He Who Molds the Public

Knowing how far we've come as practitioners is essential to the art of Public Relations. Although technology is a key factor changing how we communicate, remembering the wisdom of the past gives us the focus we need to become great practitioners. All the technology in the world doesn't make up for the age old truths that guide us. Here are some of my favorite PR quotes. Some are serious, others funny; but they all remind us of the importance PR and the quality of how we practice it. Enjoy!

"All the president is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway."
- Harry S. Truman

"He who molds the public sentiment... makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to make."
- Abraham Lincoln

"Don’t believe your own publicity. You can’t; you’ll start thinking that you’re better than you are."
- Leif Garrett

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts."
- Abraham Lincoln

"Publicity is the life of this culture- in so far as without publicity, capitalism could not survive."
- John Berger, 'Ways of Seeing'(1980)

"Words are like bullets; if they escape, you can't catch them again."
- Wolof, African proverb

"If I was down to my last dollar, I'd spend it on public relations."
- Bill Gates

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers."
- Daniel J. Boorstin

"PR means telling the truth and working ethically - even when all the media want is headlines and all the public wants is scapegoats. Public relations fails when there is no integrity."
- Viv Segal, MD of Sefin Marketing

"The formulation of a public relations strategy properly begins with listening, not talking.... (Public relations) is an exploratory process in which one must establish goals, seek and, sometimes create opportunities, evaluate options, anticipate obstacles and ways of overcoming them, and assign the most qualified professionals to initiate the activity which is most likely to achieve the best results."
- Leonard Saffir