The new principles of association
The new principles of association
There is a very famous African proverb that says “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. And I am of the opinion that this is truly the essence of public relations; building meaningful relationships in order to reach goals and objectives. As an intern, I have learnt that building and preserving meaningful relationships becomes crucial – especially in the world in which we live, which is hyper connected via technology but where face-to-face engagement can be limited.
Some of the most important lessons I have learnt are below. I have translated them into attitudes that work for me in both my career and life:
- Don’t stop at the first impression
I am of the opinion that first impressions are crucial. For some people, they are even considered as “business cards” and they sometimes determine the outcome of any relationship. However, I am also of the opinion that people shouldn’t always be judged based on the first impression, especially when it has been a wrong one. The key to building meaningful relationships is sometimes deciding not to judge a book on its cover. Sometimes the best way to discover how wonderful people are is simply to give them a chance in spite of how catastrophic the first encounter may have been.
- Be open minded
We are often reluctant to open up to others, especially when they have different beliefs and come from different backgrounds. But in a world as diverse as the one in which we live, I believe we should be keen to live new experiences and meet different types of people. From my personal experience and perspective, I believe that those encounters only leave us more enriched.
- Give what you would like to receive
Attention, time, respect and consideration are some of the numerous things that we often expect others to give us. What we have to realise is that most of the time, we only receive what we give. So In other words, we should learn to treat people just as we would like them to treat us if we want to preserve unbreakable bonds. Either professionally or personally, many relationships have broken down because of the lack of reciprocity.
- Value people’s numbers
… And try not to lose your cell phone either.
It is absolutely unthinkable to lose contact numbers as they serve the very purpose of maintaining contact. If someone has given you their number, value it! One of the best ways to avoid losing key numbers could be to write them down or save them into a second device. And as much as writing numbers into a phonebook can be seen as old fashioned, I have to confess that it is actually one of my tricks for ensuring that I don’t lose important phone numbers.
- Keep a positive attitude, a positive vibe, be positive
I don’t know about you, but I usually tend to run away from narrow-minded and negative people. I believe that there is nothing more depressing than sitting next to a person who spends their time complaining or gossiping. Productivity and success are often determined by our attitude and in order to forge connections, talking, walking and breathing positively is always the best way to go.