Of all the things I do now, and have done in the past, I believe my key skill (apart from an aptitude for writing) lies in perspective. Now that might sound odd, that’s not a tangible business skill or buzzword-friendly search term. But perspective, and all it encompasses, is actually the key thing you need in communications and marketing. For example, I’ve learned the media perspective, starting out in media monitoring, where I listened to radio, TV news programs and even newspapers for 8-10 hours every day. In that entry level role, I learned how stories are communicated, how the media translates issues, what resonates with audiences. I’ve learned the management perspective – I moved on from that initial role to develop content that matters to marketing communication. From this, I’ve learned to understand the business imperatives of getting the job done, of maximizing the power of effective communication - and understanding all the various viewpoints which make the system work. And I’ve learned the audience perspective through content creation. I’ve further refined that in my current role in Social Media marketing and digital communication. If you want to succeed with content, the key is to publish good stuff, to understand what your readers want, and to meet their expectations consistently, across all platforms. In all of this, perspective remains key - being able to understand the various perspectives and cater to them to maximize the outcome, whatever that may be. The objectives may differ, but my key skill is in pinpointing the desired goal and delivering, through understanding what people want.