- December 12, 2019
3:00 am EST - 11:30 am EST
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
Don Bates, APR, Fellow PRSA, New York University, is back by popular demand to teach his annual chapter workshop on how to write better for PR/PA purposes in corporations, government agencies, membership associations, nonprofit causes, PR firms, other enterprises. New material, exercises, examples.
- Become a ‘New Era’ PR/PA Writer
- Learn the ‘New PR?PA Writing Formulary’
APR’s Take Note! This event provides 2 credits toward your APR maintenance continuing education requirements.
Why you should attend:
- This intensive all-day workshop will empower your writing and editing of news releases, pitches, blog posts and other PR/PA documents for print, broadcast and social media, as well as for other purposes.
- Using how-to and why-to guidelines, you will look at ‘tried n’ true’ and ‘tried n’ new’ approaches for writing simple, direct, action-focused headlines, leads, quotes, captions, blogs, social media posts, other PR/PA forms.
What you’ll do to make it real:
- Analyze “case” news release as primer on PR/PA writing challenges.
- Write big-picture headline, lead, quote, boilerplate, blog, other assignments.
- Review AP-style essentials with cheat sheet, take AP usage quiz.
- Ask questions, get answers, contribute, share, network, assist.
What you’ll also learn:
- How to write for a bigger PR/PA payoff.
- How to make your PR/PA writing more valuable to your employer or clients.
- How to build your PR/PA writing leadership.
What you’ll take home at the end:
- Instructor’s slides, writing guides, time-saver templates, how-to advisories, more.
What you’ll address during the day:
- Applying best principles and practices of PR/PA writing.
- Using “form follows function” as writing context.
- Acting as word-worker as well as word-smith.
- Embodying strategic thinking in your writing.
- Focusing on actions employers want.
- Putting the Big Picture in PR/PA documents.
- Providing what the media want so you get what you want.
- Understanding what readers need to know for their purposes.
- Becoming an outer-directed writer.
- Hacking news and research to enhance your messages.
- Pitching media with time-saving templates.
- Using creative copywriting to engage social media.
- Fashioning quotable (not gratuitous) quotes.
- Killing pronoun inaccuracy and confusion.
- Eliminating obstructionist prepositions, other disruptive verbiage.
- Un-hyping hyperbole.
- Taking renewed advantage of the 5W’s.
- Connecting subject/verb/action to win the readability race.
- Addressing trends and issues affecting PR/PA writing.
- Getting approvals for your writing before and as you write.
- Focusing writing time to increase productivity.
- Adhering to AP Stylebook essentials.
- Becoming a proactive writer even as you react.
- Excelling at writing without being told or asked.
- Writing better social media entries.
APR’s Take Note! This event provides 2 credit toward your APR maintenance continuing education requirements.
About the Instructor
Don Bates
PR writing and management instructor, New York University, Founding Director, The George Washington University PR Master’s Degree Program
Don Bates, APR, Fellow PRSA, is a well-known PR/PA executive, writer, teacher, and consultant. He has worked for national and international corporations, nonprofit causes, associations, and agencies. He conducts writing workshops worldwide. He has taught in China, Japan, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, Peru, Spain, and other countries. Don also teaches graduate public relations courses at New York University and is a senior advisor on PR agency management and M&A with Gould Partners. He owned and operated The Bates Company, NY/DC-based PR and marketing firm, which he sold after 12 years in business. He is a member of the PRSA-NCC and PRSA-NY chapters, and an honorary trustee of the Institute for Public Relations, which he helped to establish.