Tomorrow is April 1st, also known as April Fool’s Day. So, be on your guard and make sure you aren’t fooled. You’ve been warned.
In school, I would endure all manner of fibs and misinformation for the entire day. I would usually be caught on the first one or maybe two, but would soon become skeptical of anything that seemed even remotely suspect.
As an adult, the tricks at work were minimal, often limited to a few childish co-workers who forgot that they should set aside their juvenile pranks from high school. Still I need to keep a wary ear open for a mischievous newscaster spouting some clever work of fiction. NPR, my news source of choice, is generally good for one creative and humorous effort on April 1st. Once I heard a bona fide segment, which seemed a bit too phenomenal, so at first I disregarded it.
I was reminded of this when I received a “pre-announcement” announcement last week. It’s a strange process, but PR firms sometimes send out a news release before the press conference occurs, telling you what will happen, but prohibiting you from talking about it until it actually does.
In this instance, they emailed me about a phenomenal new product would be announced on April 1st
I dryly replied that for maximum credibility, April Fool’s Day was not an optimum time to make such a grandiose announcement. For each person who thinks the news is a joke, the effectiveness of their announcement is diminished—and their promotion dollars, wasted.
The best course of action is to save important announcements for April 2nd —which is what I will do!
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book The Successful Author for insider tips and insights.