PR Books - learn more about public relations

Assume you have already read the PR classic books. These include How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie; Confessions of an Advertising Man, by David Ogilvy and the novel Thank You for Smoking, by Christopher Buckley (which is much better than the movie in my opinion). The current thinking is that we become a composite of the five (or so) people we spend the most time with – and some of those five spots are taken up by people we love. Upping your game, increasing your understanding and skills is vital to your career and life advancement. So, one way to make positive changes – spend more time with quality people and thinkers. For most people, the remaining open spots for the five are filled by our peers. Well, our peers are great, but most of them are on your level – that’s why they’re peers. But there’s another option, start spending more time with industry and thought leaders, watch motivating TED talks, and read…read…read quality nonfiction books covering the topics that matter most to you. If you work in PR, then media and PR know-how should be top of that list. So, in addition to the classic PR books, here are couple of more great options for your PR library. No matter what format (hard copy, digital or audio) immerse yourself in what people who’ve learned the lessons already and understanding will increase with the skills following right behind that. 1. What Did Jesus Drive? Crisis PR in Cars, Computers and Christianity by Jason Vines I’ve already started this one since I have a signed copy from the PRSA event – I hope to pass it around the office once I’ve finished. 2. Reputation Rules: Strategies for Building Your Company’s Most Valuable Asset by Daniel Diermeier In this business, reputation is everything. Many of the public relations programs we develop focus on building a company’s reputation. As we’ve all seen, one small event can bring a reputation down. Reputation Rules shares a number of recent case studies on how to weather the storm. 3. Rogue Elephants: One PR Girl’s Fight Through the Human Jungle by Jane Hunt I love reading or hearing PR war stories from veteran practitioners and this book by Jane Hunt is just that. There are so many practitioners who get into PR from other industries and it just shows how PR is necessary in so many different industries and jobs. 4."It's Not the Big That Eat the Small...It's the Fast That Eat the Slow: How to Use Speed as a Competitive Tool in Business" by Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton. Media moves very fast, and as a 2011 survey indicated, being a Public Relations pro is the 2nd most stressful job in America. Moving fast is core to the PR business and necessary to thrive. 5."The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell: An enjoyable, great read which tells us how "Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do." Understanding the power of audiences and to whom, and how to communicate is a core necessary value for all in PR & marketing. 6."Crystallizing Public Opinion" by Edward L. Bernays: The first book by the man considered to be the father of public relations, Bernays combined crowd psychology with the psychoanalytical ideas of his uncle, Sigmund Freud, to become the first thinker to explain how PR could thrive by managing public opinion. Amazing how true that even today his book rings true, including the statement: "Perhaps the most significant social, political, and industrial fact about the present century is the increased attention which is paid to public opinion."

Source PR Agency Tampa