In the public relations and public affairs industry, we have experienced several years of extremely rapid change.  It is crucial that we stay up on the latest trends and case studies from our industry, as our clients rely on us to keep them informed and provide timely, sound advice.

So, how do we accomplish this efficiently?  We learn from each other.

Each Goff Public employee has a unique set of talents, skills and experiences.  We commit to a training session each week where we take turns being the expert.  From our youngest employee Sara Thatcher teaching us what comes naturally to her generation – social media – to our seasoned media relations pro Patty Dunn teaching us about lessons learned from BP’s oil spill, we gain a deeper understanding of our industry without having to leave the office.

That’s not to say that outside educational opportunities are not important.  We do that too, but we send one member of our team to the seminar and ask him or her to return to the following week’s training to share his or her newfound knowledge with the rest of team.

It’s a system that has made us all a little smarter and appreciative of each other.

There are plenty of views on this topic from literacy experts online, but I come from another perspective.  I write every day using a computer.  I learned how to type on a typewriter in the ninth grade.

But my typing skills and my writing skills are two very different things.  Writing enables us to create, explain, inspire and influence.  Through writing, we set a tone for the point we are trying to make.  For instance, there is a major difference in the feeling of these two sentences: (1) I’m not the right person to talk to about that; (2) I’m going to forward you to Sally Sweetwater, who is the perfect person to talk to about that.

Writing is the art and science of communicating.  It takes practice.  It has power.

Cursive – and at the very least neat printing – can help us set a tone that is hard to accomplish through typing.  Handwritten notes are still used to personally and professionally say:  “I care enough about the nice thing you did or the courtesy you extended to send you a note that I penned myself.”

As I’m writing a note like that, I find myself putting extra thought into every word, sentence and paragraph – because I know that I can’t neatly cross something out or move sentences around like I can on the computer.  This level of thought, which I started using from the time I learned to print, is crucial to good writing.  Then the next level up is cursive, which in some mystifying way connotes importance and care.

I truly believe that good penmanship and cursive are connected to good writing.  And society yearns for good writing as much as it does for breakthroughs in science and technology.  What do you think?

Saint Mary’s believes in bringing education to the learners. Because 15 percent of Saint Mary’s students are east metro residents, the university is opening a new Oakdale location to better serve these students and other east metro and Wisconsin residents.

The university has improved access around the region by opening classroom centers in places like Apple Valley, Minnetonka, Rochester, and Oakdale – in addition to their campuses in Minneapolis and Winona.

Congratulations to Saint Mary’s on its newest location. Join us at the ribbon-cutting event at 3 p.m. today and the open house that will follow until 7 p.m.

For directions to Oakdale Center, click here.