Practical ways PR professionals can use two-way asymmetrical communication to solve organization and public problems

Practical ways PR professionals can use asymmetrical communication to solve organization and public problems

Thanks to the founding fathers of public relations, the role of PR professionals has become very relevant in this modern society. Every organization needs a PR person to manage their relations with the public. That is the way forward now, you don’t wait till there is a problem before you invite a PR person to solve it for you. This is why this role must be regarded as a managerial role in every firm. In my previous article that I shared with you, I discussed about PR professionals can use symmetrical communication to help their organizations. I gave practical examples to support my agreement. 

Practical ways PR professionals can use two-way asymmetrical communication to solve organization and public problems by quikcounsel.com

In the latter part of my article, I stated that this is not the only way as there are other strategies PR professionals can employ. Because symmetrical communication is about listening to the people as well as serving as a mediator for your organization and the people not leaving out your allegiance to the organization, I guess people thought that is the ideal way forward but different situations and different problems can dictate the right approach to use. In this article, I will discuss with you in detail, how PR professionals can use asymmetrical communication to solve organization-public problems.

Asymmetrical communication is the direct opposite of symmetrical communication. Whereas symmetrical communication makes use of two-way communication, asymmetrical only makes use of one-way communication. I think this has been the norm for many PR professionals until symmetrical communication came up. The normal PR profession is just about being a mediator for your organization and the public but with no intention of serving the public interest but rather the organizational interest which is directly opposite to symmetrical communication.

Asymmetrical communication is a strategic technique that PR professionals employ to persuade the public without seeking their consent or directly seeking their feedback, That is where a PR professional who just releases press statements comes into play. They only deliver communiques to the public but do not deliver any communiques to the organization from the public. If this was to be in government rule systems, I would say it is the authoritarian style. But how does this help organizations when PR professionals choose asymmetrical communication?

Let me use a scenario to explain this for you to understand to the core. I stated earlier that these communication techniques are applicable in different situations. So assuming I work for an organization that is into microfinance. People save there, people bank there, and use our services. Misfortunes are bound to happen and then one day a theft issue happens and the news begins to roam among the public. Imagine the people who have their savings in this microfinance, how would they react? 

Everybody in that situation at that time would think their money is gone and the bank is responsible for paying it. Even with savings, there are agreements that you can withdraw within a specific period but because of what has happened, people would be demanding an instant payment. In fact, there would be a public uproar. And then I am the PR person for this microfinance and in matters like this, my services are highly needed to calm the public down. What would you do in this situation? First of all, microfinance has not issued a statement that it has closed down its services and that could even be a point for me the PR person.

In this situation, asymmetrical communication is advisable to be used. This is not the time you go to listen to what the people are saying. There is already a public uproar, people only want their money. What I would do first is to discuss with the management, the way forward. Once I am fed with all the information I need, then the press releases can follow, I have to make the people understand that we have not closed down the company, we are still operating and we are working behind the scenes to solve every problem. That statement goes out and at least the public receives an update but when there is none, the chaos multiplies each and every day.

So, in that instance, I cannot go to listen to the public because I already know what they want; their money. I only serve as a mediator for the organization and the public but serving the organization at most. Public relations are about reputation and so I or you must make sure the management put in measures to solve whatever problem as you also try to calm the public down.

One thing you must also know is that a lot of allegations would come against your company at that moment, you must be focused on delivering updates to the people and if in case some of your updates refute some of the allegations, that is fine but the focus here is that, the people must know the state of the company in solving the problem rather than bantering allegations. And this is achievable with asymmetric communication and not symmetrical communication where you have to go and listen to the people. The Public opinion in this case is in uproar, you won’t get anything to help with your duties, and you only focus on calming them down rather than having two-way communication with them.

In all, I must say both two-way symmetrical and two-way asymmetrical communication have their roles to play in different situations. If you could revisit the article about symmetrical communication, you will realize that the scenarios I gave are totally different. And it all depends on you a PR person and a strategic communicator to make the right choice in the appropriate situation. People normally tag asymmetrical communication as having no balance since only the organization benefits leaving out the public.

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