If you watch this thing called television, or go to dark stadiums where they feed you popcorn and turn out the lights for two hours to show you moving pictures, you'd get the impression that public relations is about working in the West Wing and standing in front of a podium to answer questions from a room full of reporters and cameras.
That would be when you're not in meetings, writing press releases or having cocktails with the president of the United States while you help compose the State of the Union.
If it's corporate PR, the image you get from TV and movies is serious men and women in seriously Italian suits that cost more than most Kia's, working late hours in giant office buildings in Manhattan.
It's not quite like that.
Sure, there are people doing those sorts of things in the White House -- but not one person, or a handful of people, doing all those things. There are specialized teams of people doing each task.
And there are certainly big PR firms that are a big like law firms in how people dress and work, because they are highly skilled professionals who have to bill for their time.
Yet the biggest myths I want to dispel involve PR being mostly press releases and press conferences.
This myth is dangerous, because misconceptions about Italian suits will only lead to public relations folks dressing better, which is harmless.
Misconceptions about what PR is -- especially in the minds of clients and bosses -- will lead to nothing good at all.
"Press release" and "press conference" are the two phrases that clients and bosses know.
They will use those phrases. Often.
And this is bad.
Bad for you, if you're doing the work, because press releases are over-used and often the wrong tool for the job.
Bad for your client or boss, because press conferences should be rare and reserved for the biggest possible events. If you hold press conferences at the drop of a hat, reporters won't show up.
Don't let this myth cloud the eyes of your clients and get you in the habit of making it reality.
Public relations today is an ever-changing field, with more and more communication happening in cutting-edge ways. Youtube videos, Twitter, blogs.
Things are also changing fast. It wasn't long ago that public relations folks faxed their press releases to the media. If you did that today, they'd think it was a joke. E-mail is standard. Some people are even leaning toward Twitter, with simply a link to the press relases.
Press releases and press conferences are old-fashioned tools in your toolbox, like a sledgehammer and a chisel. Sure, you'll use them. It's just that you have three dozen other tools in the box, and usually, one of them is a better fit.