Writing Skills in Action

Hi everyone,

As part of the communications team at Chevron, I write every day. I found it quite amusing when I initially met the communications manager to explain what I had learned at Curtin. She was thrilled to find out that I really enjoyed writing media releases, because some of her team members weren’t as enthusiastic about the task! Now, I write stories for the intranet, media releases, and I have even prepared a pamphlet.

One of the main things that has stuck with me about article writing from PR Principles and PR Media, is the importance of clarifying the who, what, where, when and why in the first sentence, and the progression from most important facts at the beginning, to least important at the end. To this day, I base that theory around everything I write.

I regularly write stories for the intranet, known as the ‘i-Way’. It is the central internal location for everyone to source information, locate other departments and projects, and receive news updates. All the news and stories are written by my communications department. Some of the i-Way stories I have written include:

·         APPEA Oil and Gas Industry Engineering Scholarships for Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians

·         Quarantine Protecting Barrow Island from the Sowthistle

·         Wheatstone Benefiting WA Business

·         Community Investment Program Supporting RFDS (Royal Flying Doctors Service)

·         Powering WA Energy Careers

·         Gorgon’s First Pre-Assembled Racks in Place

·         Hands-on Experience for Apprentices

I have also written a media release about Chevron’s capacity to create jobs in Australia called ‘Chevron Initiative Powering Australian Energy Careers’:

http://www.chevronaustralia.com/media/mediastatements.aspx?NewsItem=28553a1c-e7a8-4d18-b3f4-5d81aa403e55

What do you think?

My most memorable project has been creating a pamphlet for the goodie bags which were handed out at a recent event known as ‘Wheatstone Cultural Diversity Day’. The event’s objective was to celebrate all the different cultures of people working on the Wheatstone Project. It was a family event at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event comprised of aboriginal dance, international food stalls, and interactive cultural booths. I wanted to capture some of the unique cultural experiences people had encountered during their journeys with Chevron. I sent an email to everyone in the Wheatstone project to see who was interested in being featured in the pamphlet. After receiving five responses, I called upon the interview skills I gained during PR Media to form a list of interview questions for each of them. Some of these questions included:

·         What cities have you worked in whilst with Chevron?

·         What is one of the most memorable moments of your career?

·         What is one of the most culturally memorable moments of your career?

·         What is the most culturally obscure thing you have encountered overseas?

·         Where is home and why do you call it home?

·         What are the advantages/disadvantages of moving away from home?

Their answers to these questions allowed me to create a compelling story about each of them. I then asked each of them to send me a photograph of their families. Finally, I had each of them approve the final draft before it was sent to the printers. I was extremely proud of the pamphlet, and I think the featured people in the stories were proud to share their cultural experiences with their colleagues and families.

As you can see, I learned a lot about writing in PR Media and PR Principles. I’m very grateful for the practical skills I gained in those classes.

Until next time,

Georgie F