Toward a dialogic theory of public relations

doi:10.1016/S0363-8111(02)00108-X

Public Relations Review

Volume 28, Issue 1, February 2002, Pages 21-37

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0363-8111(02)00108-X Get rights and content

Abstract

This essay clarifies the concept of dialogue in public relations. As public relations theory and research move toward a two-way relational communication model, many scholars and practitioners are increasingly using the terms “dialogic” and “dialogue” to describe ethical and practical approaches to public relations. The concept of dialogue is deeply rooted in philosophy and relational communication theory. Its inclusion in the public relations vocabulary is an important step toward understanding how organizations can build relationships that serve both organizational and public interests. This essay traces the roots of dialogue, identifies several over-arching tenets, and provides three ways that organizations can incorporate dialogue into their communication with publics.

Section snippets

The roots of dialogue

The concept of dialogue has its roots in a variety of disciplines: philosophy, rhetoric, psychology, and relational communication. Philosophers and rhetoricians have long considered dialogue as one of the most ethical forms of communication and as one of the central means of separating truth from falsehood. Theologian Martin Buber is considered by most to be the father of the modern concept of dialogue.³ Buber suggested that dialogue involves an effort to recognize the value of the other—to see

Principles of a dialogic public relations theory

Although a dialogic approach to public relations cannot be easily operationalized, or reduced to a series of steps, dialogue does consist of several coherent assumptions. An extensive literature review of the concept of dialogue in communication, public relations, philosophy, and psychology reveals five overarching tenets of dialogism. These tenets are the first step toward articulating a public relations theory of dialogue.

Before discussing the features of dialogue in detail, it is important

Incorporating dialogue into public relations practice

Ethical public relations is based on sound communication systems. Pearson explains that “ethical public relations practice is more fundamentally a question of implementing and maintaining inter-organizational communication systems which question, discuss and validate these and other substantive ethical claims.⁵⁸ As Anderson, Cissna, and Arnett explain:

Human dialogue does not just happen … neither can dialogue be planned, pronounced, or willed. Where we find dialogue, we find people who are open

Conclusion: the potential and limits of dialogue

The majority of this article has focused on describing dialogue in general, and explaining how dialogue might be incorporated into everyday public relations practice. Not everyone agrees, however, whether dialogic public relations is even possible or practical. Research from public forums such as town meetings⁷¹ and community workshops⁷² shows that the process and product of well-intended, theoretically grounded, and highly structured dialogic communication efforts often fall short of

Michael L. Kent is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Graduate Studies at Montclair State University in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. Kent conducts research on public relations and the Web, and international public relations.

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Maureen Taylor is an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University in New Brunswick New Jersey.

¹: Tel.: +1-732-932-7500x8125.

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Toward a dialogic theory of public relations

Abstract

Section snippets

The roots of dialogue

Principles of a dialogic public relations theory

Incorporating dialogue into public relations practice

Conclusion: the potential and limits of dialogue

Public Relations Review

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Public Relations Review

A rhetorical perspective on the value of public relations: crossroads and pathways toward concurrence

Journal of Public Relations Research

International public relations: critique and reformulation

Public Relations Review

Public relations as negotiation: an issue development perspective

Journal of Public Relations Research

Toward a concept and theory of organization–public relationships

Journal of Public Relations Research

Relationship management in public relations: dimensions of an organization–public relationship

Public Relations Review

From the I to the We: discourse ethics, identity, and the pragmatics of partnership in the west of Scotland

Communication Theory

Rhetoric as a “way of knowing”: an attenuation of the epistemological claims of the new rhetoric

Southern Speech Communication Journal