Shooting Pool and PR

One of the unique things we have at Eisbrenner PR is a pool table. We use it to not only have fun, but to also improve our PR skills. If you're like my fifteen year-old brother, you're probably asking me "How can a crazy game of pool make you a better PR professional?" But if you really think about it, it does run parallel with some important PR standards. When you play with a partner that's been assigned to you, you have to work together to reach the same goal—winning the game—regardless of whether you like him or her or not. Public Relations is the same way, only you have multiple partners from several major corporations, so the stakes are higher. When you shoot the cue ball, you have to be accurate enough to hit your pool balls into the holes. Projects from clients have to be executed in the same fashion. If you don't, they will fail; you and your firm will look bad as a result. And when you call for the eight ball to go in a certain pocket, you're asserting your confidence. You have to have that "swagger", as Jim Leyland calls it, when you're presenting yourself to a client. You have to convince them that not only can you perform well, but you're also reliable, hospitable and open-minded. So playing pool may seem like a mindless game, but in reality, it teaches you some important PR skills.