Tweet

Effective Writing Skills for Public Relations

Written by: Andy Marken

Article Overview: Effective Writing Skills for Public Relations – By John Foster, 156 pages, Kagen Page Ltd., London – January 2001

Effective Writing Skills for Public Relations

Produced jointly by Kagen Page publishing and Britain’s Institute of Public Relations, Effective Writing Skills is one of a series of practical business/trade/art books designed to specifically help people who are entering or are in the industry do something basic and unique…improve their skills.

Unlike most of the “basic” and “how-to” books you encounter in the field the series isn’t written by and or academics as a part of their unwritten “publish or perish” guidelines. If Effective Writing Skills is any measure of the 10 other books in the series, the IPR has taken a very pro-active step in ensuring people entering the field are well grounded in the very basics of the practice. The IPR’s efforts are also directed at seasoned practitioners to encourage them to take a long hard look their skill set so they can be more effective.

As tough as it is to admit, those of us in fast-paced, dynamic and technically advanced colonies can learn considerable from our brethren on the British Isles. They know such activities as issues and crisis management; employee, minority and outreach relations and community and government (lobbying) relations are important. But they also understand that if you can’t clearly and concisely define and articulate/spread your organization’s position on the various topics you might as well be an orally-challenged speaker in front of an angry mob.

A freelance journalist, Foster took on a difficult challenge and succeeded admirably. He forces you to start back at the very beginning by examining writing style, punctuation, the avoidance of cliches and jargon and making your writings…easy to read!

He forces you to remember that you aren’t writing to impress your boss or your client but for the press – print, radio and TV. Come on, admit it. Do phrases like “the world’s leading,” “the most widely used,” “the most technically advanced,” as well as the self-congratulatory quotes from the CEO really add anything to the piece you’re sending out? Do they really sway the editor or reporter?

You do it. We do it. But does it add anything to the effectiveness of what you’re writing? Will it be included in the final article that is printed or the news item that is read? Will you get fired by not including these hackney phrases or will you be shown the door by not getting coverage for your company, client and/or product? Usually the latter is the measure of your success or failure.

In a broader scope that usually isn’t touched on much in today’s college curriculum, Foster also covers the skills and styles of the office including letter, memo and e-mail writing.

Foster also touches on another area in his tightly written 156 pages that we believe few general practitioners concern themselves with … presentations. We’re the first to admit that in 10 pages it is impossible to make you a polished PowerPoint presentation developer, speechwriter and presenter. But the chapter does make you understand that presentations are a vital portion of total public relations and it helps you avoid many of the mistakes that can be damaging to the company…and your career.

One of the most important aspects of the public relations programs we carry out for clients is developing speaking summaries for selected audiences and pitching them to conference, convention and research organizations to enable our executives to directly reach, educate, inform and persuade potential business partners and customers.

Exposure to this near-one-to-one communications tool can be useful and beneficial.

Okay, maybe we’re being overly enthusiastic about our impression that American public relations students and practitioners should be reading and putting into practice the information garnered from Effective Writing Skills.

For example, we’re not exactly certain but we believe curriculum vitae (CV) is really a resume. We seldom write about or address royalty, people of peerage, baronets or MPs. But we can assure you that if the occasion arises we’ll rush to Foster’s guidelines.

Practitioners in England and for that matter the whole of Europe do spell many words with extra letters, treat dates in an odd fashion and tend to be a “little more” formal than we are in our writing. But then forcing ourselves to be slightly more formal may not be all bad in our ultra-relaxed “one big happy family” approach to business and personal communications and relationships.

If you’re new to Public Relations, read and “translate” Effective Writing Skills. If you’re a practitioner with “several” years behind you, take a look at Foster’s work to brush up or sanity check the quality and clarity of your release, article, position paper, letter and email writing.

It never hurts to be well founded in the basics.

#################

Related Articles
  Is Your PR Firm Right For You?
  Advertising and Public Relations
  A PR CONCEPT BORN OUT OF THE RECESSION!
  Public Relations Is Not Just For PR Pros
  Writing Training, Business Communication Training, Presentation Skills Training And Instruction in Effective Communication

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
New Small Business Topic - Hello everyone, I'm on the lookout for new topics to add to my site. We just launched a Franchising section and are planning Human Resources section. Do you have any thoughts for a new section? Here's a list of what we currently have: Angel Investors Branding Bank Loans Business Coaching Business Plan Franchises (New) Insurance Legal Marketing Public Relations Sales Small Biz Loans Venture Capital
Find Me Customers and Get 25% of New Client's Bill - I run Egg Marketing & Public Relations, a marketing and public relations firm. I am looking to grow my business through a viral affiliate marketing campaign, and I need your help. If you know someone (or can find someone) who needs marketing assistance for their business, I'd love to take them on as a client. My firm can: *create marketing plans and strategy *write web and marketing copy *write and distribute press releases *create enewsletter and email campaigns For every new client you bring me, I will give you 25% of their billable hours. For example, my average monthly consultation fee is $1000. That's $250 per month for the life of the client relationship just for a referral! I can provide you information and resources to help you. If you're interested, contact me at smpayton@eggmarketingpr.com and let me know where you're based and how you would go about spreading the word to get new clients for Egg.
Re: Five Personality Traits of Successful Business Owners - 1. Focus 2. Ability to Adapt 3. Hard Work 4. Good planning 5. People Skills
Library to Meet - Has anyone ever tried the Public Library? they have meeting rooms there too and Toronto has over 30 locations with Free Wireless Internet.
Re: What Do You Outsource Mostly? - Writing, Article Spinning, Backlinking.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

SEO Gurus, Software and Ebooks

Coaching Tip: Identify Your Core Values

Living on The Edge of Chaos...

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.