I spend a lot of my time thinking, listening, talking and pondering about internal communication*. I believe strongly that a key success factor for any organisation is connecting employees, volunteers, members and whoever else counts as internal for you. I even describe wanting to inspire organisations to plan effective internal comms as my mission in life. (*If your reaction to …
What can we learn from an unconference?
This has been one of my favourite quotes, ever since Benjamin Ellis said it during his explanation of how an unconference works. That was a few years ago at the first #TheBigYak and it has served me well as a mantra ever since. The Big Yak is one of the highlights of the internal comms professional calendar. It’s an opportunity …
Guest post: The power of listening
In this month’s guest post, we learn from trainer and coach, Stephanie Smith, about the powerful, but often under-rated, communication skill of listening. One of my favourite workshop exercises uses a picture. It’s a complex image; one of those where the longer you look, the more you see. I show participants the picture for 3 seconds, remove it and ask …
How do you make a dry subject more interesting?
This week I will be speaking about procurement communication at the LUPC & SUPC Conference 2018. I do a lot of work with procurement teams, helping them find ways to engage their internal audiences with the need for compliant action. The teams are lovely, hard-working experts in their field who are striving to do their best for their organisation every …
Who needs internal comms?
I love my job. I believe wholeheartedly in the difference that effective communication makes to organisations, how it solves problems and supports achievement of plans and goals. As a result, I’m always willing to talk to others about what I do, whether at networking meetings, co-working offices or even at the pub with friends. (Oh yes, I’m a hoot at …