We recently invited the great Robin Beaman, founder and president of Beaman, Inc., to speak at a Bospar all-hands meeting. She had some interesting things to say about the art of saying “no” without saying no, which you can read about here. 

Robin also shared her Cs of PR—tenets that she feels have been critical to her success. Here are my favorites, with some elaborations of my own.

Connection 

People think networking means that you meet someone and then you can call and ask them for things. That’s backwards. Networking is really about figuring out what you can do for other people. When you make time to do kind or helpful things for people, they can’t do enough for you in return. That’s what real connection is. That’s how relationships blossom. 

Commitment

Be really clear about what you want from your PR career, because different kinds of PR require different levels of commitment. For example, if you want to go into entertainment PR or to work with celebrities, that’s great. But that’s not a 9-5 job—it’s a 24/7, never-take-any-vacations job. All PR work requires commitment, and it requires late nights, because crises happen. But make sure you know what you’re signing up for in advance, and be prepared to commit.

Confidentiality 

People trust their PR team like they trust their lawyers and accountants. What clients  share with us, we do not share with anyone else. Good PR professionals are good keepers of secrets. That’s what people pay for in our industry. In addition to publicity and content, they pay for confidentiality.

Celebration 

Take time to celebrate yourself, and celebrate other people, too. Sometimes we work so hard, we just forget to do that for ourselves and others—even if it’s just to have a glass of your favorite wine or take a walk to enjoy the blooming flowers in your neighborhood. Celebrate yourself, celebrate your colleagues, and celebrate your wins.