Writing this blog post gets my story out to you, allowing you to learn a little more about me. That’s essentially what I do for clients, helping to make their voice heard in the public or political arena.

I spend my days deeply involved in both Public Relations and Public Affairs for an array of clients. I’ve drafted letters to world leaders, penned op-eds for leading papers, and connected with journalists. The news and public opinion – your opinion – matters a lot. It can impact a client’s entire project or even, in the case of Public Affairs, influence the law.

So, what about me? Scroll on, let me do some PR on myself.

Before embarking on my role at The PR Office, I was a teacher in a community secondary school. Even during my university days I worked in education part-time, teaching primary school students. Back in high school, I was a youth leader. I’ve always enjoyed teaching and discussing ideas with others.

This may all seem a far cry from my current job calling journalists, sending emails, and writing articles (and this blog). It is true, teaching a room full of students, handing out worksheets and writing on whiteboards, are in many ways totally different from PR. The PRO’s chic central London workspace is certainly not the same as many of the classrooms I have taught in.

Yet, surprisingly, these two jobs have one key skill in common: Communication. At their heart, both teaching and PR are about getting across one’s messages correctly; how to make even those uninterested pupils at the back of the class or those campaigning against our clients, instead want to sit up, listen, and engage. True, I now sit at my laptop or on my phone, and not in front of rows of pupils, but the principles are the same. I need to make sure that I talk to my audience in the right way, casting their messages in a form that best talks to them, all the while considering different perspectives and listening to everything being said.

PRO, like the classrooms I taught in, is also a “people place.” We chat to each other and work collaboratively, hashing out strategies and performing tasks together, with a real democracy of opinion and creativity. In short, like any good teacher, we know the value of communication.

There you go, that’s my story so far. I hope you gained some insight into my job and perhaps I may have still taught you a quick lesson: Words are powerful, communication is key.

Gavriel Cohn is an account executive at The PR Office.