Writing Always Counts.

Here are 5 keys to being powerful with your words.
Whether it be a journalistic article, a media release, or a note to the person whose car you just scratched, the way you write always counts. 

1. Say it out loud, say it proud.

Most people sound much more fluid when talking than in their written voice.

So, first of all, say what you want out loud before writing it. 

Picture the audience. Explain what you need to clearly, simply and precisely. (but not in a patronizingly). 

2. Unleash the power of the verb. 

Verbs are the best friends of powerful, precise writing. They are strong, vibrant, and specific. Verbs help writers immediately convey an image to readers that would take many more words of description, otherwise.  

Keep in mind, especially when you’re stuck, that the clearest construction of sentences are noun/verb. Always. It’s foolproof.

3. Show, don’t tell. 

Use visual imagery and your audience is guaranteed to respond better. 

4. Provide examples.

Anecdotes help writing. If the concept you are writing about is not common knowledge, using examples that compares to familiar topics will helps readers understand.

5. Toss out wordy baggage

Hunt down and strike out phrases and words that do nothing except take up space. Just like these 11:

• there is

• it is

• and the reason why

• seeing as how

• during the course of

• due to the fact of

• as of now

• at the present

• at this point in time

• on account of

• despite the fact that

Hope these tips have been helpful. Happy writing everyone. 

Media Conference 2 - The Fantastical Frances Whiting

Frances Whiting is an author and established Courier Mail/Sunday Mail journalist. 

She began her life journey by studying a degree in Business and Journalism at QUT. Interestingly, her career then took a left turn and she became a primary school teacher at a poor school in East London. She describes this as being one of her most memorable experiences; the parents of students were mostly criminals, however they respected Frances and the way she refused to give up on her students. 

Frances eventually trekked back to Australia where she landed a job with a small newspaper, The Sunshine Coast Extra. Her journalistic career skyrocketed after being offered a job at the Brisbane Sunday Mail; she was invited to write a one-off column about the Ekka - that one-off turned into a weekly column that was 16 years strong. 

In her time she has been lucky enough to meet and interview some incredible people - Steve Irwin, Bill Clinton, even One Direction (girly squeal!)!. Frances has covered many stories, but there are some she holds especially close to her heart; like the story of Sophie Delezio. For those of you who haven't heard of her, Sophie is a heroic little battler. She was the victim of a car that crashed into her daycare; she lost her right hand and her left leg was terribly burned. Four years later, after making a full recovery from this tragedy, Sophie was hit by a car. These moments stopped Australia and captured the hearts of all. Frances covered these stories as they developed, and has an incredible amount of respect for Sophie and her family. They have always kept in touch since. 

So listen up, budding journalists! Frances has some very useful tips for you all. 

1. Find your own voice. Find your own way of doing things. Find something you are passionate and enthusiastic about, and you will succeed. 
2.  Make use of all social media platforms in order to get your voice heard. Be sure to get the basics right first – write well, know names and always research background information.
3. Be sure to build relationships with everyone you encounter in your professional ventures, starting in university - contacts are everything in this industry. 

You can keep up with Frances and her fantastical adventures by following her on Twitter - @FrancesWhiting. 

Relevant.

Know your social media. 

5 Simple Social Media Rules

Doing Social Media Without a Strategy? You're gonna have a bad time. 

Oh Wonka. You really do have a meme for everything. 

Now, social Media can be a cost-effective way to increase your business/company's following and client base. It's one of the best platforms to assist in generating buzz about your products and services and expand your company. Here are some simple rules to follow for when you decide to take the leap on to the corporate social media sphere bandwagon. 

Be kind to others.

Social media is about building an engaged community of followers who may frequent your business. Engage with these people on a personal level. Be their friend. Talk with them and not at them.

One at a time, kids!

You may be tempted to jump aboard all the social media ships (there's Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Pinterest, the list is endless..), but do you or your staff really have time for all this? My guess is no. 

Figure out where your audience is and start there. It's far better to build an engaged following on a single network, than to have inactive profiles on several networks.

Inside voices, now. 

Social Media is not about advertising. Posting Facebook messages about how great your company is and why your products are the best may seem like a great thing to do, but it's not. Marketers need to quash any urges to use their advertising voices here. It's like shouting at your customers through a megaphone when you should be conversing over a cup of coffee.

Ask and answer customers questions, post polls, and invite customers to post stories about your business. Tell customers about your news and specials, but make sure you talk about other things too.

Play by the rules.

Be sure you know the rules of the networks you use and play within them. There are great, cost-effective contest and promotion applications you can use to host giveaways on Facebook, so check them if you want to offer a giveaway. Offering a free widget or coupon to everyone who likes your company on Facebook may help to gain followers, but it's also against Facebook's rules and can cause the network to shut down your page. This would force you to build your following all over again.

Practice patience.

Just like Rome wasn't built in a day, successful social media programs do not happen overnight. But, the payoff is worth it in the long run. Don't give up and don't be swayed by trolls. 

12 Communication Basics

12 Golden Rules

Becky Gaylord worked as a reporter for more than 15 years in Washington, D.C., Cleveland, and Sydney, Australia, before she launched the consulting practice, Gaylord LLC.

Here she gives 12 great tips for basic communication in the professional Public Relations industry. 

1. Voice mail greeting

Smile when you record it. You don’t want to sound perky, just pleasant. Listen to the difference when you record the message while wearing a happy face—it might surprise you.

2. Email subject line

Never leave it blank. This rudely assumes that whatever you have to say is so important that the recipients will open it anyway. Think of the subject as a headline. Tease the main point there. A short, catchy, specific subject is sure to get a quicker response than the dreaded “following up” or “hi.”

3. Email message body

In a business-related email, leave out the emoticons, especially when the message is being sent to your superiors or more than one person.

4. All communication

Ask or notice if the recipient has a preferred way to be contacted. Some live and breathe through texting. Email is best for others. And others still want calls. Your message will be received more effectively if it comes in on the channel your audience prefers.

5. Phone calls

When on a phone call, be present. It’s obvious—and disrespectful—when callers are distracted and multitasking. If it’s not a good time to talk, just say so, and arrange another time to speak.

6. Conference calls

Thankfully, many conference calls are muted by the moderator or administrator. But if the one you’re on is not muted automatically, do so anyway. It is so annoying to hear someone munching, typing, or snoring (yep, I’ve heard that) on a conference call. Even background noise can be distracting.

7. Conversations in person or on the phone

Allow the other person to finish their sentence. It’s polite and civil, and helps keep conversations that way, too.

8. Interrupting

But if necessary to interject—and sometimes it is—use a trick like: “So allow me to stop you there…” Or, “To clarify, I’d like to ask…” Or, “OK, so to respond to your point…”

9. “I’ll have to get back about that”

No problem. Just make sure to do so. And promptly.

10. Meetings

People (peers and managers) know who’s listening and contributing—and who’s checking their phones. Participate and respect the task at hand.

11. Starting a conversation

Whether popping into someone’s office or calling them on the phone, take a moment to ask if it’s a good time.

12. Written communication

The tone of voice, facial gestures, and other communication clues are absent in a memo or an email. Make sure to use please, thank you, and other signs of manners in written communication. Those soften a tone that, otherwise, can sound colder or harsher than intended.

Media Conference 1 - Robert Mukombozi

Robert Mukombozi

Robert Mukombozi is a Rwandan investigative journalist; he is also one of the bravest and most inspirational people I've been privileged enough to be in the presence of.  He is currently in Australia after being exiled here due to his relentless quests for truth and passion for social justice. Robert Mukombozi embodies the essential spirit of determination, even in the face of jail terms, violent attacks and even death. He is dedicated to exposing the evils of bad governance around the world, and creating press freedom and positive change. 

Mukombozi managed to escape Rwanda despite being sentenced to death. The hardship he has endured in the watchdog pursuit of creating a better world is truly awe-inspiring. Mukombozi received an award for being one of the 100 most influential Africans at the Australian 'Celebrate Africans' event in August this year. He is also one of the 14 members of the first ever Ministerial Consultative Committee for African Communities in Australia. He is currently completing a Masters degree in Journalism and Mass Communication at Griffith University. He writes for the African Executive, and was formerly a journalist with the Daily Monitor. 

As does everyone, Mukombozi has his critics. One influential blogger has described him as an arrogant self-crusader and fraud. The blogger states - 

'Of course, what Mukombozi is doing is not reporting at all; it is partisan political activism dressed up as journalism to give it credibility it isn’t even close to deserving on its own merits. That’s fine as far as it goes — political activism is all well and good — but let’s at least see the con for what it is.' (Full article available here.)

In my opinion, political activism and journalism are often one and the same. Mukombozi is a journalist, whose focus is generally on politics - but that does not make him any less a journalist/reporter. In fact, the world of journalism probably could do with a few more Mukombozi types. 

I give my utmost respect and Mukombozi and his quests to make the world a better place. Check out some of his articles here.

PR vs. Marketing

Okay, so, lets get one thing straight. 

Public Relations is NOT the same as marketing. 

Public Relations activities often fall under the label of 'uncontrolled media'; this means that PR professionals do not get a say if, when, or where their material will ever get exposed. They do not pay for publicity. They are better than that. ;) 

Well yes actually Mr Wonka, the average Public Relations professional can write a pretty bangin' press release. Maybe you wouldn't have had to shut down your factory for so long if you had a Public Relations professional on your team of oompas.

Anyway, a press release or media release consists of written or recorded communication directed at media, for the purpose of announcing something newsworthy. Media releases must answer the who, what, when, where, why and how of whatever they are promoting. 

But what exactly is considered newsworthy you may ask? Well, there is no solid definition of what is newsworthy. Deciding what is newsworthy is an acquired journalistic skill. However, if a story can satisfy one or more of these news values, it may just have a chance at being newsworthy.

8 Major News Values –

o Proximity

o Prominence

o Currency

o Timeliness

o Conflict

o Impact

o Human interest

o Odd or unusual

So, next time you've got your press-release-writing-pants on, be sure to consider all the things we've discussed today. You sir, are not a marketing man. Oh no, you are not. You are a Public Relations professional! Wear your title with pride and be sure to do us proud. Satisfy some damn news values, and answer those 5 W's and that H like you really mean it. 

Just for fun..

Why Hello There!

How are you doing today, fellow blogger?

Bored? Feeling dull? Looking for some inspiration to spark your enthusiasm? Oh, you have come to the right place.

Welcome to my weird and wonderful blog. Here I will aim to inform and inspire around the topic of Public Relations writing. Or should I say, Public Relations storytelling. 

Public Relations involves the management of the flow of information between an organisation/individual, and the public. 

Public Relations storytelling relates to the incorporation of the written word, spoken word and visual images into this practice. Public Relations storytelling is creative; it is subjective, emotive, free form, colourful and filled of fun. 

Many people may consider Public Relations professionals to be spin doctors. But we are most certainly not! We are storytellers. And this clip details some of the stuff we have to do on a daily basis. 

Enjoy bloggers,

Lauren.