The king and queen of crazy school PR truisms (and what trumps ’em) – SCN Encourager

If you see a good idea, copy it. If you see a great idea, steal it.

This mantra is a lock.

And we’re so dang good at it, too.

For many of us, an awesome time-saving tip is better than any cherry on top!

Even the “Internet Safety Cheat Sheet” I swiped on your behalf more than a year ago was well received.

Was the cheat sheet better than dark chocolate?!?

Well, I wouldn’t go that far.

It was just better than a cherry.

What got my mind spinning round-and-round about our various school communicator maxims was an article I came across on the internet yesterday.

Although the article represents the gold standard of school PR platitudes, it’s about a half-century too late to do me any good now.

I’ll explain.

Do you remember our top two school PR adages?

The two offered below are about the only two I can remember without referring to my box of scribbles… so I’ve arbitrarily anointed them to #1 and #2 for the time being.

You have to agree they’re both big deals in the world of school communications.

No matter how you play ’em, they’re still our reigning King and Queen.

Our queen is CONTENT.

She rules best when she exerts the power of relevance and brevity in the grand kingdom of school PR.

Our king is CONTEXT.

When he adds meaning and significance to what the queen demands, all four sides of the school communications castle are properly fortified.

Relevance, brevity, meaning, and significance – that’s all we need, right?

Uh… almost.

And it was this article that reminded me about the trump card that’ll beat our king and queen day-in and day-out.

Yep, TIMING is everything!

Had the internet been in existence when I was growing up, my childhood would’ve much different.

Especially when it came to household chores.

With research like this right at my fingertips, think of the revealing evidence-backed presentation I could’ve made to my parents years ago.

I could’ve lovingly pointed out to them how requiring me to make my bed and clean my room was not in keeping with the latest scientific studies.

Rats!

If only this article was around at the very TIME I needed it!

But, on second thought… maybe it’s a blessing the article wasn’t around for me back then.

Had I waved it (or any other online articles) in front of my mom and dad in protest of their antiquated 19th century parenting skills, I’d probably still be sitting in the bedroom of my childhood home in Flint today, grounded without any TV and wondering who became our President after Jimmy Carter.

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