The institute of Public Relations of England defines sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its public. The definition implies a two-way flow of information, the public offer providing the necessary channel. Relations may be between a board of company and its shareholders, between management and employees or a well-known personality and his public.

Because so many journalists are employed in public relations practice, Public relations is often thought as press relations but it is much more than that. It covers the whole field of communications using any media written, spoken or visual. "Space-grabbing" as many newspapermen acidly term, publicity is still the prime mission of some entertainment world.

A more comprehensive definition of Public Relations is responsibility and function of management, which 1) Analyses Public interest and determines public attitudes; 2) Identifies and interprets policies and programs of an organization; and 3) Executes a program of action to merit acceptance and goodwill".

Public Relations people seek to solve problems, which may impede good relations or cause misunderstanding and use the technique of organized persuasion to influence people’s behavior and thinking. This may work like magic or confidence trick, but public relations officer has to adhere to strict code of professional conduct. They must not for instance, try to affect business unfairly, or determine false or misleading information. All these causes add up to one basic rule, which is "not to deceive".

There is a tremendous distinction between Public Relations and propaganda. You don't beam out a favorable projection of an organization if there is something wrong in the company, such as internal communications or bad management. Then the public relations consultant should not project the company in that manner, as that would be untrue. He should instead advise the management on the steps they should take to make sure the company gets a good reputation.

The expertise of public relations practitioner is used today by a growing body of people, including industry, commerce, government departments, local authorities, charities and people in the public eye.