PR and Interpretation

Public Relations Concepts for Interpretive Science Communication

Simon Schneider – GEOTECHNOLOGIEN – Potsdam, Germany

Public Relations

The engineering of consent. Edward L. Bernays

The management of communication between an organisation and it‘s stakeholders.James Grunig

Simon Schneider – GEOTECHNOLOGIEN – Potsdam, Germany

Communication

The goal: to inform, to persuade, to reveal meaning and relations

but communication is more than words: behavior, design, body language, providing an

experience

Simon Schneider – GEOTECHNOLOGIEN – Potsdam, Germany

Interpretation

Interpretation aims towards the reveal of meanings and relationships through the use of original objects like instruments or samples, by first hand experience like field trips and workshops, and by illustrative media like animations, graphs and slides.Freeman Tilden

Simon Schneider – GEOTECHNOLOGIEN – Potsdam, Germany

Public Relations and Interpretation Both try to get a message to the audience!

To be successfull, both are framed by „How does it matter!“

Both want to creat appreciation

Simon Schneider – GEOTECHNOLOGIEN – Potsdam, Germany

Public RelationsInterpretation

- foccused on the written word- commercial interest

-out-door and hands-on experience

- povocative, persuasive communication(in positive sense)

Public Relations and Interpretation

Simon Schneider – GEOTECHNOLOGIEN – Potsdam, Germany

InterPRetationPublic Relations are essential for Interpretation

and vice versa!

Simon Schneider – GEOTECHNOLOGIEN – Potsdam, Germany

Utilize PR-Concepts

How to create a PR-Strategy?

Briefing -> Investigation -> Analysis ->

Target Audience -> Communicative Goals -> Positioning -> Message -> Tools -> Leitmotif

Simon Schneider – GEOTECHNOLOGIEN – Potsdam, Germany

(KR + KA) * AT = IO

What Public Relations can learn: put the Public back into Public Relations try to be more audience-oriented create more bi-directional or multi-

dimensional communication to relate to personal experience

(which is done, but in a rather poor way)

Simon Schneider – GEOTECHNOLOGIEN – Potsdam, Germany

What Interpretation can learn: be more object/ product oriented evaluate the benefit/ revenue being more provocative more self-confidence

Simon Schneider – GEOTECHNOLOGIEN – Potsdam, Germany

Science Interpretation

Now think about the possibilities: PR and Interpretation to communicate Science Interpretation and PR to create multi-dimensional

communication Interpretation and PR principles utilized for „new

media“

Simon Schneider – GEOTECHNOLOGIEN – Potsdam, Germany