‘Tis the season to be surrounded by family and friends. As you’re sitting around the dinner table during the holidays, you’ll likely be faced with the question that many PR professionals get from their loved ones: “So…what is it exactly that you do?”

Now I know we have our usual spiel to describe the immense value we bring to our clients and companies every day, and in many ways – but what happens when the tables are turned? Can someone who isn’t in the communications field describe what PR is?

So, in the spirit of holiday fun, I tasked our board with asking their family and friends the common question: “What do PR professionals do?” – and the responses didn’t disappoint!

• Help people promote themselves or their businesses
• Wear influencer hats and clothes
• Get dressed up, go to events and help run events
• Solve problems and make things easier for other people and their businesses
• Make people famous!
• Write blog posts
• Create brand awareness through different marketing avenues
• Something with writing
• Write articles for Forbes.com
• Be on TV
• Scroll on social media all day
• Just talk all day
• Promote businesses by getting articles in newspapers and blogs that are geared towards customers
• Network and try to get people on the board of companies (or something?)
• Promote client interests
• Create advertisements and put ideas into better words
• Relate to the public
• Write all day
• …Not be a news anchor

So basically, this was an actual representation of this viral meme:

As PR professionals, we touch a number of the above buckets. And as you can tell from these responses, we wear a lot of hats – and wear them with perfect style!