There are many areas of our daily lives in which we practice public relations without realizing it. Dating is one and it is the one that I'm going to focus on today. As a chronic dater and student of PR, it could be assumed that I am an expert on this topic...I am not an expert, just an experienced observer.
I'm sure we've all been on a date where the person we're with discusses their previous relationship crash and burns. This would be like a company highlighting all of their previous business mishaps on their website and press conferences. They don't do it and there's a reason why. The practice of focusing on the negative has a funny way of presenting you in a negative light. The goal is always to focus on the positive. So if you are one of these dating offenders remember: Don't bring up past relationships unless you're asked, avoid the subject on for the first few dates if possible. If something must be said stick with a quick response like "We had some fun together in the end it didn't work out". Be generic positive and then change the subject.
Honesty is the best policy. This is a big one. We need only look at Tiger Woods, Jesse James and Bill Clinton to know that if you lie you will get caught. Both in dating and pr getting caught in a lie is a lot harder to recover from than being honest and it usually requires a lot of work to clean up the mess. That is IF you can clean it up. Major PR fail if you ask me.
Choosing to represent yourself as a "crap" brand is also something that a company would never do. I went out with a guy when I was in high school who insisted on boasting about his wrap sheet and detention record as though I would be impressed that he was such a rebel. Let's get one thing straight. Do you think that when an organization is seeking investors or partnerships that they go out of their way to boast about how many industrial accidents they've had in the last year or how many of their employees are embezzlers? They don't! And they don't because no one wants to invest in a company, or a person, who is so proud of being irresponsible or stupid. I mean, would you invest money or time in BP Global at this point? So, if you show up for dinner dressed like a slob, Andrew W.K. style, and make a point of discussing how you almost got arrested last weekend because of how drunk you were, don't be surprised if you don't get a second date.
Would you direct your PR campaign for the new Depends at teenagers? Or arrange a partnership agreement between Ensure and Pedigree? Probably not, wrong demographic for the plan and those two products have nothing in common. This leads us to another major dating fail, dating people you shouldn't. I get that opposites attract and it can be fun to spend time with someone who is very different than you are, but often these types of relationships don't work out. I have a friend who is completely disgusted by body art and terrified of motorcycles. Last week she went to dinner with a motorcycle riding tattoo artist. Is it a surprise to anyone that they haven't spoken since? Probably not. What is shocking is that they bothered to have dinner at all. Choose your demographic wisely when selecting someone to spend the evening with, having the sense to date someone you like rather than date for the sake of it raises the chances of a more enjoyable experience.
I'm sure I could go on all day, but those are my big three.
If you are interested in more advice to help you avoid dating FAILS check out Ten Bad Dating Habits for Men or Ten Bad Dating Habits For Women.
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