Entry Level PR Skills

There is no question that as newsrooms and magazine feature departments have cut back staff numbers and can no longer afford assigning specialist journalists to specific beats, the public relations industry has gained momentum.

Public Relations practitioners have commented in my workshops on Media Training that they often see their press releases reproduced verbatim with a journalist's by line on the text. This is good news for PR clients but bad news for the reading public that may be poorly served by one-sided stories.

On the other hand, many PR companies have resorted to 'outsourcing' their writing because of a gap in skills. How do you, the PR practitioner, get that release into a publication, 'as is'? Are your junior staff members writing well enough or communicating efficiently enough to get you that golden exposure?

I have designed a new workshop aimed at entry-level public relations consultants who may benefit from the following skills up-grade or a refresher course:

• More effective use of language/vocabulary
• Interaction with the media and clients
• Writing more effective press releases
• How to tease out the 'hook' in a story and target specific publications
• Grooming yourself for the job
• Effective telephonic communication
• Media snapshot: a focus on the magazine industry
• Getting into the Ed's head

Course Recommendation

I propose a half day workshop running. The course will include notes and a short, confidential assessment of a candidate sent directly to the senior partner in the PR firm.