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Zeno and Stoic Ideas for Public Relations

Ancient wisdom for modern PR professionals.

Cover photo: @jerrysilfwer

tl:dr;
Stoicism contrasts with traditional public relations, which often focuses on influencing perception and manufacturing consent through drama and conflict. Instead, a Stoic approach in PR would involve transforming obstacles into opportunities to conquer public opinion.

Could Zeno’s ideas on Stoicism influ­ence pub­lic relations?

A Cypriot mer­chant, Zeno of Citium, is often cred­ited as the founder of Stoicism.

Stoic philo­sophy, emphas­iz­ing vir­tues like wis­dom, cour­age, justice, and tem­per­ance, offers valu­able insights for pub­lic rela­tions professionals. 

By view­ing obstacles as oppor­tun­it­ies and main­tain­ing com­pos­ure amidst chal­lenges, PR prac­ti­tion­ers can craft nar­rat­ives that res­on­ate with authen­ti­city and resilience.

Here we go:

Zeno of Citium, the Cypriot Merchant

A few cen­tur­ies before the Common Era, a Cypriot mer­chant named Zeno faced a dev­ast­at­ing mis­for­tune: his ship, laden with valu­able cargo, was lost at sea. Overnight, he went from a wealthy trader to a man with noth­ing. Stranded, broke, and nearly defeated, Zeno could have suc­cumbed to despair.

Paolo Monti - Available in the BEIC digital library and uploaded in partnership with BEIC Foundation. The image comes from the Fondo Paolo Monti, owned by BEIC and located in the Civico Archivio Fotografico of Milan.
Paolo Monti — Available in the BEIC digit­al lib­rary and uploaded in part­ner­ship with BEIC Foundation. The image comes from the Fondo Paolo Monti, owned by BEIC and loc­ated in the Civico Archivio Fotografico of Milan.

After the ship­wreck, Zeno wandered into a book­store in Athens, seek­ing solace and answers. He stumbled across philo­sophy among the shelves — a life­line in his darkest hour. Immersing him­self in the works of great thinkers, Zeno not only rebuilt his life but also foun­ded Stoicism, one of the most endur­ing and influ­en­tial schools of thought in human his­tory. 1Zeno of Citium. (2024, October 31). In Wikipedia. https://​en​.wiki​pe​dia​.org/​w​i​k​i​/​Z​e​n​o​_​o​f​_​C​i​t​ium

Stoicism teaches us to take the uni­verse at face value, striv­ing to align our will with the nat­ur­al order rather than rail­ing against it. It pro­motes resi­li­ence, self-dis­cip­line, and the pur­suit of vir­tue over fleet­ing pleas­ures or extern­al suc­cess. While Zeno’s teach­ings were forged in the ashes of per­son­al loss, they res­on­ated across the ages, shap­ing lead­ers, war­ri­ors, and thinkers — from Marcus Aurelius to mod­ern CEOs.

What PR Can Learn From Zeno

At first glance, Stoicism seems worlds apart from the eth­os of pub­lic rela­tions and mar­ket­ing. Public rela­tions thrives on influ­ence — craft­ing nar­rat­ives, man­aging per­cep­tions, and shap­ing desires. It’s a world of super­lat­ives: big­ger, bet­ter, faster, stronger. Drama and con­flict are often tools of the trade, as PR cam­paigns stir emo­tions to cap­tiv­ate audiences.

Stoicism, in con­trast, emphas­izes restraint. It teaches us to remain calm amid chaos, let go of things bey­ond our con­trol, and seek con­tent­ment not in extern­al accol­ades but in intern­al virtue.

So, what could Zeno — who lost everything yet found his life’s pur­pose — teach the PR industry

Stoic Ideas for the Public Relations Industry

Imagine a PR cam­paign inspired by Zeno’s philo­sophy. Instead of hyp­ing up products or man­u­fac­tur­ing desires, it would focus on truth, clar­ity, and con­nec­tion. It would encour­age audi­ences to make thought­ful, informed decisions rather than impuls­ive ones.

  • Focus on what you can con­trol. In PR, crises often emerge out of nowhere: a tweet goes vir­al for the wrong reas­ons, a product recall spins out of con­trol, or a com­pet­it­or’s suc­cess over­shad­ows your cam­paign. Stoicism reminds us to focus not on the chaos but on our response. We can’t always con­trol the nar­rat­ive, but we can con­trol how we act under pres­sure. A calm, delib­er­ate approach often wins the day.
  • Resist the allure of super­fi­ci­al­ity. The PR industry is often accused of ped­dling illu­sions, chas­ing the latest trends, or amp­li­fy­ing super­fi­cial desires. But what if we took a Stoic approach, striv­ing to com­mu­nic­ate authen­ti­city and value instead of flashy gim­micks? A Stoic-inspired PR strategy might pri­or­it­ise sub­stance over spin, craft­ing mes­sages that res­on­ate on a deep­er, more endur­ing level.
  • Embrace chal­lenges as oppor­tun­it­ies. Stoics view obstacles not as road­b­locks but as the raw mater­i­al for growth. In PR, every crisis is a chance to show­case resi­li­ence and adapt­ab­il­ity. Zeno’s ship­wreck didn’t des­troy him — it trans­formed him. Similarly, the toughest chal­lenges in PR often lead to the most innov­at­ive solu­tions and robust cli­ent relationships.
  • Reject the tyranny of ‘more’. Marketing often hinges on people need­ing more stuff, status, and excite­ment. Stoicism chal­lenges this nar­rat­ive. What if PR cam­paigns inspired audi­ences to appre­ci­ate what they already have instead of feed­ing insa­ti­able desires? This approach could inspire trust and loy­alty, espe­cially in an age when authen­ti­city is more valu­able than ever.

This isn’t to say the PR industry should aban­don its tools of per­sua­sion. But per­haps we can wield them with a Stoic mind­set — anchored in pur­pose, groun­ded in real­ity, and respect­ful of the audience’s intelligence

After all, Zeno’s greatest les­son is that even the worst calam­it­ies can lead to trans­form­at­ive growth.

Learn more: Zeno and Stoic Ideas for Public Relations

Stoic Philosophy for Public Relations

I’m inspired by Stoicism — and intrigued by the idea of trans­lat­ing clas­sic­al Stoic vir­tues (wis­dom, cour­age, justice, tem­per­ance) and apply­ing them to pub­lic relations:

The Wisdom Pitch

A Stoic is someone who trans­forms fear into prudence, pain into trans­form­a­tion, mis­takes into ini­ti­ation, and desires into under­tak­ing.”
— Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Tell PR stor­ies of how organ­isa­tions can be wise and over­come obstacles that have stopped oth­ers in their tracks. Convey PR mes­sages on how to apply wis­dom, know­ledge, and experience.

The Courage Pitch

We can­not choose our cir­cum­stances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.”
— Epictetus

Tell PR stor­ies of brands that nev­er back down in the face of hard­ships that would des­troy oth­er organ­isa­tions. Convey PR mes­sages of how an organ­isa­tion can be right­eous even when storms are raging.

The Justice Pitch

Concentrate every minute on doing what’s in front of you with pre­cise and genu­ine ser­i­ous­ness, ten­derly, will­ingly, with justice.”
— Marcus Aurelius

Tell PR stor­ies of how organ­isa­tions relent­lessly can strive for hon­esty and trans­par­ency — even when uncom­fort­able. Convey PR mes­sages about how all brands, without excep­tion, can rid them­selves of dis­hon­esty and incompetence.

The Temperance Pitch

It’s not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, who is poor.”
— Seneca

Tell PR stor­ies of organ­isa­tions that strive for high­er val­ues in a world where all oth­er organ­isa­tions suf­fer short­sighted­ness. Convey PR mes­sages of organ­isa­tions pre­pared to abstain from short-term gains to make the world bet­ter for all.

Learn more: Stoic Philosophy for PR Professionals


Jerry Silfwer - Doctor Spin - Spin Factory - Public Relations

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Jerry Silfwer
Jerry Silfwerhttps://doctorspin.net/
Jerry Silfwer, alias Doctor Spin, is an awarded senior adviser specialising in public relations and digital strategy. Currently CEO at Spin Factory and KIX Communication Index. Before that, he worked at Whispr Group NYC, Springtime PR, and Spotlight PR. Based in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Cover Photo

The cover photo isn't related to public relations obviously; it's just a photo of mine. Think of it as a 'decorative diversion', a subtle reminder that it's good to have hobbies outside work.

The cover photo has

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