What does professionalism look like in 2024? Helpful email and communication habits for PR beginners

I have recently celebrated a personal milestone, the one-year anniversary of my PR career as an account executive. But it was a struggle to really figure out what to do for my first big-girl job, where to go now that I’m an adult out of college, and how I fit into this new world of professionalism. I had so many questions and anxiety then, but now I can proudly say that I have learned so much about what it takes to become an experienced PR badass. As a Zillennial entering the workforce amid the COVID pandemic, I realized there’s a new office normal, especially among different generations. Even Business Insider recognizes the struggle, “Each generation faces some sort of cultural gap when entering the workforce, whether it pertains to the definition of what qualifies as business attire, the ways to use technology and social media appropriately, and how to conform to ever-changing corporate social mores.” 

Here are four things I learned that helped me navigate the waters of all things professionalism for beginners like myself:

1. Emails are more serious than text messages.

I think for many post-grads who had to adjust from entirely in-person classrooms to fully remote meetings, it’s easy to have blurred lines when it comes to email. Then mix in the factor of never experiencing an office workplace pre-pandemic. In my head, daily tasks involving a quick text, like Slack, become very casual, often filled with industry lingo and acronyms. To the younger generation, emails can feel like sending another text, but emails can’t be unsent, and it can be incredibly easy to send an embarrassing email.

The previous generations treated emails like a graded essay; there’s gravity to your text and a tone that can be heard. You are not only representing your company, but you are representing yourself. Emails need proper proofing for grammar and spelling. It’s better practice to avoid any miscommunication. Dates and names should always be correct. Your writing voice should always be active and friendly. And yes, messages in all caps mean you’re yelling, as do too many exclamation points. Those are common email rules that will never change throughout the years. 

2. Don’t be a PR robot; be human.

I’ve attended webinars where it’s encouraged to shorten the language in pitches and, depending on your relationship with a journalist, to be more casual. It’s OK to get to know journalists and clients. It’s encouraged to be human and make work friends. With everything, you have to read the room and learn to identify when it’s the right place and time, keeping in mind everyone’s workload and how your habits can display your professional behaviour.

When it comes to account management with clients, emails can be one of the main points of contact. Usually, all client contact points should be professional, in-person, and online. Email tones and mannerisms are taken seriously; it’s a proper form of communication, so being too short of context or vague with details only to send four following emails is not the same mannerism as sending a thread of texts—it’s actually annoying. 

3. Transparent communication creates efficient teamwork.

Constant communication on tasks, projects, and deadlines can feel like micromanagement. It can come from your bosses, other team members, or even clients. It’s not well-liked, and for several reasons, it’s not efficient. A huge part of teamwork and being a team player is trusting that your team gets projects done accordingly. Nobody wants to track you down on where you are with tasks, but it’s always great for managers and other team members to know where you stand when you simply share it on your own time. Even if that means you were confused, instead of waiting until the very last minute to ask a question, admitting you don’t know what to do earlier is easier to manage to avoid giant mistakes. 

I realized that PR people need to hear constant feedback and that they thrive on communication. Today, some of my everyday phrases include, “On my radar!”, “Noted; thanks for the heads up!” and “Will get to that after this task.” Our to-do lists are never-ending, so you learn to grow with adaptability and a sense of urgency. Silence (from the lack of communication) is assumed that you aren’t working; no movement is never a good sign from a client’s perspective. The team noticed and appreciated the minute I became more transparent about what’s on my plate, what I have the bandwidth for (if I can make the deadline or not), sharing helpful responses and feedback, and just acknowledging others. For example, if they didn’t see me respond, my coworker said, “Hmm, I don’t think Audree saw this yet; I’m going to Slack her a reminder just to make sure she knows this important notice on the account.”

4. Connect the dots and use communication to be confident in your role.

Communication seems like the easiest thing to do for many just starting their careers, but it’s probably the most problematic area. Mainly because people really aren’t taught the variations of communication styles. No one is taught to identify micromanagement, only expected to deliver materials ahead of deadlines. As you gain more experience in your role, you understand that a task might involve more than one factor. You can schedule a meeting, but then you have to create the agenda and briefing documents and staff the meeting to send follow-ups and reminders to everyone. It’s a string of things where you have to think about the whole picture. Being able to strategically and creatively think like that sets you up for success, it shows managers how much faster you can grow—using your confident competence for good– setting you up for growth, rather than being arrogantly cocky and barely competent.

For me, it took a while to get in the habit of speaking up let alone replying to email threads letting people know the status of my assignments. Showing I read the email by quickly responding was a big step for me. I was afraid of CCing the wrong person or saying the wrong thing to someone. I was under the impression that regardless of being transparent as I delivered, that’s all I needed to do to keep my job. Then it dawned on me that actually, people get let go all the time for just not fitting in with the team. In PR, they need to know that you can do more than just deliver materials. The moment I started authentically speaking up, displaying that this kind of work I’m putting out and that this quality effort also shows how I want to be perceived, I realized that PR people are confident communication professionals. There are thousands of agencies in the world that the client could’ve hired, we all do the same job–  but I like to think it’s how we communicate the confidence in our work that got us the client.

I don’t know everything—I don’t think anyone does. But that’s why it’s so important to embrace change. Who actually wants to stay the same their entire lives? Imagine it: the same hairstyle, wardrobe, and all…unless it was an abandoned house, it’s unrealistic. Life is for learning and growing. If you’ve got that itching feeling that you can do more, then regularly explore ways to check where you can improve your strengths and weaknesses. 

My approach is to simply absorb the good habits of my superiors, pick up on the lingo, and ask them for advice. But also keep in mind the bad habits too. I don’t need to make the same mistakes. I take the time to understand how to work with my team’s different communication styles. Then I take the initiative of implementing those habits. I’m lucky to be in an environment where I can implement new suggestions from PR articles and webinars. I know some people might not have the same opportunity, but if it could benefit your entire team, it might not hurt to push for a useful idea. 

As a bonus, here are some awesome webinars and articles to check out because communication is the most important thing for PR professionals, internally and externally.

Resources

• Grammarly: 19 Email Etiquette Rules to Know
• Forbes: 17 Comms Pros Share Lessons Learned From Media Outreach Mistakes
• TedTalk: ​​The secret to giving great feedback
• TedTalk: How to write less but say more
• LinkedIn: From Transactional to Transformational: Rethinking Client Service in PR