Defining Public RelationsThe ability to adhere to a global definition of public relations is a difficult, if not impossible, task and has preoccupied many public relations scholars and scholars. They seem to agree that although individuals' actual definition of public relations may vary in terms of strategy and technique, the end goal is always the same: to influence public opinion favorably for one's organization. Public Relations in My Own Business Public relations deals with a wide range of strategies. and methods, therefore it is not easy to define. In my opinion, a good definition of public relations would include not only communicating the primary purpose and mission of an institution, but also keeping the institution involved in the public reaction to the institution's strategy . This article examines the definitions of public relations from several experts to see what the differences are between them while identifying what the consistent theme is among them. Edward Bernays Defining Public Relations Edward Bernays defined public relations as “information given to the public, persuasion directed to the public.” modifying attitudes and actions, and efforts to integrate the attitudes and actions of an institution with its publics and of publics with those of that institution” (1923). This is a fairly broad definition compared to the many variations that exist around the world. Focusing on persuading attitudes is a major aspect of public relations. It is imperative to have a favorable public opinion towards an institution. Public opinion is equal to customer opinion. It is well known that to satisfy your customers and continue to invest in your goods and services, an institution must keep their best interest in mind. Through efforts such as advertising and marketing, an institution must convey its core purpose or mission to its customer so that they understand exactly what it stands for. He does an excellent job of highlighting the two main components of public relations, both internal and external. Not only does public relations help communicate with an institution's external audiences, it also helps keep their mission aligned with that of their internal staff. It is important to keep staff informed of an institution's long- and short-term goals that might be obscured or overlooked by the rigors of the daily grind. This is imperative for the institution to continue operating on track towards its common goal..