The Power of Words

Words have great power, so choose them wisely!

It’s as simple as taking pen to paper, or fingers to keys. Since humans scratched letters in caves, words have the power to spur movements, to spread ideas, to build up or to knock down. And with the advent of the great and all-powerful internet we now have far more words than any of us can consume in a lifetime. So how do we make our words count?

In the PR world, the written word is the vehicle through which we tell the story of our brands. When we read good novels, we make emotional connections with the characters. When we finish them, we find ourselves invested in the people, or the ideas, in them. As PR writers, our challenge is to create this same kind of connection, but in a much shorter space. And the shorter the space, the more concise the message has to be.

Grammar is important, as is an eye for detail. But what we are really doing is translating an idea into a story. We are not writers, we are storytellers. We are taking a brand and weaving it into a journey that our target audience wants to be part of. Using one word, or 100, from billboards to speeches, we have to speak in a voice that conveys authenticity, authority, and empathy.  

Yes, PR writers are the jack of all trades, but we are the master of all too!