PR Tactics Addresses Trust by

Dr. Brad Rawlins

As many of you probably already have seen, PRSA’s monthly newsletter, PR Tactics, has a spotlight on trust, with five articles on the topic.

In the article by John Beardsley, APR and past president of PRSA, a mathematical formula for building trust using cooperation and reciprocity is provided.  Beardsley argues that reciprocity is the the most important factor in the development of trust.  In other words, the more often an exchange that requires trust provides some kind of reciprocal benefit, the more likely we are to trust the relationship.  This takes into account the notion of dependency as well as reciprocity.

This quid pro quo approach to trust is supported by social exchange and resource dependence theories, but doesn’t resonate with theories of trust that also factor in goodwill and integrity. 

Tim O’Brien, APR, addresses the need to listen and respond as a process toward building trust. Much of O’Brien’s article is really addressing credibility rather than trust (see the difference between the two in the EKP article on trust and credibility).

John Kerezy, APR, and Kevin Saghy apply the principles of transparency to the issue of trust. In the age of instant communication, efforts to hide or distort the truth will eventually be exposed. It’s better to be transparent and upfront about any issue, and then work with stakeholders to resolve concerns to reinforce trust.

Gerald Baron wrote about rescuing a reputation during a media maelstrom and provided three pieces of advice: communicate with speed, direct interaction, and with transparency.

Finally, Jeff Beringer provides some of the results from the Golin-Harris Trusted Media Index.  The survey shows that one’s own experience, word-of-mouth, and online media are the most trusted.  The traditional media are scoring above 50%, while social networks and blogs are at the bottom.  A sidebar story on Edelman’s 2008 Trust Barometer also indicates that business and media are more trusted than government.

References

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Public Relations Tactics, March 2008, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp 16-23.

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