Today would be my Grandma's birthday, and she was as grand an Irish dame as God ever made.

Grandma had style.

Her glistening red hair, her fair freckled skin, and her sparkling green eyes made her a beauty, but what really made her a stunning woman was her inner person.

She was, for lack of a better word, an individual.

She had a passion for life, and it painted everything and everyone she touched with light and laughter.

She worked hard, she played hard, and she loved hard.

And, she was just as much at home on a bar stool as she was in a ballroom because she understood that class is not defined by a person's status, it is defined by their character. I like to think I got that from her.

What does all this have to do with PR, you say?

Everything, I say.

If we are going to be successful public relations professionals, we had better bring our own personal style to the work. Each of us has unique talents, gifts, experiences, intellect, education, and perspective. These things together define our personal and professional style, and it’s that style that makes us memorable.

If you haven’t really thought about this whole style thing much, now is the time.

What makes you memorable?

Why-oh-why should people call you, choose you, rely on you? Make a list. Focus on the best, and work on the rest.

I don’t know about you, but when people think of me, I want them to say to themselves, as they always did about my grand Irish grandmother, “Now, she’s got style!”

Excerpt from the published article, She's Got Style! Copyright 2009, Tracy Teuscher, APR.