PRINZ - Public Relations Institute of New Zealand

Down the Rabbit Hole: Understanding Government Relations
2025-10-28 09:30 - 12:30 (Pacific/Auckland) | Online
23rd & 30th October 2025 @ 9:30am- 12:30pm (2 x morning sessions)

Overview
In this interactive online workshop, we cover the principles for preparing great media releases, communications materials, and general business content.
Our resident editing expert, Julie Shannon, will teach you how to craft engaging stories and convey these in a clear and convincing tone. You’ll also explore different topics and contexts with plenty of ‘before’ and ‘after’ examples from a range of industries.
Please note, this online workshop is split across two morning sessions, one week apart.
Course overview
Session one

Work out your story

Work out what’s news – identify your story, main messages and the wider context
Think like your reader – understanding your audience and writing for them

Refine your messages

Choose your angle – classic story angles that can capture an audience’s attention
Write a great title – developing headlines and leads in media releases and promotional copy
Tell me why to care – placing the focus on benefits, outcomes and highlights

Craft the story

Order your content – ordering your ideas to suit the message and format
Break up the copy – using headings and layout in communications content and other formats
Quote the bigger picture – writing appropriate quotes for senior figures and spokespeople

Session two

Form the right tone

Make your words count – simple tricks for reducing copy length while retaining meaning
Use an active voice – using the active voice to sound clear and authentic
Choose clear words – words and phrases for a clear and engaging tone

Convey complex ideas clearly

Understand readability – how readability supports your audience and messages
A focus on technical terms – working with complex terms in different sectors

Apply online style

Frontload your sentences – keeping your copy search-friendly and easy to scan
Apply seamless links – a few tips on writing effective hyperlinks
Your style quiz – a refresh on print and online style, including capitals, acronyms and date formats

What to expect

in-depth industry examples
graded exercises to build skills and confidence
group work in virtual breakout rooms
live editing and feedback on your writing
quizzes, games and tools for active learning
handouts and worksheets to download

Your presenter is..Julie Shannon Senior editor and trainer Julie believes all content can be interesting and engaging – as long as we present it well. In this 2-part workshop, she shares detailed techniques that will help you lift the quality of your content and how it speaks to your audiences. She uses these techniques to help her clients create clear and engaging reports, business cases, media releases and communications content. And she loves sharing these skills with others, so far helping more than 4,000 people improve the quality of their written work. Julie works with PR professionals across a range of sectors in Australia and New Zealand. She has expertise in planning, culture, health, and regional economic development. Her New Zealand clients include engineering consulting firms, international banks and tertiary education institutions.

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