Collaborating with other organisations can be a great way to get more done. I went to the AGM of the local business community partnership organisation, Connect Reading, this morning and it was interesting to hear about some exciting plans to bring together charity, public and private sector organisations for projects that will make a significant … Read more
Last night I went along to a Charity Meetup – a networking event aimed at people working for and with charities. As a communications specialist working with not-for-profit organisations, I always enjoy meeting like-minded souls, sharing ideas and best practice from our wonderful – and sometimes challenging – sector. The Charity Meetup events always take … Read more
There’s a lot to remember when you’re putting together a communications plan for your project. Who are you trying to reach, would a newsletter be better than a tweet series, what do you want to say and so on….. Use this handy checklist of questions to make sure you don’t forget anything. 1. What is … Read more
There are so many digital channels available today, are the benefits of face to face communication being overtaken? Have opportunities to communicate directly with others, in person, become so outdated that they are no longer relevant? This is a topic that I have often heard discussed by communication professionals in recent years. As with so … Read more
Many households in the area where I live have today been affected by a lack of water – apparently it was something to do with a problem at the local reservoir and it has given the water company a chance to demonstrate their abilities with customer communications. As it happens, my house isn’t one of … Read more
Five years ago I published this piece about communication preferences and it’s something I still talk to my clients about today – knowing their audiences’ preferences is a key part of effective communication… In the woods near where I live, the leaves on the trees are now displaying a beautiful array of colours. I always … Read more
In a Wall Street Journal article about employee engagement that was published this summer, a senior leader from a retail organisation was quoted as saying: “We used to prioritize our stakeholders as shareholders first, customers second, and employees third. We now realize we had it backward. If we put employees first, they in turn take … Read more
Last week I attended the Public Sector Communications Conference. It was a great day, with really interesting speakers and useful conversations with my fellow delegates to develop ideas further. It was the sort of day where you go home with a spring in your step and ideas buzzing round your head! As you might expect, … Read more
After taking the 6 week summer holiday off to spend time with my daughter, this week I’m getting back into the swing of things. One of my first tasks was to order some new business cards, as I have several conferences and networking events coming up this month. I haven’t ordered new ones for a … Read more
I love writing and during the summer holidays I get to spend more time than usual writing in my journal. Last summer I published this blog piece about writing as a core skill for communicators…. Over the last few years I have attended a number of careers events to talk about my profession and raise … Read more