School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Have you thought how you relate with people around you, at a personal level or business level? Public Relations (PR), one of the fastest growing industries around the world, is related to this. PR has grown from only writing for the press to building relationships among different companies.

According to Cynthia Nyamai, a renowned Kenyan PR practitioner, PR is all about building relationships. Cynthia was a guest speaker at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) on Thursday, January 30, 2020. Her career began at the Standard Media Group where she was a business news presenter. She later moved on to start her own PR Company, ‘Cynthia Nyamai Communications’, after identifying a PR gap in Kenya. She  now dedicates herself to helping companies better utilize communication strategies and understand the role of Public Relations in their campaigns.

Bringing Africa together through trade

During the lecture, she emphasized on everyone’s role of bringing people together and ensuring that friendly relationships prevail. “We should work towards uniting African countries for in the recent past Africa has demonstrated its economic prowess. Bring Africa together through trade by negotiating with political leaders and opinion leaders,” Nyamai said.

For one to build a good relationship with others, one must start by building themselves, she continued. “Start building your name; remember that your character is reflected through your social media platforms and what you post.”

Speaking on how one can make it in this field, she said, “Build your character every single day, and build your discipline. Only your character will speak for you. People who lack character fail fast.”

PR and ethical practice 

And while responding to one of the questions from the audience on where one should draw the line between being a professional, ethical practice and public good, she said that it all depends on how one has built their character. This came up after many in the audience termed PR a manipulative way of transforming a tarnished image to look good. This, however, is a misconception.

The session ended with her calling upon the BA Communications students to venture into the field of PR, as it is marketable. Her remarks about reading more books left everyone encouraged. “Reading books is very important, it gives you different experiences on what to avoid and what to embrace,” Cynthia Nyamai concluded.

It is therefore a call to students both in the campus and around the world, to take up this degree and build relationships. Good relationships result in an economically better continent.

 

This article was written by Reuben Apuya Mutua, a Bachelor of Arts in Communications student.

If you have a story, kindly email: communications@strathmore.edu