Social media technologies are revolutionizing the way we do business in the public relations and marketing worlds. But it’s a challenge keeping up with the bells, whistles, and gizmos associated with the social media tsunami. Figuring out what’s in and what’s out is practically a full-time job.

Given that the average geeky high school student knows as much or more about social networks and technologies than the average paid social media practioner, it’s particularly frustrating. What’s a PR pro to do?

Fortunately, the most valuable PR-related talents have little to do with technology — and remain as sought after as ever. These are talents that transcend specific media. They are called “talents” because they are relatively uncommon and highly valued.

Here are my five top PR talents:

1. Telling a good story. Behind every company is a good story. Entrepreneurship is fueled by passion, vision and dedication. These are all positive attributes that are appealing to readers in a univeral way, regardless of context. Make the story sing, make it compelling. Pull people in.

2. Using the phone well. The web and computers are awesome and exciting inventions, but the invention of the telephone in the late 1800′s was even more of a monumental technological milestone. By 1904 there were already 3 million telephones in operation in the US. A telephone conversation is more intimate than any other method of communication, including email and IM. If you use it wisely, the telephone can be a real game-changer.

3 & 4. Networking and “working a room”. It’s always been about who you know, not what you know. Social networks make networking easier than ever before, but the ability to “work a room” never goes out of style. It’s a talent that is immediately recognizable but difficult to duplicate. Being a good listener is certainly part of it, but if all you do is listen, you’re going to come up short. You need to be interesting, too. My best advice is to identify someone who is adept at working a room and then shadow them for as long as you can.

5. Writing clearly. Especially in tech PR, clarity and simplicity are paramount. Complicated ideas need to be boiled down into comprehensible ones or else you’re going to lose a vast chunk of audience.

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