably terrified at the thought of the car moving off, and very much aware that you were not in control. Yet, after several years of driving, you can no doubt do it with very little concern or trepidation. You have moved inside your Comfort Zone.
Similarly, looking back to my first week working in public rela-tions, I recall the sheer hell I went through drafting my very first press release: having previously written numerous articles for student newspapers, this would be the very first time my work would be scrutinized by ‘a proper public relations professional’.
But I have progressed since then: I can deal with a very intense PR crisis situation, or come up with creative proposals for a major campaign, and such events are well within my Comfort Zone. My most recent stressful experience – and there are still some, of course – was having to e-mail a PowerPoint presentation, because it was a task I did not at the time have the technical knowledge or experience to carry out.
The creative individual
Fear of failure and of not being in control of a situation are the biggest factors in limiting the size of our Comfort Zones. How many times in our working day do we say to ourselves: ‘I’m not going to be able to do this’, or ‘I just cannot seem to come up with the right idea’. How can we address this problem, which is in some way holding us back? A valuable tip is to deliberately step outside your Comfort Zone by doing a task you do not feel comfortable about. Accept that you may not do it right first time, learn from the experience, do it again but apply the lessons learnt until eventually you feel more comfortable doing it. That is, after all, how most of us acquire new skills – whether it is learning to drive or being creative.
The inner circle in Figure 13.1 depicts your Comfort Zone.
Within this are activities that you are comfortable doing. The outer circle in the diagram represents tasks and activities that you feel uncomfortable about. In the circles on Figure 13.1, write in five things you feel comfortable about and five things that are outside your Comfort Zone in your job. Set yourself the goal of expanding your Comfort Zone over the next 12 months by attempting one or more of the tasks currently outside it.
In our creativity training courses with public relations staff from consultancies and in-house departments, the five fears that feature most prominently are:
● public speaking;
● coming up with an idea under pressure;
● having to contradict a senior manager or client;
● cold-calling a potential sales prospect or journalist;
● networking.
Creativity in public relations
Comfort Zone
Figure 13.1 Your Comfort Zone