Essay question: Storytelling and public relations Storytelling is an important aspect of public relations, leading to the creation of memorable campaigns and enduring relationships.
Essay task: Analyse the role of storytelling, particularly focusing on the application of the 20 master story plots and narrative techniques (Kent, 2015; Lane 2023), in enhancing the effectiveness of organizational communication and public relations. Discuss how storytelling can be strategically used by organizations to engage audiences cognitively and affectively, achieving organizational goals. Additionally, evaluate the differences between general storytelling and organizational storytelling, and explore how public relations professionals can adapt these techniques to enhance stakeholder engagement, convey key messages, and foster a relational perspective in organizational contexts.
Sources:
Benoit, W. L. (2000). Another visit to the theory of image restoration strategies. Communication Quarterly, 48(1), 40-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463370009385578Links to an external site.
Coombs, W. (2007). Protecting organization reputations during a crisis: The development and application of situational crisis communication theory. Corporate Reputation Review, 10, 163–176. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.crr.1550049Links to an external site.
Davies, C., & Hobbs, M. (2020). Irresistible possibilities: Examining the uses and consequences of social media influencers for contemporary public relations. Public Relations Review, 46(5), 101983. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.101983Links to an external site.
Davidson, S. (2020). Made by a human like you or me: Back to the Greek classics to further develop the rhetorical paradigm of public relations. Public Relations Review, 46(1), Article 101888. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.101888Links to an external site.
Heath, R. L. (Ed.). (2010). The rhetorical tradition: Wrangle in the marketplace. In Rhetorical and critical approaches to public relations II (2nd ed., pp. 17-47). ISBN 9780203874929.
Heath, R. L., & Ihlen, Ø. (2018). Public relations and rhetoric: Conflict and concurrence. In Ø. Ihlen & R. L. Heath (Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Rhetoric and Communication (pp. 51–66). Wiley Blackwell. (Available via the library)
Hobbs, M. J., & O’Keefe, S. (2024). Agonism in the arena: Analyzing cancel culture using a rhetorical model of deviance and reputational repair. Public Relations Review, 50(1), 102420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102420Links to an external site.
Ihlen, Ø., & Heath, R. L. (2019). Ethical grounds for public relations as organizational rhetoric. Public Relations Review, 45(4), Article 101824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2019.101824Links to an external site..
Kent, M. L. (2015). The power of storytelling in public relations: Introducing the 20 master plots. Public Relations Review, 41(4), 480–489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.05.011Links to an external site.
Kent, M. L., & Lane, A. (2021). Two-way communication, symmetry, negative spaces, and dialogue. Public Relations Review, 47(2), Article 102014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102014Links to an external site.
Kent, M. L., & Taylor, M. (2021). Fostering dialogic engagement: Toward an architecture of social media for social change. Social Media + Society, 7(1), Article 205630512098446. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120984462Links to an external site.
Lane, A. (2023). Towards a theory of organizational storytelling for public relations: An engagement perspective. Public Relations Review, 49(1), 102297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102297Links to an external site.
Lane, A., & Kent, M. L. (2018). Dialogic engagement. In M. Taylor & K. A. Johnston (Eds.), The Handbook of Communication Engagement (pp. 61-72). ISBN 1119167493.
Li, C., & Kent, M. L. (2021). Explorations on mediated communication and beyond: Toward a theory of social media. Public Relations Review, 47(1), 102112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102112Links to an external site.
Marsh, C. (2016). Classical rhetoric and modern public relations: An Isocratean model (1st ed.). Routledge. (Available via the library)
McKnight, D., Hobbs, M. (2017). Fighting for Coal: Public Relations and the Campaigns Against Lower Carbon Pollution Policies in Australia. In Benedetta Brevini & Graham Murdock (Eds.), Carbon Capitalism and Communication: Confronting Climate Crisis, (pp. 115-129). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
Schleimer, S., & Rice, S. (2016, October 4). Australian corporate social responsibility reports are little better than window dressing. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/australian-corporate-social-responsibility-reports-are-little-better-than-window-dressing-66037Links to an external site.
Sison, M., & Sarabia-Panol, Z. (2018). Corporate Social Responsibility, Public Relations and Community Engagement: Emerging Perspectives from South East Asia (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315734668Links to an external site.
Smith, B. G., Golan, G., & Freberg, K. (2023). Influencer relations: Establishing the concept and process for public relations. Public Relations Review, 49(2), 102305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102305Links to an external site.
Yang, A., & Taylor, M. (2015). Looking over, looking out, and moving forward:
Positioning public relations in theorizing organizational network ecologies.
Communication Theory, 25, 91–115. https://doi.org/10.1111/comt.12049Links to an external site.
