To help your writing and networking, learn the world capitals

PR pros try various ways to advance their careers. Some take classes; others enlist help from journalist friends. One writer suggests memorizing items from this Jeopardy-worthy list.

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Americans aren’t known for being culturally sensitive.

Although we can’t change this perception overnight, as writers, there are ways to become more informed and better-rounded in our craft.

Whether you work in PR or another communications capacity, learning world capitals can open up all sorts of possibilities—and might help enhance your career.

Although it seems arbitrary and tangential to writing, committing all the world capitals to memory has made a surprising difference in my life.

In addition to getting kudos from strangers on trivia nights, learning the world’s capitals has ignited an international awareness and cultural curiosity in my ability to communicate through text. RELATED: Planning strategies from the Zika and Ebola crises.

It also guarantees you’ll have at least one potential common interest with every person in the world—always a plus for PR types. I once got to park for free after casually dropping a Banjul reference after hearing the parking attendant was from Gambia.

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