It may be the season to be jolly but there's not a lot of good cheer going around at the moment. With so much unrelentingly bleak news, how do you persuade anyone that not everything's as bad as it seems?

This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis look at the power of optimism. It's not just a useful PR tool, it's vital. When optimism is authentic, it can inspire and be incredibly infectious. The trouble is, it can also feel totally out of step with people's own experiences.

That's why it's such a tricky PR balancing act. You want to take people with you but not make them think you're living in a dream world.

When people are crying out for good news, David and Simon look at why the phrase 'positive spin' is almost always used in a derogatory way - even though the very last thing you want is a pessimistic PR team.

On the extended edition on BBC Sounds, who's on the list and who isn't? The PR minefield that is Christmas cards.

David and Simon discuss whether the festive staple is still a good way of judging where you sit in the business and social firmament.

Should you send cards to all your contacts, should they each get a personalised message - and if someone suddenly stops sending one to you, what are you supposed to think? And given the cost of postage - how do you decide who is really worth the price of a stamp?

Producer: Duncan Middleton Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

357-Your Mom's House with Christina Pazsitzky and Tom Segura