Why I use the word “communicator”

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes.
This blog is the second part of the reflection I’ve done about who I am as a communicator and researcher.

Plenty of people ask me why I use the word “communicator” when discussing my work (and/or why I’ve selected public relations as my research focus). Part of the answer is that I firmly believe the questions of equity and power I examine apply to any form of communication done to meet an organizational purpose — and that extends past the boundaries of PR.

The other answer is the same reason that my LinkedIn profile declared I was “a proud professional communicator” until I started school — it’s how I view the work and our role within organizations.

Contrary to popular opinion (and the history of the field), the purpose of public relations and strategic communications is not just spin, manipulation, and smear tactics. The formal definition published by the Public Relations Society of America states, “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

Separately, when I’m asked to describe my work, I say, “I ensure organizations provide people the information they need, at the time they need it, and in ways they understand” (if you want an example, review my description of how I helped incoming residents and UMN staff by creating a concentrated Move-In Guide and Checklist for Housing & Residential Life). That is a purpose I love, and it is why I firmly believe public relations and strategic communication have a place in building a better society.

Let me explain

People are busy, and they have a lot of interests. No matter how much you care, we all know there is never enough time to follow all of the important issues or research every decision that needs to be made — whether that is keeping track of what new laws are being passed, remembering what events an organization has come up, or determining what refrigerator to buy after your current one breaks. Additionally, different people want different things from communication — some want facts while others want emotion; some want complex technical reports while others refuse to read anything that takes longer than 30 seconds.

At the same time, the people who work full-time on those topics of interest are rightfully focused on their work. They are living it every day, so they don’t consider that everyone doesn’t know what they do, and, if they do, they often can’t explain it in ways that make sense to those who don’t need every detail (think about it — don’t you have that one thing where you’re super passionate while those around you don’t seem to care? If not, I’m sure you can think of at least one person where the reverse is true).

That is where communicators come in

Public relations and strategic communications professionals have the skills, interests, and knowledge to understand both groups. We serve as translators by taking in the information from those who have it and shaping it into something useful for those who need it.

Sometimes, yes, that can make our work seem shallow as we recommend things like TikTok dances or pop-up events to grab people’s attention (full disclosure, I’ve never recommended either of these, but you get the idea). It also can seem like we are making things too simplistic or dumbing them down as we will want to eliminate the details and nuance those who are deeply invested love (I was known to tell coworkers with complete sincerity, “My job is to make this message as simple as possible; your job is to tell me when the details matter”).

But, whether we are turning ideas into soundbites or summarizing a report in a press release, we’re doing that so the message can cut through the noise (and cluttered email boxes) and get to those who need it.

Now don’t get me wrong

I am painfully aware that this is not how all public relations and strategic communication professionals operate or think (although, for those skeptical of PR, you could be surprised to learn how much PR professionals think their jobs are about creating authentic relationships with their audiences). I am also very aware that for-profit people look at my work and assume the discussions of “equity” and “sharing information” (and, even, power) only apply to nonprofit and public-sector communications.

That is one of the reasons I decided to pursue my Ph.D.: I want to be part of changing what it means to be a public relations and strategic communications professional. I want every communicator to understand the power and responsibility that comes with our roles as storytellers and gatekeepers of information, and I want each of us to feel a responsibility to our audiences/society rather than, solely, our organization/client. I want to make it an expectation that communicators will think critically about the messages they send and ask strong statements will be supported with equally strong (and long-term) action.

Communicators craft messages with the express purpose of sending them out into the world. They shape and reinforce ideas, beliefs, and expectations people have for their lives and society, so we must recognize that our responsibility does not end at our boss’s office or, even, the walls of our organizations.

So, that’s why I say “communicator.”

Note: Traditional public relations scholars would argue I’m describing something different than public relations (likely technical communication or public interest communications). I, however, firmly believe this definition should be used for all communication is done with a focus on the organization. It will better ensure that communication is done in a responsible, ethical, and successful way.