Wordsmithing and PR

Presented by Ron Rhody, APR, president of Rhody & Associates by Rachel Clainnont

"Writing is the bottom line and the basic tool of PR," Ron Rhody, APR and president of Rhody & Associates, said in the opening of "Wordsmithing: The Art and Craft of Writing for Public Relations." Rhody and fellow presenter Dr. Carol Ann Hackney, APR, and communication professor at the University of the Pacific, used the session to speak to PRSSA members about the important fundamentals of PR writing.

According to Rhody, the objective of PR is to get people to do something, refrain from doing something or let you do something. PR professionals accomplish this objective through clear and focused writing that is well crafted and not thought of on a whim. "The PR writer is a player and not a spectator," Rhody said. They write to make something happen. Focused writing enforces, educates, advocates and motivates. Therefore, it seems necessary that the first question an aspiring PR professional must ask him or herself is "Can I write?"

If you do not feel as confident in your writing skills as you would like to, fear not. Rhody feels strongly that anyone can learn to be an adequate writer through reading and writing, He offered PRSSA members the following rules to help polish their writing skills:

Know exactly what you are trying to achieve through writing your piece. Have a goal or purpose. Do not just write something just for the sake of writing it.
Know whom you need to reach and fashion your writing to appeal to that group, Your focus should be only on those you can afford to reach, Know what interests the group and how to reach them, As Rhody notes, "No idea is worth a damn unless people can see it, hear it and react to it."

Rhody also referred to a formula for things one needs to think about before beginning to write. He calls the formula "FWH," short for the Five W's and the H, These questions can help clarify and focus writing:

Why I am doing this?
Whom do I need to reach?
What do they need to know?
Where do I post my message?
When do I make my move?
How do I package my story?

Another very important tool of the PR profession is the press release, According to Rhody, "Releases are the bread and butter of public relations." There are five kinds of releases: Hard news, news feature, product/service release, personal release and the financial release. Each release is designed to make something happen; Rhody encouraged members to do additional research on each release outside of the conference, and offered some helpful guidelines.

Pay attention to grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Keep it simple. Use plain language and keep it short.
Be careful of superlatives and adjectives.
Read the copy back to yourself to see if it is clear and right.
Do your best to make a story, but if there isn't one there, say so.
Be a believer in your organization and its goals.

Rhody's rules, formulas and guidelines can be used to help polish writing, but like many things, writing improves with practice. With practice your stories and releases can go from just words on a paper to a well-thought out, finely crafted piece of art that moves your audience to action.