Public Relations Lessons from ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’

The book offers powerful lessons on how to persuade others—or fail to persuade them—that your perspective is correct.

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling, explores themes such as heroism, sacrifice, overcoming trauma, and the power of friendship, to name only a few. However, one of its most enduring themes has to do with public relations. The book offers powerful lessons on how to persuade others—or fail to persuade them—that your perspective is correct.

The Order of the Phoenix could have been written for today’s political climate. Most of the characters are frightened, and the narrative is dominated by competing versions of events. Accusations of dishonesty fly from all sides. For most of the story, only a handful of people know the truth. As such, we believe the story holds profound lessons for how to conduct ourselves in the present climate if our goal is to convince a majority of Americans to accept our point of view.