Top 3 reasons why hiring a communications professional is a great invest for you.
Yesterday a TikTok video informed me that writing jobs have decreased by 30% thanks to AI tools like ChatGPT. It’s a statistic I feel as I look for my next communications opportunity.
A few years ago I was introduced to ChatGPT at a school conference. During a session on communications, the presenter, who knew me, said, “If you’re not a writer and you don’t have an Amy, you can use ChatGPT to do your writing for you.” As she demonstrated the capabilities of the platform, I felt from the head bobbing of the school communications professionals in the room that writers might be in trouble. Then my head of school decided that Grammarly’s editing was adequate enough that I didn’t need to look over her letters before sending.
I concede that these AI tools have their place. For example, if you would like your parent-teacher conference message written in the style of Bridgerton’s Lady Whistledown, ChatGPT has you covered (see photo below). Grammarly is helpful for spotting punctuation and spelling errors. But overall, AI tools lack the most important attributes that communication professionals offer your organization: context, conciseness, and voice.
Context
Communications professionals understand your audience in ways an AI tool cannot. That means your comms employee will add context to your messaging that is important to your brand. In many settings, such as schools, your communications professional is regularly interacting with the audience, both in person and virtually, and gaining feedback that will help shape the message. It is your communications professional who looks at various metrics and adjusts messaging based on what they are seeing.
AI tools can analyze and rework a specific piece of writing, but a communications professional will analyze all of your messages and ensure the context of your messaging is consistent across various platforms.
Conciseness
Verbose writing is the hallmark of AI tools. My experimentation with ChatGPT and Grammarly have resulted in lengthy, repetitive messaging that breeds confusion. But, using more words and lengthy phrases shows depth of language and intelligence, right? Maybe, dear reader, if you’re writing for the ton in Regency England. But if your audience lives in the 21st century, which I’m guessing is true for most of you, your message is best conveyed through clear, concise writing.
In 2024, everyone has multitudes of messages vying for their attention. A communications professional understands this and will write and edit to achieve the most effective and efficient messaging for your audience.
Voice
While, yes, ChatGPT can replicate the voice of Lady Whistledown and numerous others, a communications professional can craft messages in the unique voice of your brand, CEO, or head of school. Voice is nuanced and capturing it consistently takes human skill. This skill comes from listening to leaders speak and reviewing multiple pieces of their writing. It requires a deep understanding of the brand, its history, and its deliverables.
An experienced communications professional will be able to write in these nuanced voices relatively quickly. This will keep all of your messaging on brand and help build an audience that knows what to expect from you.
These are just three reasons that a communications professional who is experienced in writing, editing and content creation is an excellent investment for your school or business.
Amy G. Park 