The 2 Best Ways to Prepare for a Career in PR

This past weekend, Doug and I had the privilege of attending the Kansas City PRSSA Day presented by the greater Kansas City area Chapter of PRSA. Throughout the day, there were two common themes--not social media and not internships.

Every panel, every speaker and every professional advised students to do two simple things:

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No matter what new shiny technology comes our way, the basis of the public relations profession is writing. Take every chance you can to hone in your writing skills. Allow your work to be torn to shreds and listen humbly to your professors and mentors as they give advice. Practice all types of writing because the best way to improve your writing is to write--all the time.

This is one benefit to blogging. It gives you a outline to write and present your writing to an audience online to be critiqued and praised. Writing every day is a good habit to get into. If you are not a good writer, make a plan on how to become a better one.

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Another way to improve your writing is to read everything you can get your hands on: classical literature, the newspaper, modern novels, books about the industry, etc. It does not matter what you read as long as you get away from the computer screen for a little while. Reading is a way to learn from other authors, broaden your vocabulary and develop a writing style. The best writers are better readers.

Reading also helps inform you about the world around you. A lot of public relations involves interacting with people, which means small talk is key. Jersey Shore may not always be the best conversation to have in the limo with a client your parent's age. If you are up to date on the news and have a general sense of classic literature, you have a wealth of sophisticated topics to choose from.

One book to put on your reading list from the Kansas City conference is "Brains on Fire". One of the co-authors, Spike Jones, spoke at PRSSA Day. Check out my blog to read a summary of his presentation.

Obviously, there is much more to public relations than reading and writing; however, it is a great place to start. 

Bethany Parry—Vice President: Bethany is a senior at Missouri State University studying Public Relations and Spanish. As Vice President, she promotes professional development, manages communications, and supports the president in anyway needed. You can contact her at Bethany08@live.missouristate.edu or follow her on Twitter at@bparry08.