Since starting my public relations career this year, I’ve been working to expand my PR knowledge and recently started listening to the PR podcast The Spin Sucks with Gini Dietrich.
One episode that caught my attention focused on making your writing meaningful and engaging. In it, Dietrich talked about writing stories that mean something. I found it so helpful that I thought I’d recap a few of the insights that I thought were most helpful. They are:
- Avoid the superficial – While the subject of a piece must hold value for the reader, it’s as essential that the subject means something to the writer. Meaning something is important because it enhances the writing, which in turn impacts the engagement of readers. At the same time, Dietrich talks about a college advisor who insisted that writers relate their topic to something in their past. While Dietrich agreed that writing about what you know can make for a compelling piece, it’s also possible to do so without digging up your past.
- Follow your curiosity – Sometimes, passion isn’t enough. If you’re struggling with writer’s block, it’s often helpful to explore a new curiosity. Dietrich uses the example of Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of “Eat, Pray, Love.” When Gilbert was blocked, she took a break to learn about gardening, something she had always been interested in. Inspired by her new interest, Gilbert found key insight for her writing.
- Eliminate distractions – This may be obvious, but if you think about all the distractions we face during a typical day, you might find we often overlook common culprits. Other work tasks, chat or text messages, and emails can steal our focus. To eliminate these, I recommend scheduling deep work time on your calendar to let coworkers know when you’ll be focusing on writing projects. You also might want to consider using the Pomodoro method, where you work in strict blocks of focused time, for instance, 25- or 60-minute segments.
- Take a break – As someone who writes with the flow of a dripping water tap rather than a river, I need to follow this advice more often than I’d like. I often find after a short break my mind has had a chance to reset and writing becomes easier. For Dietrich, taking a break involves actually stepping away from the computer. For others, it might mean taking a walk, reading for 15 minutes, or spending time on a work task that they find easier.
To write a compelling story, Dietrich recommends focusing on these methods to deliver the story’s message:
- Write toward a fictional future – This can help quantify your company’s larger goals. Say your client wants to become more profitable. Does that future mean the organization is outpacing or buying out competitors? Focusing on a specific future can help clarify and communicate your goals to the reader.
- Focus on values rather than outcomes – When writing about an organization’s goals, it’s vital to focus on their underlying values. While a revenue goal is excellent, highlighting solutions your company wants to achieve holds more power. According to Dietrich, adding words like help, inspire, shape, and change to the narrative supports ideas of growth.
- Develop your client’s narrative – For Dietrich, there’s an important distinction between a mission statement and actions. If supporting the local area is part of an organization’s mission, creating a program that gives back to the community will significantly impact its outreach more than just the mission statement itself.
I found Gini Dietrich’s insights in The Spin Sucks podcast thought-provoking and truly helpful for my own writing. It’s an excellent addition to any PR professional’s podcast library. You can find the episode here: The Spin Sucks with Gini Dietrich.