effective writing | Communiqué PR
16May
Six Essential Writing Tips for Public Relations Success
In the dynamic world of public relations (PR), the power of well-crafted writing cannot be overstated. When considering a PR partner, one of the most crucial factors to evaluate is their ability to create engaging content and write compelling PR materials. Clear and engaging writing is a vital link between businesses and the public. This kind of effective PR writing [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Sources, Strategy, Writing
28Dec
The Power of Effective Storytelling
In the November/December issue of the Harvard Business Review, Frances Frei and Anne Morris explained how storytelling can drive bold organizational change. While the piece focuses on changing a brand from the inside out, it shows that storytelling powers transformation by connecting and inspiring people. Frei and Morris break down the elements of successful storytelling, which are just as relevant [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Writing
12Jul
The Harry Styles Effect: What his songs can teach us about compelling writing
With over 74 million monthly listeners, Harry Styles is the fifth most-streamed Spotify artist worldwide, with more than 15 million equivalent album sales. Statistics like this beg one simple question – how has Harry Styles made such an impact on the music industry? Taking a page out of my colleague Megan's book (she recently analyzed the storytelling lessons found in [...]
Filed under: Execution, Media, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Writing
03May
A Few Thoughts on Writing
As my colleague Lauren Beehler recently pointed out in her article, “Improve Outlines to Enhance Your Writing,” it can be beneficial to organize your thoughts when beginning a new assignment or project. Beehler explains that an outline can help “ensure your writing is organized, thorough, and achieves its purpose,” among other things. To build upon Beehler's recommendations, I thought I'd [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Writing
26Apr
Improve Outlines to Enhance Your Writing
Crafting the direction and order of ideas mid-writing can be confusing and lead to missing information, random interjections, and illogical presentation. A thoughtful outline will help ensure your writing is organized, thorough, and achieves its purpose. An outline is a plan for your writing, typically consisting of the work’s intended goal and audience, an ordered list of relevant topics, and [...]
Filed under: Collaboration, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Writing
05Apr
Four Ways Reading Makes PR Pros Better Writers
Writing is a central component of a PR professional’s role and day-to-day tasks. We’re masters of communicating effectively through writing. We can adjust our tone and voice for specific authors and audiences and lead the reader to a desired conclusion or call to action. Strong writing skills provide a foundation for all aspects of public relations. If you want to [...]
Filed under: Career, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Writing
17Feb
Seven tips to improve your writing
According to Stephen King, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” Fortunately, in my role with Communiqué PR, I’ve had significant opportunities to exercise my writing skills and have identified some best practices that I plan to incorporate into my process. I thought I would [...]
Filed under: Career, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, WORK, Writing
26Aug
Want Your Writing to be Accurate? Look Out for These 10 Often Confused Word Pairs
Accurate and precise language is essential for communicating a writer's intended meaning. There is a risk, if you do not choose your words carefully, that your reader will be forced to pause and decipher your meaning or that your word message will be conveyed inaccurately or lost entirely. Either way, your writing loses credibility, and in the latter case, you [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Education, Execution, WORK, Writing
22Jun
Intentional Query Design: Second of a Three-Part Series
A well-written question will mean the same thing to all respondents.Jennifer Leigh Brown When creating a survey, if you’re hoping to receive accurate and insightful answers, the phrasing and functionality of your survey queries can determine the success of your results. Questions that are poorly worded, biased, confusing or don’t allow respondents to accurately reflect on their experiences can result [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Execution, Monitor and Measure, Strategy, Writing
04Feb
The Importance of Numeracy: Using Quantitative Info for Better Communications
The use of quantitative data in communication can be very powerful as we’ve noted in previous blogs: “Leveraging Data in Storytelling” and “When Leveraging Data, Don’t Forget the Human Element.” However, numeric information is only effective if people understand it. Dr. Ellen Peters, the Philip H. Knight chair and director of the Center for Science Communication Research (SCR) at the [...]
Filed under: Execution, Media, Positioning
Writing Checklist: A Simple Guide to Becoming a Better Writer
PR professionals do a ton of writing every day. Whether we are developing a press release, byline article, award submission, blog post, speaking proposal, case study, etc., we typically communicate through written words. Luckily, I love to write. It’s been a hobby of mine ever since I learned how to hold a pencil. Why I love to write and what [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Execution, Planning, PR trends, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Strategy
Writing for PR: May the Odds Be Ever In Your Favor
This weekend I finally got around to watching the latest “Hunger Games” movie and afterwards I started thinking about the similarities between mockingjay birds and writing in a PR agency setting. Stay with me here. Good PR professionals are (hopefully) good storytellers. I’d wager that most of us chose this as a career path because we love writing, as well [...]
Filed under: Positioning, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Strategy
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Writers
Ragan’s PR Daily recently published an article by Daphne Gray-Grant who is a writing and editing coach and author of 8½ Steps to Writing Faster, Better. I thought the article titled, “Seven Habits of Highly Effective Writers” was a gem, and completely spot on. It’s no secret that as a PR professional, exceptional writing skills are a must-have. And by [...]
Filed under: INDUSTRY, PUBLIC RELATIONS