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.