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Press release writing workshop:
How to write press releases that capture attention and earn media coverage

Bring our trainers in-house — to teach your team the writing methodology that powers communications at Fortune 500 companies.

Don't bury the lede — learn to make your stories stand out

This workshop is designed for organizations looking to upskill teams. 

The 2.5-hour workshop teaches the Fundamentals of Smart Brevity® and how your team can apply them to write effective press releases. A clearer, more concise press release helps journalists focus on the most critical details you have to share, pick up the stories that fit their beat best, and publish the stories that matter faster.

What you'll learn:

  • Fundamentals: A Smart Brevity trainer will guide you through the fundamentals of Smart Brevity, including the research behind the methodology.
  • Execution: You will practice Smart Brevity through a group exercise of up to 15 attendees using communications from your day-to-day work.
  • Advancement: An Axios HQ trainer will give your group live feedback, answer questions, and discuss where you can apply Smart Brevity in your broader workplace.

The workshop is highly customizable. We work with your team in advance to understand your org, its goals, and your team's unique areas of opportunity. Our trainer will ask for sample press releases from your team, too. Then, we'll fine-tune the session and exercises to match your day-to-day needs.

Meet your trainers: a former Presidential Briefer and a New York Post reporter

Phil Dufresne

Smart Brevity Trainer

Phil Dufresne

Smart Brevity Trainer

Phil is an Editor and Trainer, teaching corporate leaders, communicators, and professionals at organizations of all sizes how to improve critical communications.

  • He’s helped teams across industries, including major financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase and HSBC, reimagine how they inform stakeholders and engage staff.
  • He has led engaging training for both new Smart Brevity adopters and those working to expand and operationalize it across their organization. 
  • His insightful sessions and real-time feedback help customers quickly understand the methodology so they can apply it, feel its benefits, and continue to improve their craft. 

Prior to Axios HQ, he was a CIA analyst, writing and editing in a style not far from Smart Brevity. He also served as an editor for the President’s Daily Brief.

1 fun thing: Phil is an actor on the side. Most recently, he played Claudius in a production of Hamlet. 

Reed Tucker

Smart Brevity Trainer

Reed Tucker

Smart Brevity Trainer

Reed is an Editor and Trainer at Axios HQ and has helped hundreds of customers — like Takeda and UPS — learn Smart Brevity through customized strategy and training sessions.

  • He builds a deep understanding of customers’ communication goals, then works with them to advise on and develop programming that addresses it.
  • He leads hands-on, tailored workshops that connect the dots between unique customer communications — like emails, articles and narrative pieces — and the principles of Smart Brevity to help folks pave a strategic path forward.
  • His insightful sessions and real-time feedback help customers quickly understand and apply the methodology so they can start to feel its benefits. 

Prior to Axios HQ, Reed was a Google content editor and a senior features writer at the New York Post.

1 fun thing: Reed is the author of Slugfest, a 2017 book about the rivalry between Marvel and DC Comics.

Session plan

We start with an introduction to Smart Brevity
and end with an exercise to apply Smart Brevity to the group’s work.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
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Intro to Smart Brevity

An Axios HQ trainer will share:

  • The psychology behind modern communication and the impact of Smart Brevity.
  • Real examples of Smart Brevity in action at other global organizations.

  • The proven techniques on how to arrange, format, and style effective communications.

  • A before-and-after Smart Brevity live demonstration using a sample press release.
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Hands-on exercise

Participants break into groups of 3-4 and do a Smart Brevity edit of real content from your organization.

  • Groups work from the same content to see different solutions to the challenge.

  • They consider the audience, goals, and context of the press release.

  • They consider what information is worthy to keep in the press release and what to leave out.

  • They determine “what's new,” “why it matters,” and how to style and structure the press release to best engage a journalist or other key audience.
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Expert feedback

Groups come back together to share their edits and get live feedback from our trainer. In this segment, they'll cover:

  • What was hard and what felt new and exciting?
  • How did you decide on your "what's new"?
  • What impact would this style have on your coverage?
  • What barriers are there to writing this way?

After the workshop

All participants will receive special resources to help them stick with Smart Brevity when writing press releases and other communications.

Smart Brevity checklist Use the checklist to stay accountable to the Smart Brevity fundamentals.
Presentation slides

Use the presentation slides as a reference point whenever you need a refresher on how to apply Smart Brevity.
Smart Brevity books

Limited amounts available on request. Go deeper on the science and origin story of Smart Brevity with these books.
bp
“By shorter, better, clearer communication — and getting to the point of what we want people to do — we're all saving each other time. It gives people what they need so they can go off and do the jobs they’re there to do more confidently.” Program lead, bp

bp's network of
Smart Brevity “Ninjas”

Axios HQ built a Smart Brevity training and editing program to define a new style of communication, train the entire function on it, develop “Smart Brevity Ninjas” to expand the skillset beyond central comms.

 How bp transformed its global communication
Takeda
"Everything was bespoke. The Axios HQ team worked with me to tackle and anticipate our specific needs and made an impressive effort to learn our company. We saw the value in what we were doing and the immediate impact it could have on efficiency and results in their day-to-day work." Head of Global Internal Communications, Takeda

Takeda's bespoke storytelling training

Axios HQ developed and led a series of in-depth workshops for Takeda’s global communicators, aligning lesson plans, hands-on exercises and workshop cadence around its core goals.

 How Takeda modernized its storytelling
UofSC
"We’ve embraced the style for news items, transactional content, and even in longer feature stories, which was a welcome surprise. The style really makes it easier to write and edit and has helped our editors streamline their process — a welcome shift in time spent." Manager of Strategic Projects, University of South Carolina

USC's shift in style

Axios HQ’s team led in-depth Smart Brevity training sessions with USC communicators — helping them understand how the style works and ways it can be useful to any campus update.

 How USC keeps its campus connected

Press release writing workshop FAQs

What is Smart Brevity?

Smart Brevity® is a communications methodology created in the Axios newsroom. The formula is based on years of research into brain science and data. It has played a pivotal role in the success of the Axios media organization. 

Today, Smart Brevity is helping leaders and employees style and format their communications to be clearer and more effective. 

  • The Axios newsroom invented it.
  • The world’s busiest readers embraced it. 
  • Then, Axios HQ productized it.

We are making the Smart Brevity framework available to professionals and organizations across the globe through highly customizable workshops and the Axios HQ software. 

Organizations such as JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, bp, Calvin University, and Johnson & Johnson use Smart Brevity to maintain effective communications.

How does this training improve communication skills?

Axios HQ’s workshop on writing press releases revolves around Smart Brevity — a communication methodology that structures and formats information in a way that is shorter, clearer, and more memorable.

  • It teaches your PR team how to identify the most critical piece of information and make it stand out to journalists and media organizations.

Beyond writing press releases, our trainers will also teach you how to apply this formula in day-to-day workplace communications. 

92% of organizations that use Smart Brevity have seen their internal processes improve, and 90% have seen staff engagement increase.

How long is the training?

The workshop is 2.5 hours long and built for organizations to bring in-house. 

Our Smart Brevity experts will take your team through the fundamentals, give you a hands-on exercise, and do a Q&A session with you to provide real-time feedback.

How many people at my company can join the training?

Each workshop is designed for up to 15 participants. We maintain small groups and break them into even smaller 3-4 person teams during the practical exercises to ensure active participation. Every participant gets an opportunity to practice.

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Level up your comms, org-wide

Axios HQ helps organizations communicate more effectively ​​— with training, editorial consulting, and software.

See our other training offerings