Part 1
Dear PR Matters,
I work in a junior position in a PR agency and was intrigued by your previous column when you mentioned five skills that would help one get ahead.
Writing was part of it, and with my work, I have come to realize that whether I like it or not, writing is important in getting ahead in whatever career you may want to pursue. And it is important to develop our writing skills.
One of the challenges we face when we have to do articles or reports to our clients is meeting deadlines. Can you and your colleagues give me some tips on how I can write faster? That will be most helpful to me.
Sincerely,
Irene S.
Dear Irene,
My colleagues and I are happy that you found our column helpful, especially the one that you mentioned about the five skills one would have to develop to get ahead.
Yes, whether we like it or not, writing is a skill that will open doors for us because it will help us communicate better with those we work with, and in many cases, our stakeholders.
And deadlines are some things we have to live with. We cannot, as they say, turn back the clock to make up for time lost, and with the complex laws of physics and time, we cannot stop it from moving on. Hiring more people, on the other hand, isn’t always on the budget.
In a marketingprofs.com article, 15 Tips to Help You Write Faster, Laura Forer offers us many creative ways to increase our writing output.
Silence your inner editor
Your inner editor or inner critic, is the part of the writer that constantly aims for quality while writing. While the inner editor is excellent to have on hand in the revision process, the constant inner criticism can be harmful to one’s ego and output while producing a first draft. It can lead to distractions, delays, and, in some cases, paralysis.
“This person may seem like your best, more concerned friend, but in fact, he is your worst enemy,” “says Forer, who instead suggests that we “push the perfectionist aside and just write.”
She offers us three tips on how to deal with one’s inner editor:
• Imagine that he is real
• Put him in a safe and lock it shut
• You hear that silence? Now it’s time to start writing.
Structure is everything
Structure is as important as writing itself, says Forer. And this is something I learned the hard way. We had an excellent English teacher who would grade us not only on what we had to say, but how we organized our essays. We realized early on that we would get lower grades when our writing was disorganized and learned to improve on this through time and practice.
“Organize as much as you can,” Forer offers us some tips. “Make a super detailed plan of your writing tasks and how they fit into the deadline.” This means not only scheduling tasks, but also a time for editing.
Defeat distractions
Forer believes that “all your social-media activities, relatives, friends, pets and housework can ruin your writing plan.”
She reminds us, however, that “you’re the boss,” and urges us to turn off all those distractions for a while.
“Put on your headphones,” she says. “You don’t even have to listen to music—just having them on will prevent others from interrupting your productivity.”
Track your words-per-hour
Technology offers us many tools to increase our writing productivity. This not only comes with better and more advanced computers, phones, and gadgets, but also with web sites like typingtest.com, where you can check your live writing speed.
Forer urges us to challenge ourselves. “You can increase your writing speed by competing against yourself for a higher word-per-hour ration. More words every hour.” From now on, this will be your challenge, she says.
Format at the end
Leave the best for last—“a quality check is the final step of your task,” says Forer.
As we begin writing, there are red and squiggly lines, and hints that may distract us. Forer encourages us to forget about those, and turn these off.
“Do the writing first,” she says. “Use automatic texting formatting in your word processing program.”
Write what you know
It is important to have a good stock knowledge, so you can draw from this anytime especially when you have a rush job to do.
“You can save time by writing something you already know,” says Forer. “Cut the research time. Use your experience and knowledge instead. Show your expertise.”
She clarifies, “write what you know isn’t always about events. It’s also about emotions. You don’t have to be an astronaut to write about Mars.”
Keep all notes in one book
One cause of delay would be for us to search for our notes when writing. We all have experienced this, and we can only sigh on how this interrupts our workflow. Again, it is important for us to get organized.
That is why Forer recommends that we optimize our ideas by “using only one notebook or file for each specific story or topic. You can ‘scan’ your thoughts much faster when using one main source.”
Her tip? “Use a capitalized single word or phrase to indicate each idea. This will help you navigate through the paper.”
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie F. Dizon, the senior vice president for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the former local chairman.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.
Image credits: WWW.FREEPIK.COM