The ‘high and low road’ scenario is actually my own addition to Jim McNamara’s article. This was a phrase coined by Clem Sunter, a well-known corporate figure in South Africa who made many speeches all over the place before the ANC became the ruling party in 1994–spelling out the high road and the low road scenario and the consequences of the wrong choice for South Africa.

I am as obsessed as you are about the most important thing in being an effective public relations professional is to identify ‘the right people’ to dialogue with. I want to add to that ‘and to listen carefully so that we know what the dialogue should be about’. Sometimes, by listening and finding out what to talk about, we will be led to the right people to talk to.

That is why my post above named environmental scanning (by whichever means), PR auditing (identifying stakeholders) and government reputation studies, as well as social auditing BEFORE talking about communication audits. Although Jim’s article was mostly about evaluation research (and I agree there is a problem with that not being done), to me that is not where it starts. That is not the most important research that PR people should be doing. If we don’t select the right people to talk to and if we don’t select the right things to talk about (and sometimes find the right people to talk to in this process), it doesn’t actually matter much whether the messages got through or how they were received. To me the strategic role of public relations evolves around ‘listening’, with the aim of selecting the ‘right people to talk to’ and/or selecting the ‘right things to talk about’.

BS

“QUESTION 7: How do you distinguish ‘information’ from ‘dialogue’?”
THAT’S IT!! A discussion of that is critically important obviously. But it is also key in understanding some of the flaws in the social-media paradigm, you know. I’d also ask: How do we know we are dialoguing with the right people? How do we best manage the asymmetric aspect of today’s Web dialogue. i.e. how do we discriminate what to listen to and what to filter out? Perhaps the foundation of the 5th PR model. Hugely important stuff, Toni. Thank you for sharing.

This instead is me again…
°I am obsessed by the idea that to be an effective professional the first thing we must learn to do is how to identify ‘the right people’ to dialogue with. It seems so obvious, so easy, so simple….but the more one thinks about it the more one realizes this is truly our biggest challenge…not only…but also the one we have fewer intelligent, innovative and updated tools at our disposal. I believe we really have to discuss about this in depth and at length..there is no easy fix.. does someone wish to open this discussion on this blog? If so, if you already have access please do so, if not please send me your post at tonimuzi@tin.it and I will post it for you and I promise I will be the first commenter…

° I will skip over the asymmetric bit about social media dialogue, although I do recognise it is an issue in itself. However to be fair as much as I agree that there is asymmetry in social media dialogue, as long as we do not hype it too much, it is certainly more symmetric than elsewhere, except and not always for face to face…

° but I do want to comment on the third point ny friend makes when he writes: how do we discriminate what to listen to and what to filter out?
The issue of discrimination of content, but even more importantly of certain stakeholders to whom we decide not to listen to, raises another can of worms about which we think little and talk none amongst ourselves…No? Can we also open a discussion on this issue? Any volunteers???

However, when I saw Jim McNamara’s paper ‘The Fork in the Road’ on the website of the Institute for Public Relations (www.instituteforpr.com) last night, I couldn’t help but think of the Tanzanian ‘Communication Initiative’. This government took the ‘high road’ when they came to the ‘fork in the road’. It has been a textbook case so far: a top management pushing a two-way communication approach; building capacity amongst their communication specialists; empowering them with strategic communication and evaluation knowledge; and providing them with arguably the most sophisticated software tool for strategy formulation, planning, implementation and evaluation of the public relations/government communication function.

In my view, the Tanzanian communication specialists have now also arrived at the ‘fork in the road’. And which road are you going to take—Kisare, Mindi, Asha? (Directorate of Communications, State House); Innocent? (Vice President’s Office); George, Job, Jumanne, Eva, Alex and all the others from the Ministries? Are you going to travel together with your government on the high road, enabling and supporting them in their quest for participatory communication? Or are you going to take the low road, followed by most, its turnoffs described by Jim McNamara as an unwillingness to measure outcomes; full of excuses on a lack of time to do formative and evaluation research; pleading a lack of knowledge and resources to do environmental scanning?

Because you see, true ‘participatory’ communication will stand or fall on:
· Environmental scanning and monitoring — assessing the climate and keeping track of what is going on out there; detecting trends before they become issues.
· Public relations auditing and government reputation studies – identifying stakeholders and their concerns, expectations, values, norms and attitudes (before they become activists).
· Social auditing — determining the effects of the government’s behaviour, policies and strategies on their stakeholders, and how the effects must be corrected.
· Communication auditing — evaluating communication programmes and campaigns (developed to address identified problems, issues and risks), and assessing their success.

Therefore, I challenge all of you who have already begun the journey on the high road to remain there, not to be sidetracked by short cuts that seem quicker and easier at first glance, but will make you loose direction so as not to arrive at the final destination at all.

BS

I have been working as a Communication Specialist in The Vice Presidents Office as Head of Information, Education and Communication Unit for the past one year. I must admit, despite my 17 years as a PR proffessional, I have never seen such a determination in PR/Communication specialists in believing in a process they think can and will bring changes and create a more better service delivery to the nation, as I have seen in the Tanzania Government Communication initiatives!

Much as I left my beautful “home” in London, my family and my job, I do not regret. It is amazing how The Tanzania Government is serious in making sure this project is a success. I am proud to be part of this initiative.

There are lessons to be learned by other Governments in Africa. The Tanzanian Government Communication initiative, is one of the best success story one can loud and learn a lot from it. The digital communication management software is something I can not forget to mention. It is something that has changed my proffessional way of looking at handling communications, and to mention just one feature in the software, all Government specilists can share good practices, be it a communication strategy or plan nd how as one big family, can learn from each other!

I am proud to be part of this and I look forward in using the software and assist my Government achieve what has been identified as a major project in engaging Tanzania citizens in government decision making through communication/PR!

Ambassador Kalaghe, the outgoing Director of Communication in The Presidents Office and the rest of his team, Kisare, Mindi, Asha and others, have been a blessing to the rest of the Government specialists in MDA’s. Our “tutors/proffessors” Dr. Butsch and Benita, has been very helpful to support all communication specialist in learning strategic communication as well as how we can use the software to deliver communication processes as may deem fit in our country.

Innocent P. Mungy, MCIPR