PR Masters Series Podcast, Episode #71 – Special Guest, Michael Steele

Michael Steele is a game changer.  His views on where our country is headed can be heard on various TV talk shows, including Meet the Press, Face the Nation  and others.  His candid observations on the state of our nation can now be heard on interview number 71 of the PR Masters Podcast series.   

Michael Steele is a former Lt. Governor of Maryland and chairman of the Republican national Committee.  He has been a visible force in helping to persuade the nation that some of our better days are behind us and that there’s work to be done in restoring traditional American values.  

Art Stevens, managing partner of The Stevens Group conducted the interview, as usual, and helped bring out Michael’s candor, transparency and honesty. You’ll learn things about our country – and about Michael Steele – that you never knew.

In this episode Michael Steele discusses the public relations narratives coming from the Democratic and Republican parties.

Art: Has the Republican Party, for example, not used good public relations?

Michael: I guess that's an understatement in many ways, I think that first off, the Republican Party has used public relations very effectively. And very well, you may not like the outcome. And that's a different conversation. But they've been very effective at communicating a narrative a message. The Democrats, on the other hand, have not been effective arbiters of public relations. And I just give you the most recent polls that show 62% of the American people don't think Joe Biden has done anything.

Art: Where does that come from?

Michael: It comes from a lack of a narrative that connects policy to people. Now, Republicans aren't connecting policy to people, what Republicans are doing are, are connecting people to attitudes and two concerns and fears. And you need to be worried about that. And oh, look what they're doing with LGBTQ and they're trying to groom your kids, and oh, my God, you know, white suburban women watch out, they're going to be putting section eight housing in your neighborhood and, you know, stuff like that. And all the border the border. So it's not, it's not a a proactive narrative. It's a reactive one. Whereas the Democrats don't have a proactive narrative, meaning they're telling their story. The Dems story is largely reactive. And to the extent that it is it's not, it's playing catch-up on something that they've already done. The broader point for those in the PR space, and in the social media space, and in the communications space, is that how you tell your story is important. And America still is very much is influenced by storytelling.

Art: So what lessons can people in the world of public relations, learn from what Joe Biden did at the State of the Union?

Michael: Well, I think part of it is, be smart about what you're fighting for. And, and be prepared to own it in a way that, that that really is going to matter. Look, if I know that this is important to you, it is harder for me to wrestle it away from you. Right? If I know that you don't really care, that I can create all kinds of roadblocks and problems, because I know at the end of the day, you're going to capitulate. Also, really knowing and owning your message around an issue is vitally important. How you communicate that, and to whom you communicate it.

A lot of public relations is not about talking to the person in front of you, but talking to everybody behind them. This is something that I learned very early on in politics. And I had I really had to sort of help the Republican party during my time, and they've since forgotten it, about how to communicate a message. And I was sitting in these meetings, and they were like, well, why are you out here talking about hip hop Republicanism? And why aren't you? You know, why aren't you going after Barack Obama on this? And why aren't you saying that? And I looked at him I go, What makes you think I'm talking to you? Are you're already in the room, you're already in the camp? If I've got to convince you about this, we have a bigger problem that we that we need to you know that we're ready to admit to.

I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to everyone behind you. I'm talking to everyone out there. The strength of really good communication is understanding. I don't need to preach to my choir. Right? I need to preach to my congregation.

The ultimate strategy is knowing your audience, and not allowing yourself to be sidetracked from your true audience, because you've got to placate some interest that's already in your camp. And if you've got to placate that interest, guess what? They're not in your camp, and you need to rethink whether you need them there.