Overview

Mainstream public relations overvalues noise, sound and voice in public communication. But how can we explain that while practitioners use silence on a daily basis, academics have widely remained quiet on the subject? Why is silence habitually famed as inherently bad and unethical? Silence is neither separate from nor the opposite of communication. The inclusion of silence on a par with speech and non-verbal means is a vital element of any communication strategy; it opens it up for a new, complex and more reflective understanding of strategic silence as indirect communication. Drawing on a number of disciplines that see in silence what public relations academics have not yet, this book reveals forms of silence to inform public relations solutions in practice and theory. How do we manage silence? How can strategic silence increase the capacity of public relations as a change agent? Using a format of multiple short chapters and practice examples, this is the first book that discusses the concept of strategic silence, and its consequences for PR theory and practice. Applying silence to communication cases and issues in global societies, it will be of interest to scholars and researchers in public relations, strategic communications and communication studies.

Full Product Details

Author:   Roumen Dimitrov (University of New South Wales, Australia)
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.612kg
ISBN:  

9781138100039

ISBN 10:   113810003
Pages:   242
Publication Date:   21 September 2017
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Table of Contents Foreword Acknowledgments I INTRODUCTION II WHY IS PR SILENT ABOUT SILENCE? The Western bias against silence Logocentrism in the European tradition Binomial separation of silence Problematizing and naturalizing Socialized in public relations How do we measure silence? Silence does not sell Seller’s market of PR labour, byer’s market of PR product Silence does not violate the senses Silence does not click-bite Silent symbiosis Getting attention or directing attention? The dominance of journalism silences over PR silences Core and periphery The message is the story The messenger is the story The media is the story III STRATEGY AND SILENCE: MICHEL FOUCAULT, JEAN BAUDRILLARD, PIERRE BOURDIEU, STUART HALL, NORMAN FAIRCLOUGH AND JÜRGEN HABERMAS Strategy as discursive practice Discursive practice Strategy in silence, silence in strategy Silence and secret Strategy and practice Instrumental and communicative action Action and practice Serious and authentic Practical mastery Instrumentality and finality IV INDIRECT COMMUNICATION Silence and invisibility The sayable and the seeable Presence and absence Image and representation Mediated invisibility and power Communication and silence Silencing communication Communicative silence Structural silence Double articulation The ladder of indirect communication Strategy and silence Communication and non-communication Public and private communication Discursive and non-discursive Direct and indirect discourse Explicit and implicit Indirect discourse Speech acts Silence as indirect discourse Explicit and implicit silence Explicit silence Implicit silence Framing the mix V STRATEGIC SILENCES Strategic silences: A definition Intentional, directed at audiences Communicative Discursive In situation of communication Degrees of indirectness Actionable listening Content provision Stealth marketing PR – from wholesaler to retailer? Consumer advocacy Content creation and relationships building Silence as negation Apophatic silence Silence discourses Small voice and small target The spell of uncompromised reality The apophatic turn Complicit silence Weapons of the weak Embarrassment as strategy Silence as disengagement Non-engagement and disengagement Engagement and resistance Disengagement as explicit silence Presuppositions in implicit silence Frame as omission Strategic ambiguity Iconicity and ambiguity Polyvalence and openness Retail or grand design communication? Ambiguation and disambiguation Silence as attention diversion Taking out the trash Firebraking Stoking the fire Off the record communication On and off the record No comment and off the record Trust and affinity Off the record has rules VI SILENCE BEYOND STRATEGY Silence as system System and strategy Theme and opinion The art of being boring Silence as skillset The credibility to say No Sweat equity Noise curation Attribution and accreditation VII CONCLUSIONS References Personal interviews Index

Reviews

Is strategic silence simply strategic inaction, hiding something from someone, not telling the truth, overall bad thing? Or it is a more complex concept and central to the PR theory and PR practice as Rumen Dimitrov argues in his ground-breaking publication Strategic Silence: Public Relations and indirect communication? After reading the book, one is left definitely with a new understanding and vision on the enormous power of silence in communication - silence of public relations about its silences, the relation between strategy and silence, silence and indirect communication and strategic silences in plural. Irina Bokova, Director-General, UNESCOã This book shows that much remains to be done in the field of strategic communication, since for the first time silence as indirect communication and its fitting in the strategical dimension are analysed in detail. Dimitrov's work is not only pioneering; it is the most innovative and critical essay published in recent years. From a broader perspective, it is already an indispensable book for communication theory. Jordi Xifra, Professor, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain This is a welcome addition to the stock of public relations literature, addressing a topic that is central to public relations practice, but has been widely neglected in scholarship until now. The importance of silence is continually under-estimated in public relations research yet, as Dimitrov points out, its presence saturates public relations work and merits investigation. Taking the reader on an eclectic journey characterised by an analytical approach that is both forensic and creative, Dimitrov incorporates traditional scholarship as well as insights from a sociology, psychology, philosophy, business, cultural studies - to name just a few of the disciplines - in order to understand the object of his attention. The result is a complex, engaging and academically rigorous book that should grace the shelves of anyone interested in public relations and promotional communication more broadly. Lee Edwards, Associate Professor, Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.

Is strategic silence simply strategic inaction, hiding something from someone, not telling the truth, overall bad thing? Or it is a more complex concept and central to the PR theory and PR practice as Rumen Dimitrov argues in his ground-breaking publication Strategic Silence: Public Relations and indirect communication? After reading the book, one is left definitely with a new understanding and vision on the enormous power of silence in communication - silence of public relations about its silences, the relation between strategy and silence, silence and indirect communication and strategic silences in plural. Irina Bokova, Director-General, UNESCOã This book shows that much remains to be done in the field of strategic communication, since for the first time silence as indirect communication and its fitting in the strategical dimension are analysed in detail. Dimitrov's work is not only pioneering; it is the most innovative and critical essay published in recent years. From a broader perspective, it is already an indispensable book for communication theory. Jordi Xifra, Professor, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain This is a welcome addition to the stock of public relations literature, addressing a topic that is central to public relations practice, but has been widely neglected in scholarship until now. The importance of silence is continually under-estimated in public relations research yet, as Dimitrov points out, its presence saturates public relations work and merits investigation. Taking the reader on an eclectic journey characterised by an analytical approach that is both forensic and creative, Dimitrov incorporates traditional scholarship as well as insights from a sociology, psychology, philosophy, business, cultural studies - to name just a few of the disciplines - in order to understand the object of his attention. The result is a complex, engaging and academically rigorous book that should grace the shelves of anyone interested in public relations and promotional communication more broadly. Lee Edwards, London School of Economics, UK.

Author Information

Roumen Dimitrov is Senior Lecturer of Public Relations and Advertising at the School of the Arts and Media, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Roumen has conducted various international research projects such as for the European Commission, United States Agency for International Development and UNESCO.

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