Welcome to the latest PRmoment Podcast. This week we’re turning the tables and PRmoment founder Ben Smith is interviewed by Third City’s Chris Blackwood.

Just a reminder that PRmoment Podcast listeners can get 20% off the first month off Propel Software here.

Here’s a summary of what Chris and I discussed:

3.30 mins How Ben’s career has been split over two phases

8.30 mins Why empathy is a crucial skill in publishing

9.30 mins How PRmoment was started in the midst of the financial crisis in 2008.

10.40 mins Chris and I reminisce about Hacked Off Flack

16.30 mins How the lockdown has been a tough period for B2B publishers

24 mins PR buzzwords that should be banned

26 mins Does the public relations sector waste too much time critiquing itself?

26.45 mins “Other than Bell Pottinger is there much evidence that there are a huge number of unethical PR people around?... Compare it (PR) to the accountancy scandals or the banking scandals.”

27.30 mins Why the "Is PR a profession debate” frustrates Ben

29 mins What’s the most annoying thing PR agency CEOs do?

33 mins “If you’ve lost your job recently, in the near or medium-term, you’ve got a much better chance of getting a new one if you work in PR than in a lot of other sectors.”

33.15 mins Why Ben never wants to set up his own PR agency!

34 mins Ben identifies his interview with Lord Bell, post the Bell Pottinger, OakBay Capital Scandal as the most difficult interview he’s done.

36 mins Ben’s attempts to identify his top 3 PR dinner party guests

38 mins If Ben could choose one job in PR - what would it be?

41 mins Why Ben doesn’t see PRmoment as a challenger brand

44 mins Ben and Chris have a chat about the number of PR awards

53 mins “Lockdown is one word but it’s a journey...all of us will have different periods of crisis. It’s up and down, pretty relentless and the vast majority of it has to be done in isolation”

56 mins Why Ben is Zoomed out: “You can have a far more engaging telephone call than a Zoom Call, all this stuff about video (calls being) brilliant, I don’t get it...you can even make yourself a cup of coffee on a phone call. The technology works, it’s been around a long time!”