8 ways reporters’ skills can defeat writer’s block—and help you find stories

It happens to the best of us. You’re sitting at your computer, faced with writing a communiqué, press release or internal story on a dry topic.

The screen is blank, and you are mired in a tarpit of writer’s block.

Every writer faces difficult spells on a regular basis. Whether you’re suffering from writer’s block or a dearth of intranet article ideas, reporters’ story-hunting techniques can blast away the logjam and get the words flowing.

Many communication pros—whether internal, PR or executive—have had backgrounds as journalists, so it’s natural to reach back into our reporting experience for inspiration. For those who don’t have that experience, the techniques are easy to learn.

Here are a few ways to find stories or get the words flowing again:

If your story is hard to write, could it be because you’re writing about products or pushing messages rather than covering the people affected by them?

Journalism is all about human beings. Even stories about national trends often lead with individual stories, not facts and figures. Get your internal clients into the habit of thinking in terms of people, not just messages.