Public relations skills
Image by JerrySilfwer via Flickr
Public relations is all about cocktail parties, fashion shows and lunching with ‘the press’, right?
Wrong! Yes there is a social element to job, but don’t underestimate the talents and skills required to be successful as a public relations professional. First of all there are the hard skills that are fundamental.
First among these is the ability to write.
You must also:
- be a skilled researcher
- have excellent computer skills including Internet applications
- understand technical requirements and production processes, (print, broadcast and online).
- have an excellent knowledge of publishing industry and the media
Other priority hard skills include:
- photography/videography
- sound engineering/audio production
- website design/development skills
- graphic design/illustration
Softer skills are also crucial for a successful career in public relations. These include:
- the ability to work under deadline pressure
- presentation skills
- interpersonal communication/people skills
- innate creativity
- stamina (long hours are the norm)
- organisational skills
- ability to work in a team
PR is not all parties and gala lunches; that’s for sure. But it’s a rewarding career that delivers great job satisfaction. No two days are ever alike and you get to go places and meet people that you’d never thought you would. Early in your career the pay can be quite low compared to other professions, but as your skills and experience develop the sky is the limit for earning potential.
<shameless plug>
If you’d like to find out more about a career in PR why not attend our Introduction to PR seminar? In two days you’ll know if you have the right stuff.
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As you know, I’m a big fan of your blog, but let me say I was a bit surprised by this post. It’s not about cocktail parties and lunches for sure. But I hope it’s not only about what you listed either. If it were, I would have run in the other direction 25 years ago.
What I love about PR is the strategic thinking; creativity; empathy; the literal solving of puzzles; the fact that knowing what to do is often the easy part, but knowing what to do with you’re working for is another matter. It’s about really understanding your audiences and the special nuances that come with messaging – and not just words, but actions as well. It’s about the ability to be a quick and deep study about a broad range of enterprises. I would regard all of these as not simply the work of senior people, but the work of everyone in the organization regardless of level, experience, or agency tenure. I realize it’s just one perspective, and not necessarily complete either, but if we want to bring the best and the brightest into PR, then let’s really tell them what’s waiting for them. I can’t think of a more exciting and more rewarding way to make a living. Cheers, Leo
Agreed Leo. Mine was an attempt to outline the hard and soft skills required, especially at entry level. The problem solving and critical thinking you describe are important too. But for the kids and women returners who ask me what a career in PR involves, I wanted to list the basics.
“No two days are every alike and you get to go places and meet people that you’d never thought you would.”
You state at the very top of your article that you must have the ability to write. And then proceed to create an error in the first sentence of the above paragraph…..
Good spot. Thanks.
An anonymous and petty shot – the worst kind in my view.