Editors’ note: Public Relations is on the mind of the chiropractic profession these days, with Foot Leveler’s Kent Greenawalt’s plans for a national campaign leading the way. But the profession has been calling for a positive PR effort for many years, as this article from the March-April issue of Chiropractic Economics demonstrates.

1965 — What we’d like to give you is a clear-cut, pre-outlined public relations plan for chiropractic with an iron-clad guarantee for success. But this is as impossible as finding ONE technique that would guarantee 100% success in the treatment of EVERY aliment, disease or disability. Although each community and each state has some problems in common, each has different circumstances, and these must be taken into consideration in finding an effective approach.

There are three dimensions which limit the scope of any PR program, whether it be your own personal one, or one for the entire profession. The DEPTH is limited by the raw materials with which to work (finances, product or service). The BREADTH is limited by the imagination and vision of those who plan the program; and the HEIGHT is limited by the amount of training or know-how of those who carry it out. However, there is a FOURTH dimension which can be utilized to greatly offset these limitations. This dimension is flexibility … the ability to take advantage of spontaneous situations. More simply stated, it is the ability to “play it by ear.”

This means training yourself to listen objectively to people … not to what they say, but to what they mean. This gives you an insight into their thinking and inevitably provides the answers to finding an effective approach.

It was this very thing which was responsible for “stumbling” onto what has proven to be the key to an effective approach to PR for chiropractic in our state, illustrated by the following incident:

No one will dispute the statement that the way a newspaper presents news plays an important part in shaping attitudes of the public. So, wishing to improve upon the public image of chiropractic, we requested one of our leading daily newspapers to consider a policy change, so that the title of “Dr.” would be used in news stories concerning Doctors of Chiropractic. To substantiate the request, material was assembled and presented to the editors of this paper.

After thumbing through the material, one of the editors said, “Jean, this is an impressive selection of evidence, but I just want to know one thing … do the Doctors of Chiropractic REALLY care?” Hastily we assured him that “they most certainly DO care.” But, as we closed the door to his office, the full impact of our positive statement hit, leaving us feeling like a parachutist who got hung up in a tree, with no ideas of how he would reach solid ground. We had made a statement, without knowing whether or not it was true. Our mind grasped the thinking behind this editor’s question…if the chiropractic profession REALLY cared, wouldn’t it have done much more about improving the public image a long time ago?

Perhaps this revelation explains most honestly why a profession a generation old still does not have a nucleus of lay people willing to be good will ambassadors for it. Patients gratefully accept the benefits of chiropractic, but aren’t convinced that it REALLY matters to the profession whether or not they tell others about it.

In talking to a well-known radio personality about lending his support to a chiropractic project, we were happy to learn that he is a chiropractic patient. We asked how many people knew this. “Well,” he said, “I guess there are three. I know it, my wife knows it, and so does the doctor I go to.” He frankly admitted that he was reluctant to mention this to friends, because the profession lacks prestige in the business and social circles in which he circulates. Participating in the project convinced him that Doctors of Chiropractic really do care, and that the profession IS interested in taking the responsibility for laying the ground work for an acceptable public image.

So, even more basic than getting the chiropractic story to the public is FIRST convincing them that YOU REALLY DO CARE. If you are willing to take the time to do this, in the process you will have gained friends for chiropractic…permanent friends.

— By Jean Dyar,
Denver, Colo.