8.3: Hashtag relatable - internal communications
- Page ID
- 254861
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James Moss graduated from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in 2018, earning bachelor's degrees in Mass Communications and Applied Communication Studies. He interned at a weekly and a daily newspaper while in school, then worked as the primary reporter at a small weekly newspaper in southern Illinois for three years after graduating.
He now works in training & development and manages the training department at the largest nonprofit in St. Louis.
In his job as the training director at MERS Missouri Goodwill Industries, Moss uses skills developed in both degree programs. Internal training communications are part organizational communication part public relations, which relates to his coursework in Applied Communications. The training materials James develops and uses in his work reach hundreds of employees. An essential part of his job is to teach every employee how to relate to the general public and how to represent the nonprofit to the public.
Moss' Mass Communications degree was key in getting his foot in the door in both his newspaper and non-profit positions. The writing skills learn in his mass communications program remain pivotal to his daily job.
Web design skills, design know-how, video editing abilities, and photography expertise have all proven valuable, but writing skills are "foundational," according to Moss.
Much of his team's work is to create e-learning modules, which means they write dozens of scripts each year. Being able to write clearly and concisely in a way that's designed for the ears rather than the eyes is a necessity. It is something he has used countless times when editing scripts or coaching employees to improve their writing.
Since the organization uses closed captions, following grammatical rules remains essential. The team's core goal is to facilitate learning for those who participate in our training, and using professional writing skills aids in achieving this goal.
Moss said that even the more mundane, corporate aspects of his job require effective writing. Crafting emails that people will read and understand, for example, helps his team hit their goals regarding training completion. Additionally, tasks as simple as presenting an idea concisely or providing an update in a meeting with a variety of stakeholders present benefit from the principles of telling interesting stories and making human connections.
Thus, even in a job where the title might not suggest it is a corporate writing position, using a variety of writing skills is still crucial.