Don't let consistency stall your creativity. Try writing "outside the box"

By: Steve Scaffidi, Account Executive, Leonard & Finco Public Relations

We’ve all heard the term thinking outside the box when tasked with trying to reinvent an old idea or brainstorm a new one. Breaking away from traditional ways of problem solving or changing how we approach a new challenge is sometimes difficult to do. With experience comes patterns of behavior and sometimes these habits can be a barrier to creativity.

It’s no different with your public relations efforts. It’s easy to fall into that trap of familiarity when writing news releases or media alerts. You know your company inside and out, and it’s easy to go back to the same descriptive terms. But your writing tool box should include a small kit that says experimental or really out there and using that kit from time to time could stretch your creativity in ways you haven’t really thought about.

As you put fingers to keypad, think about that concept when you begin to write something for your business. Is there an expectation that whatever you are writing about has to be framed in the same way as the previous 10 times you said it? While consistency is important, perhaps putting a unique spin on a concept could spur some additional interest. Think about the example of social media and marketing. A few years ago, most businesses didn’t respect or didn’t understand the power of a social media application like Twitter. Now it’s looked upon as a launching point for new ideas and products to gauge consumer reaction and generate buzz.

Applying that same philosophy to whatever you create for your business could inspire you to reach beyond what’s normal or expected and tap into creativity you didn’t even realize you had. Don’t be afraid of finding a unique way to say something familiar. While the message may be the same, how you got there might just be interesting enough to change who pays attention to it.