Writing is Part of Almost Everyone's Job

Yesterday Edelman and PR Week hosted a special day-long event for university educators. You can watch it all in rewind. Much of the discussion during the day revolved around what kinds of skills PR and journalism students (today and tomorrow) require in this new environment.

It struck me that a lot of what we covered applies to everyone, not just our trade. The reason is that digital age has dramatically upped the ante one skill above all - good writing.

Almost every white-collar job today requires good communication skills. There's nothing new to report there. However, what is new is that much of the way we communicate today in business is in writing through email. So even if you're not a scribe by trade, you're a still a writer by default.

Writing not your forte? That was just fine 10 years ago, but not anymore. Writing is how business gets done. Communication inside corporations will shift somewhat away from email to wikis and blogs, but that doesn't really change the need for this skill.

There are two terrific resources that can help you become a better writer. One is the outstanding Word Wise blog, penned by my colleague Dan Santow. The other is Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home, a new book I just finished.

Comments

[Vido]

Thanks for pointing out the Word Wise Blog. Judging by the first articles I have just read, it looks like an incredible resource!

[alex muller]

hey i really like your blog, and how it talks about how technology is influencing business. i also really enjoyed this last post (being a graduate with a journalism degree). have you heard about these new atm's in rural markets that have voice recognition and other "fancy gadgetry"? Do you think this is overkill, or just part of the ever-evolving market? Check it out:
http://www.thenewsroom.com/details/386898/Science+and+Technology?c_id=adm

[Bill Sledzik]

Steve,

I'm one of those PR educators whose been promoting Dan's Word Wise blog with my students for some time. Like Micropersuasion, it's an awesome resource for anyone in this business, or any other business for that matter. Communication, especially in Web 2.0, is becoming everyone's job and is no longer the sole domain of PR types.

I'm also one of those educators who attended the New Media Academic Summit. Hats off to you and everyone at Edelman for a great program, not to mention the huge investment you've made to help academe move forward with social media.

[Charles Frith]

I've been listening to some people evangelizing for video but I'm convinced that writing is still the core skill for communications. Completely agree.

[Victor Franqui]

Just an awesome site came via Technorati and wow keep the great work.

[Emily Y]

Is he trying to blind us with that striped shirt?

Just kidding. The videographer shoudl have told him to not wear stripes. Ick.

[Mark Rose]

Want to weigh in on Richard's shirt. Makes him look psychedelic, like a lava lamp. Steve, watched the video with you, Jodi Kantor, NYT, and Dan Gilmor from the Academic Summit and really enjoyed it, learned a lot. Good mix of perspectives.

[Susan Gunelius (MarketingBlurb.com)]

I completely agree that writing is a critical function of every businessperson's job these days. With every email a person sends, he or she is doing a bit of personal marketing, and writing well can help boost a personal brand.

The other critical element needed for success today - being able to type! I took a typing class in high school, so I can type 20 emails in the time it takes a non-typer to type one sentence. It's all about productivity. Kids, stay in school and take a typing class!