They say never let the truth get in the way of a good story but while we can all be guilty of over elaborating a story amon
g friends, when it comes to business it never pays to be liberal with the truth, says Linda Donaldson, director at Bath-based Geometry PR, in her latest Bath Business News Expert Panel article.
If you advertise your businesses products or services as something they really aren’t – such as “Best in the world” or “first ever” – this will quickly build resentment with competitors and mistrust with your customers as well as giving you a poor reputation.
Sometimes situations arise that on the face of it make it difficult to tell the truth, particularly when you don’t wish to discuss or comment on an internal issue your business may be dealing with.
However, it’s usually always best to be transparent, open and honest and take the opportunity to make a statement and set the record straight.
Ask any journalist and they will tell you the importance of getting your facts straight when writing a news story. It is not just about making sure that what you say is not libellous, but ensuring that you don’t come over as an ill-informed buffoon. So whether you are tweeting 140 characters, writing a light-hearted blog or a more serious industry expert commentary piece, it always pays to check your facts. If you get something wrong then you can be sure that someone will spot it and very publicly point out your mistake.
So, what should you do if you or a member of your team gets a communication very publicly wrong? In my experience, the simplest way is to own up, if necessary apologise and in some cases make a correction. Try and cover a mistake and you will undoubtedly create a bigger mess than you started with.
While you may feel embarrassed, annoyed, or even disappointed bear in mind that everyone can and is allowed to make an occasional error.
Occasional being the operative word here, so once you have made one, take steps to make sure you don’t do it again. My advice is to read articles and reports produced carefully before you reference them in anything you write and take great care not to misquote or misinterpret a comment attributed to someone else. A good communications protocol should always include the need for a second member of your team to proof read and substantiate any facts, figures and claims made before it is released for publication.
And one final word of warning; be particularly careful when reading national newspaper headlines, always make sure you read the accompanying story in full before you pass judgment or create an opinion.
Headlines are written to catch the reader’s attention and do not always reflect every aspect of the content of the story beneath. As a PR professional of 15 years, I know only too well the devil is almost always in the detail.
