PR is likeable

Daria Paryła: ''Through knowledge to competence'', ''The impossible is possible'', ''We always play fair''. One can find these slogans on your website. It is impossible to disagree with them...

Antoni Styrczula: Of course. This is especially true of the sentence 'We always play fair'. I don't imagine any public relations specialist to operate differently. That is why I have been denouncing so-called black or negative PR for years. These practices have nothing to do with PR understood as a dialogue between the sender and recipient.

DP: Mr Styrczula, you were the spokesperson for the former president of the Republic of Poland, and you were a journalist. Right now you have your own PR advisory agency - Antoni Styrczula Doradztwo PR. Why have you remained in the PR business?

AS: After leaving the president's chancellery I was chairman of the radio station „Radio dla Ciebie" and then the Polish Foreign Investment Agency. In 2006 I had decided to create my company to try my luck 'on my own'. Why have I remained in the industry? Because I can do it and I like doing it.

DP: Who was your mentor, your guide?

AS: I had mastered the general basics of social communication doing studies in philosophy under priest professor Józef Tischner. He was the one who had created the „Polish dialogue philosophy" which I strive to apply in practice in my work. And there are the years of practical experience, including my several-month-long study period in the USA, where I had the opportunity to witness the work of the press service of the White House, the Department of Defence and the State Department, etc.

DP: You provide advice concerning strategic PR. Who are such activities aimed at? Is there big demand for such offers?

AS: Who the activities are aimed at depends on who I am providing advice to. The strategy for Łomianki, for example, was directed at the residents of the gmina (commune). Its strategic goals were: the emergence of a feeling of local patriotism and integration of the local community. PR strategies for business are usually aimed at support for marketing activities or at creating a certain company image. There are also election strategies for individual politicians or election committees. The demand is quite high. However, not always do companies feel the need to have a PR strategy. This stems mostly from the fact that they do not see PR as a component of organisational management.

DP: Which of the closed training courses you offer enjoy the most popularity?

AS: Recently companies have been asking more and more often about courses on the creation of PR strategies or building a company image and identity. I also see high demand for courses in crisis PR.

DP: Crisis PR is an uncommonly difficult department when it comes to training courses. What type of customers usually make use of your advice in this field?

AS: These are mostly companies, but there are also many public institutions, i e. the National Bank of Poland, the Baltic Cultural Centre of Gdańsk, local government authorities, etc. Recently there was a training course on information management during a crisis for press spokesmen for the voivodes, and it was organised by the Polish Government Security Centre. I strive for these training courses to have as much relation to the real world, in which the participants operate, as possible. That is why 60% of the training course is devoted to workshops, i. e. strategy games or case study analyses.

DP: Which training methods do you particularly like?

AS: I prefer methods aiming to activate the participants. Even the theoretical part is run in the form of a conversation class. Any participant, at any point, can ask a question or amend my presentation by their own conclusions. For the workshop part I very often use films or photographs which I analyse jointly with the participants, i. e. during courses on political PR or the work of a press spokesperson. Of course there is no skipping case studies or strategy games. The selection of the method, however, depends on the duration of the course and group size.

DP: The All Inclusive PR Laboratory is an interesting project. Do you believe that work in very small groups tends to positively influence the ability of customers to take on new knowledge?

AS: The „PR Laboratory - closer to nature" is a workshop for up to two persons at the same time, because... they take place in my own house on the border of the Kampinos Forest. The homely atmosphere serves the creation of very strong emotional ties between myself and the participants, who up to now were over 20 in total. They eat together with us, they have fun together. All of this, of course, in the free time when we're not learning.

DP: As one may imagine, the distance diminishes, there is a homely atmosphere...

AS: During this workshop there is no distance between the trainer and the audience, as you would have during traditional training courses. Thanks to this I can get to know them better and adapt the programme to their needs and moods. In the evenings, after the classes, we have time for a grill party, a walk in the forest or a bike ride. I fuse the useful with the pleasant.

DP: Tell me about your passions: I know you love travelling and nature. What gives you the energy to work, discover professional and private inspirations?

AS: I get the energy to be active from travels to Asia and work in the garden. We travel together with my wife in the winter. We usually leave for two months. We plan the journey ourselves and we take care of everything during it. After all, what is the value of travelling without adventure?

DP: From my own experience - I know it is null. Thank you for the conversation.

AS: Thank you very much.