Communications professionals are responsible for building and maintaining relationships between a company and consumers. As such, they rely on a wide variety of skills to ensure that their efforts are effective. Because the world of marketing is constantly evolving, of course, there are always new skills that comms pros need to be cultivating to remain relevant in the industry.
Whether you’re handling public relations, press releases, media requests or social media campaigns, as a communications professional, you should be consistently focused on building new skill sets. Here, 14 members of Forbes Communications Council share the most critical skills that every communications professional should be practicing right now and explain why they’re so important.
Forbes Communications Council members recommend all comms professionals work on these key skills.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Inclusive Communication
Communications professionals need to gain a deeper understanding of inclusion and the critical role inclusive communications play in building a stronger workforce and a more authentic culture where all are welcome at the table. From retention and recruitment to brand-building and client/customer growth, inclusive communications attract and retain a more diverse workforce, which will take your company or organization to the next level. – Julie Brennan, Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth
2. Complex Technology Translation
It is imperative for communications professionals to have the ability to communicate and translate complex technology and solutions into clear understandable messaging for the non-technical business user. To reach your audience, adapting to new communication channels and using informed content creation strategies driven by data analytics are a must. – Katie Horvath, Aunalytics
3. An Unbiased Perspective
Effective critical thinkers should always start from an unbiased perspective and be willing to consider all angles. Leaders often avoid alternative viewpoints either out of ego or fear that they may learn something that will modify their original direction. You have to be willing to question your own motives and preconceived notions, even ones you have been taught by trusted advisors. – Clay Tuten, KeyMark Inc
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4. Crisis Communications
Managing crisis communications is an essential skill. We are key during any crisis, as we’re capable of quickly understanding how to reach audiences through authentic, transparent messages, using the best available channels. We remove all that is inauthentic and play the role of editor and critic. On any given day, the crisis changes, yet the role of the communicator remains the same: sharing the messages that move audiences back to the center. – Donna Itzoe, Global Medical Response
5. Social Capital Building
The ability to build social capital within the business is key. Communication is all about connecting with other humans, and that’s a two-way system. To authentically communicate a top-down message or provide grassroots feedback from employees, you need to build trust across every level of the business and be the team that bridges that gap. – Rosie Guest, Apex Group Ltd.
6. Management Of Internal Relationships
Managing internal relationships is a critical skill. PR is often seen as an execution arm, but the companies with the best PR give their comms leaders a seat at the table. Building strong relationships with leadership means making sure they know you’re on their team and you understand their objectives. They realize you’re there to help them solve for those objectives, not just to land a shiny new piece of coverage. – Keyana Corliss, Databricks
7. Listening
The most critical communication skill is listening. Only when you keenly listen can you have the level of understanding needed to engage with your audience. This helps you tailor messages especially for them, and they are then able to relate to what you are saying. Knowing how to keep a grip on your audience’s attention would help you communicate better. The better you listen, the better you speak. – Lauren Parr, RepuGen
8. An Understanding Of Marketing Technology
We often think of communications professionals as needing strong strategic and creative skills, such as insight development, storytelling and connecting to the larger business objective. Those skills are all still critically important, but understanding marketing technology will help you amplify them. Platforms that can give you greater efficiency and personalization along with analytics are the next frontier. – Whitney Cornuke, TalentLaunch
9. Digital Literacy
Digital literacy is critical for communications professionals at all levels. Social media marketing is no longer relegated to a “social” team and can affect impactful change for an entire company. An understanding of how social media positively interacts with their line of business, where key audience demographics live within social platforms and what kind of content can generate impactful ROI is vital. – Dixie Roberts, DKC/HangarFour
10. Question-Asking Skills
All communications professionals should hone their question-asking skills. Knowing how to navigate an interview with an executive, subject matter expert, client or other key stakeholders gives you the critical information you need to communicate the message you are working on. Preparing good questions is a start, but having the background to nimbly adjust during the interview often makes all the difference. – Roger Boutin, SCORR Marketing
11. Empathy
Empathy is the art of seeing something from someone else’s perspective, and it is the key characteristic of effective communication. Rather than thinking, “What’s in it for me?” communications professionals should be thinking, “What’s in it for them?” When we put ourselves in our readers’ or listeners’ shoes, we’ll be much more effective at meeting them where they are. – Holly Tate, Leadr
12. Knowledge Of Current Events
Knowledge of current events is key. If you don’t understand what is going on in the world, how can you really understand your audience and their needs and pain points? Too many brands and business leads jump on a “movement” because it’s a “trend” without fully understanding what that movement means. Learn to think critically. – Christina Hager, Ovations Digital
13. Courage
Courage is an essential trait. It is easy to fall into a rhythm of doing the things that have been successful in the past, but our lives are too fast-paced today for them to continue to work. It isn’t easy, but I try to push myself and my teams to have the courage to try new things, even though they may seem a little crazy and may fail. Fail forward fast! – Bonni Kaplan DeWoskin, HomeThrive
14. Good Writing
Writing underpins everything in communications, from connecting with customers to establishing an impactful brand. There’s less tolerance for boilerplate writing today; people want straight talk delivered crisply. It’s essential for every brand to convey a strong, succinct message and craft stories that resonate with people and invoke action. Good writing is a difficult skill to cultivate, so it’s important to focus on it now. – Mandy Dhaliwal, Boomi
