PR-Bridge

One of the most perplexing aspects of public relations is attempting to define great writing. Every single job ad in the PR/communications world demands some form of “outstanding writing skills,” “superior writing and editing,” etc.

However, there is no universal way to know what these means. I’ve talked with hiring managers who want even seasoned professionals to take a writing test because clips are too polished and don’t give the person doing the hiring the kind of insight they need to know if the candidate can actually write. For a veteran, though, a writing test will probably be seen as demeaning.

My primary reason for teaching is to teach students how to write. I’m a strong proponent of the “whole student” mentality…teach them how to write well and they will be able to apply that skill to any particular type of business writing that they are asked to do. Some professors teach PR writing from a different perspective, going through the different types required so that the students have some experience with each, whether a release, feature story, speech, etc.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a forum for getting professionals involved in the process of teaching writing. It is the heart and soul of this profession, yet we as teachers can only go on what we know from our own experience or through research. Meanwhile, we are training students for the day they become professionals without a link to the professional world, unless it is through private networking, informal interviews, and other means we use to pry information from working practitioners.

If I had a repository of actual work done by professionals, I would be the happiest guy in the world (no comments, please, about what that says about my drab life).

Obviously, we can pull releases, annual reports, etc. from the Web, which is a wonderful way to get students thinking about what it means to be a professional writer. But, those finished pieces do not get at the process of how a document goes from draft to completed product. Understanding the process is a key aspect of learning the trade. Some students will get this in internships, but even then, some internships do not allow students to write releases (in some cases, for good reason).

I often hear professionals moan about bad writing from young staff members. And, practitioners thank me when they find out that I teach writing and say how desperately they need good writers. Where is the disconnect here? There is a kink in the pipeline between teaching and those in the practice. I would love to hear what you think. And, if you’re a student, I think both scholars and academics would enjoy hearing your thoughts about writing from the student perspective. Dive in!