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Media Relations Training Should Focus On Knowing What Motivates Reporters

Automatically distrusting reporters could be a lost media relations opportunity. Welcoming them to your place of business or nonprofit and feeding their curiosity and professional pride by offering to act as a source ("on background," perhaps) could be a lasting step in the right direction. Trust them until they give you a reason not to. If that happens, by all means fight back. Go directly to their editors or producers and tell them you've been wronged. That way, you're going after their only real agenda - themselves. When I run media training seminars for government agencies, nonprofits and companies, the first topic I address is "agenda." There's a misonception out there the media routinely pursue political or personal agendas in the way they cover stories. The real agenda is their professional success.

Business Writing, Effective Communication Skills Need Not Be Pompous

Phrases such as "due diligence" and "transformational change" are business writing at its weakest. Effective writing communication skills must emphasize plain English that shows respect for readers who are certain to be tired of -- and annoyed by -- paragraphs such as this one on the website of a large management consulting firm: "Projects are customized based on client needs. Due diligence services range from initial validation of targets to detailed on-site due diligence visits to the preparation of complete integration plans. Management consulting services, aimed at enhancing organizational effectiveness, are typically intensive studies that identify cost-saving opportunities and define appropriate actionable go-forward plans. Strict confidentiality is maintained for all engagements."

Email Business Communication Is Convenient, But Still Demands Carefully Honed Writing Skills

Email has changed business communication drastically, putting pressure on nearly all of us to improve our writing skills. Taking advantage of its speed and convenience without paying proper respect to the needs of effective communcation can leave a harmful impression of you and your nonprofit, agency or company. Any business writing training should take account of certain rules, such as the need to slow down and edit yourself before hitting the "send" button. Rush that move, and your professional reputation could take a beating.

Workplace Communication And Management Communication Benefit From Writing Skills In Internal Newsletters

Newsletters directed at employee well-being, morale, cohesion and even an electronic flea market can be a very effective form of workplace communication and management communication. They can also be a forum for employees to show off their writing skills while they keep their colleagues informed about family news, recipes, social events and the business climate and official matters at work. You could announce business writing training or presentation skills training for employees who want to be more productive and position themselves for advancement.

Writing Skills Atrophy Among Copycats, And Do-It-Yourself Business Communication Marketing

One of the best business communication marketing moves I ever made was sending out a monthly newsletter to current and prospective clients. I say that because it's a natural form of self-promotion minus obnoxious hype. You get your name out there -- with a lot of the keywords that attract search engines -- and you give readers an inkling of what you can do for them. Its value lies in an almost nonexistent "nag quotient." Far too often, I get insistent, "look at me!," "have I got an introductory offer for you!" emails from search engine optimization firms, online degree factories, "experts" in attracting government contracts, weight loss specialists, you name it. Not a one adds an iota to my knowledge of what they offer. Hype is what it is. But a newsletter that gives practical advice is truly effective business communication.

Business Writing Skills, Effective Communication Count On Process And Details

Writing skills and effective business communication are dependent on the writing process -- exploratory, draft, edit/revise and publish. At the heart of effective writing are two principles. They work in parallel, approaching the writing task from slightly different angles. One is "ideas and details" and the other is "show don't tell." So, to be successful any business writing training starts with a solid understanding of the business writing process and an eye for relevant details.

Communication Skills And Effective Writing Must Include Meticulous Self-Editing

No matter how clever and succinct you may be at business writing and effective communication in general, you risk blowing it if you don't edit yourself. By edit, I mean proofreading for grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc., as well as revising or rewriting. You can do the latter as you go, or you can let your words flow, then give it several careful reads before hitting the "send" button or printing it out and offering it to your client, customer, boss, vendor, coworkers, etc. Why? Because that's you doing the business communications in the email or report. As such, assuming you care about your image or reputation, your writing skills should appear both professional and natural. Or, to put it more tellingly in the words of the great novelist Toni Morrison: "The language must be careful and appear effortless. It must not sweat."

Effective Communication, Presentation Skills Are Stifled By PowerPoint

Every time I sit through a PowerPoint presentation, my distaste for this domineering technology grows. The speaker interrupts eye contact repeatedly, most of us more than one table back from the screen can't make out much of the lettering, and the give-and-take that should enliven any such presentation takes another nosedive -- offering nothing but the illusion of coherence. It's technology as a crutch, standing in poorly for the good old-fashioned display of public speaking skills that we have within us. It's business communication gone awry. We can all interact with an audience directly and demonstrate our presentation skills in well-prepared fashion. Well-prepared means a presentation that you've laid out in logical form, as if writing an email to an intelligent friend or associate. Rehearse it in front of a mirror. Be yourself.

Effective Business Communication Counts On Lean Writing Skills

In a business communication world saturated with near-instantaneous electronic messages, I start with the premise that the people you're writing for are too busy to absorb massive clots of verbiage. I'm talking about numbers of words as well as the length of the words themselves. Any thesaurus can give you a multisyllabic replacement for a lean word that hits the spot. Likewise, any bureaucrat or consultant can pile jargon-choked paragraph on top of ponderous paragraph. But to what end? In a way that might not have occurred to you, effective written communication is really about tone. The best advice I ever got about business writing skills can be summed up this way: "Be yourself, warm and personal. You're writing to real people, not an organization." Another take: "Write as if you're conversing with an intelligent friend."

Media Training Stresses Effective Communication With The Press

When I run media training seminars, I stress that reporters need help from anyone with expertise in the topics that journalists cover. No reporter can prosper without sources. Even the rawest cubs know they must have authoritative quotes to back up both sides of any story dealing with conflict -- political, financial, zoning, hostile takeovers, executive compensation, you name it. Controversy puts their stories on the front page. Where you come in is that you offer to help the business writer at your local daily or regional business periodical, or a byline name you see in one of those niche publications that are prospering as part of the so-called "trade press." React to a story they write, and tell them they can call on you for on-the-record expertise or "background." Media training can help you reach out for that free publicity.

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About the Author: Dave Griffiths

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Dave Griffiths is a free-lance writer and editor who travels widely to do business writing training and media relations and presentation skills training for clients ranging from the U.S. Coast Guard to the Red Cross to the Department of Homeland Security to the Veterans Administration to senior executives at a variety of federal agencies to businesses that need help with technical writing and written sales proposals. His professional background is journalism, having reported for the Kansas City Star and covered national security for several publications, including Business Week magazine. After leaving Washington, Dave was a member of the Penn State journalism faculty for six years. He has a degree in English from the University of Virginia and a masters in journalism from the University of Missouri. Dave served as a U.S. Army field artillery officer in Germany and Vietnam. He lives with his wife and two sons in a small town in Maine, where he publishes a municipal newsletter. Dave also chairs a school board. His website is www.davegriffithscommunications.com
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Writing Skills Training And Media Training Clearly AIMed At Successful Business Communication
Effective Business Communication Connects Brevity and Clarity and Media Training That Works
Effective Business Communication and Writing Skills Can Lead To Greater Productivity

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