The PR industry is highly competitive. What are you doing to stand out? Start with learning the most important PR skills.
Why this matters: There is a surplus of candidates working in public relations. The industry is highly networked, and job opportunities are often offered to referrals first. Building your network is a given. But you have to learn new and innovative PR skills, too.
A Quick Definition of PR
Public relations is the art and science of spreading company information to the public. It is a strategic communication process that involves managing brand reputation, building relationships with the media, executing PR campaigns, and managing crises.
In college, PR skills are taught in marketing and communications programs. However, many PR pros have a background in journalism, English, or other liberal arts disciplines. No matter what your educational experience is, there are essential LinkedIn skills for public relations pros to master to be successful in their careers and become trusted advisors. These are the things I teach in my SJSU Public Relations class.
The Top Public Relations Skills You Need to Master Now
There are five PR skills that you need to master to be successful in this field. Some people are born with these skills, and others have to learn them throughout their careers:
| PR Skills | Description |
|---|---|
| Understanding Data | Know how to collect, analyze, and interpret data to measure campaigns, track media coverage, monitor social media, and uncover insights to guide strategy. |
| Storytelling | Identify key messages and craft compelling stories that resonate with target audiences, using strong writing skills and creativity. |
| Gift of Gab | Strike up conversations, build rapport quickly, think on your feet, and make a good impression when pitching stories, influencing, and managing clients. |
| Relationship Building | Give value without expecting anything in return to build strong, reciprocal relationships with journalists, influencers, and clients. |
| Strategic Business Consulting | Understand the broader business context including operations, HR, and internal communications to develop integrated PR strategies. |
Understand Data
In the age of big data, it’s more important than ever for PR pros to understand how to use data to their advantage. Data can be used to measure the success of campaigns, track media coverage, and monitor social media conversations. Therefore, it’s essential to know how to collect and analyze data to gain insights that will help your company make better decisions. This skill is even more critical if you want to be a social media manager.
You don’t have to be a data scientist to interpret data. However, it would help if you understood the basics of data collection and analysis. The good news is that there are tools that can help you.
There are a few ways to think about data, and I’ll make it as simple as possible. The first is performance and measurement. This means you need to know how to prove the value of earned media and put some numbers behind it. As a PR professional, you deliver value to the company using public relations and earned media. If you can’t answer that question, you may not be in the right field.
The second is understanding what the data tells you about social trends and how they might impact your business. This means digesting information, finding patterns, analyzing coverage, and providing strategic counsel.
The last way to think about data is to use it to inform your PR strategy. You must learn to use data and insights to uncover media opportunities and market white space. In other words, you can use the insights to inform your content strategy, paid social, and even a more extensive campaign or brand narrative. But, again, these aren’t just PR skills; they are skills for business.
Become a Storyteller
A PR pro’s job is to tell stories that generate media coverage and build influencer relationships. Therefore, you need to identify the key messages you want to communicate and craft a story that will resonate with your audience. To be a good storyteller, you must have strong writing skills, be creative, and think beyond products, services, or company messaging.
Understanding how to write good headlines, a hook, a lead-up, and a payoff make up a good story. Sometimes, this takes practice, but the more you do it, the better you’ll be long-term.
Good storytellers can take a complex issue and make it relatable and attractive to journalists, reporters, influencers, and an executive. You will have to help your executives craft a story for the media, and this is one of the public relations skills you should master.
Master the Gift of Gab
Have you ever seen Boiler Room with Vin Diesel? This clip shows Vin showing a new salesperson how to prospect a client, overcome objections, and close the deal. This is the gift of gab. This means being able to strike up a conversation with someone you just met, build rapport quickly, and make a good impression. Watch below.
You must pitch ideas to the media, build relationships with influencers, and manage clients. The challenge is that many people have egos or can be rude. You need to be articulate and can think on your feet. You can’t let a bad attitude get you flustered or ruin your craft. This is one of those PR skills that can take a while to master.
Be Good With Relationships
For PR pros to be successful, they must build and nurture relationships. A concept called reciprocal altruism—giving without expecting anything in return—is crucial. This is more than just a public relations skill; it’s a life skill and a key aspect of expertise in public relations.
In media relations, strong relationships with journalists are essential. Providing value, being relatable, and leveraging the “gift of gab” help establish trust. Even when you don’t have news to pitch, consider what you can offer to make their jobs easier—a useful quote, insightful data, or industry information. Giving first often leads to future opportunities and strengthens your expertise in public relations.
Again, this isn’t just a PR skill; it’s a valuable principle for all relationships in life.
Learn Strategic Business
Public relations skills are more than being a good writer or having solid relationships with the media. First, you need to understand the business context. This usually comes with experience because if you are starting in PR, you may not understand the broader business concepts like the supply chain, retail channels, customer and sales operations that make a business work and function, DE&I programs, employee relations, and internal communications. Each element is essential to think about and plan for when creating a PR strategy.
Understanding these issues will help you plan for pitfalls or reputation issues that may negatively affect brand reputation within the news media.
What are The Technical Skills for PR?
A recent PR analytics report states that 75% of PR pros say their technical skills are between “good” and “excellent.” However, they need to be excellent. PR pros must learn to use a media database, social listening technology, and media monitoring software.
A media database is essential for organizing and storing information about media contacts, like journalists, bloggers, and influencers. There are several media databases in the market. Cision is probably the most well-known, but there are others.
Various social media technologies can track conversations across social media channels and the media to identify relevant newsjacking opportunities or respond to a crisis. Newsjacking is the act of hijacking the news cycle, pitching a story that is relevant to what is already being discussed in the market. Media monitoring software tracks media coverage and is often used for measuring the performance of ongoing PR campaigns and programs.
If you are a student majoring in PR, Communications, or Journalism, you won’t learn these PR skills in class.
What Other PR Skills Should You Master?
| PR Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Strong Writing | Ability to write well across formats like press releases, pitches, blog posts, etc. |
| Event Planning | Plan and execute events of all sizes from small meetups to large product launches. |
| Project Management | Oversee all aspects of PR projects including budget, timeline, vendors, and more. |
| Attention to Detail | Proofread work thoroughly and catch errors. Remain detail-oriented in all planning. |
You’ve got the fundamentals down—data fluency, relationship building, media strategy. But if you want to really flex your expertise in public relations, you need more. PR is an art, a science, and sometimes, a juggling act. The best pros bring a mix of technical skills, creativity, and precision. Let’s talk about the often-overlooked skills needed in public relations that will set you apart.
Writing Like a Pro
If you can’t write well, you’re already behind. Strong writing isn’t optional in PR—it’s everything. Press releases, media pitches, blog posts, executive messaging—you have to craft words that hook people instantly. No fluff, no jargon, just sharp, clear, compelling storytelling.
Want to get better? Read great writing. Study how top journalists structure their stories. Write every day. Get feedback and rewrite until your words are bulletproof. Good writing isn’t a talent. It’s a skill, and like any skill, it sharpens with practice.
Event Planning Without the Headaches
Planning events sounds glamorous—until you’re knee-deep in logistics, last-minute cancellations, and a never-ending stream of vendor emails. However, event planning is a key part of PR. From press conferences to product launches, nailing the details builds credibility.
Start small. Volunteer to help with internal meetings or community events. Watch how seasoned planners handle the chaos. Over time, build confidence and scale up. The secret? Organization, adaptability, and a solid backup plan for your backup strategy.
Project Management: The PR Superpower
A well-run PR campaign isn’t just about creativity. It’s about execution. That’s where project management comes in. The best PR pros are part strategists and part conductor—coordinating teams, juggling deadlines, and keeping everything running smoothly.
Want to sharpen this skill? Watch how senior PR managers operate. Use project management tools to streamline your workflow. Learn how to anticipate problems before they happen. PR moves fast, and the pros who can manage chaos without breaking a sweat rise to the top.
Attention to Detail: Your Best Defense
A single typo in a press release can sink credibility. Misspelling a journalist’s name? That’s a rookie mistake that burns bridges fast. PR demands obsessive attention to detail. That means double-checking facts, proofing everything twice, and catching errors before they hit the public eye.
Build systems that keep you sharp. Create checklists, establish peer reviews, and develop habits that reinforce accuracy. The little details separate the pros from the amateurs.
The Technical Edge: Mastering PR Tech
PR isn’t just about relationships anymore. Today, technical skills in public relations give you a serious advantage. Media databases, social listening tools, analytics dashboards—if you’re not using them, you’re missing out.
Learn how to track media coverage, measure sentiment, and analyze data to prove PR impact. Get comfortable with platforms like Meltwater, Cision, and Google Analytics. Mastering technical public relations skills means you can back up your strategies with hard data—and that’s what gets buy-in from executives.
The best PR pros never stop learning. They evolve, adapt, and add new skills to their arsenal. Writing, event planning, project management, attention to detail, and technical expertise—these aren’t just extras. They’re the skills needed for PR success. Keep sharpening them, and you’ll build a reputation that speaks for itself.
Final Thoughts on Mastering Public Relations Skills
One thing I teach in my class at San Jose State University is for students to focus on optimizing their LinkedIn profiles. Why? Because that’s where many recruiters and hiring managers are searching for candidates.
Make sure your profile is up-to-date, complete, and keyword-optimized. Include any relevant coursework, marketing internships, or volunteer experiences. If you have a portfolio, include that as well. And don’t forget to add a professional headshot and write your personal brand statement.
Start networking now if you are still in college and looking to get ahead of the game. Attend PRSA events, join PRSSA, and connect with other PR pros on LinkedIn. The more you network, the better your chances of landing a great job after graduation!
I have also outlined the top marketing analytics skills if that’s a career path that you want to pursue. You’ll notice that there are a lot of parallels that you should focus on.
If you decide to pursue a career in B2B, there are several resources to learn about the industry. I would recommend subscribing to the Sword and the Script blog, MarketingProfs, and also LinkedIn Collective. And, staying abreast of the latest public relations trends won’t hurt either.
