david j. garcia

In public relations, the ability to write succinctly, creatively, and persuasively is not just valuable–it’s mandatory. Most PR jobs require writing experience, and the candidate who doesn’t prove his or her abilities is immediately out of the running.

Your writing is a muscle: if you don’t keep working it, it gets soft, flabby, and weak. If you want success in the communications field (or most other professional pursuits), you’d better be a strong writer. So how do you measure up? Whether you’re still hesitant or already confident, it’s essential to keep practicing your writing craftsmanship.

With that in mind, let me suggest four ways to flex your writing muscle: read, write, edit, and listen.

Read. You must know what good writing looks like. Don’t just read about good writing, read good writing. Pay attention to what makes a piece interesting, relevant, or unique. If you’re not familiar with good writing, how will you know what your writing needs to become?

Write. Most of my communications friends have some sort of blog. Unfortunately, most of those blogs are updated only occasionally–or not at all. If you’re practicing your writing elsewhere, that’s fine. But if you’re not, you’re giving up valuable experience.

Edit. Perhaps the best thing that ever happened to my writing was editing material by other writers to the Marriott School’s strict standards. Pay attention when you read. Note when you find something wrong, and figure out how you would fix it. Volunteer to look over someone else’s work. Then you’ll be more vigilant with your own writing.

Listen. Seek feedback from anyone, not just other writers. Don’t be fooled into thinking that what you’ve written makes sense before you’ve seriously considered their input. After all, you’re not writing to share your message with yourself; you’re writing to share it with others.

Publishing this could make me seem like I think I’m a great writer. I don’t. This article is my advice to myself. I am trying to take it, however.

If you’re writing, I want to read it; send me a link. This blog is my chance to write; I don’t write enough in my current job. My efforts to edit include helping my friends; let me know if you want an extra set of eyes. And finally, if you have feedback on any of my writing, I’d love to listen; drop me a comment.

CC photo credit: orangeacid