How Traveling Solo Can Make You a More Successful PR Pro - Heying
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April 20, 2017

How Traveling Solo Can Make You a More Successful PR Pro

Traveling enriches you personally, of course, but how does it help you become a better PR professional?

Here are 4 things that tie together PR success and solo traveling:

  1. Sharper decision-making skills

Public relations professionals often make decisions with long-term impact for clients, so we must evaluate our options carefully and consider our clients’ overall objectives.

When traveling by yourself, you must make thousands of decisions that affect your safety and the overall outcome of your trip. You learn the importance of making and sticking with decisions; trust your judgment.

  1. Cognizance of cultural differences

In today’s global economy, you’re bound to work with clients or partners based in other parts of the world. The more aware you are of cultural differences, the smoother that partnership will be. Travel immerses you in another culture, pushing you outside your comfort zone.

Language barriers can hamper international partnerships. Be patient and appreciative when communicating with people who aren’t native English speakers. Furthermore, if someone in another culture doesn’t respond to your email quickly, it might be because they have different expectations about timeliness.

  1. Adaptability to changing circumstances

If you’ve ever traveled to a faraway nation, you’ve probably experienced questionable accommodations and confusing streets signs, perhaps even a three-hour bus ride that turned into a seven-hour journey. Unexpected things happen when you travel, and you learn to cope.

In the PR world, things can change quickly. Your client might have a crisis that needs immediate attention, or a journalist might leak news that you’ve been carefully preparing for weeks to announce on a specific day. When these things happen, it helps to be highly adaptable.

  1. More confidence

You never know what you can do until you do it. Traveling solo can be challenging, overwhelming and scary at times, but all the lows make the highs more satisfying.

Knowing that you can handle the challenges of solo travel can give you a new sense of confidence that will help in all aspects of your life and career. Having the self-assurance to stand behind your ideas, speak up in meetings and push back against clients will go a long way as you climb the corporate ladder.