The comms blog

10 key points from the Strategic People conference

This was my second year at the Strategic People Conference from Agenda Consulting. This year’s theme was ‘Thoughtful leadership for a healthy culture’. Once again I came away with lots of new ideas and questions to consider in my work with my clients. Throughout the day there was ample opportunity to learn from different perspectives … Read more

Comms training for Small Charities Coalition

Last week I ran an Effective Communication for your Charity training masterclass on behalf of Small Charities Coalition. With attendees from a range of different organisations in the room we had lots of discussion, lots of practice of communication skills and techniques and some laughs too. They may have come from different organisations with a … Read more

Organisational and personal values

Values are important to me. Maybe that’s why I work in the not-for-profit and academic sectors. It certainly helps with running my own business – the values that frame my working life are entirely my own, not something that has been dictated or developed by others. This ensures that the work I choose to do … Read more

Need help with your communications in 2019?

If so, I can help you to solve problems by communicating more effectively and motivating people to take actions. Communication is, apparently, the root of all evil – it is almost always cited in staff surveys and individual conversations at the water cooler as needing improvement. But there are always things you can do to … Read more

Guest post: The 5 Ps for developing a narrative

I’m delighted to welcome communication specialist, Katie Jones, as my guest blogger this month. Katie shares with us her story of seeing the communication light as a student and her top tips for developing your organisational narrative. In a smoke and beer-filled room in Freshers Week I had a revelation. Angels sang and the clouds … Read more

#YouMadeItHappen – my favourites

This week charities have been using the hashtag #YouMadeItHappen to thank their supporters and celebrate the difference they make. An email from NCVO’s Aidan Warner, sent to members to launch the imitative, said, “When we ask the public what they want to hear from charities, one thing comes through loud and clear. They want to … Read more

Communications masterclass for charities

“It’s useful to have a structure to use for communications.” Charity delegate Today I ran a Communications Masterclass for charities on behalf of the Small Charities Coalition. During the half-day workshop we covered areas such as making the case for effective communication at your organisation, ensuring your communication is effective, how to build a strategic … Read more

7 tips for fantastic focus groups

I often help my clients to run focus groups with their employees, volunteers and other stakeholders, which is a role I love. Being a facilitator and enabling people to articulate and present their views is really important. However, running a focus group is not always as easy as it seems and if you get it … Read more

10 tips from the public sector comms conference

Yesterday I attended the public sector comms conference and came away with my head buzzing with ideas. It was a packed agenda, with speakers from a whole range of organisations, and sessions covering a variety of topics. A key theme was using effective communication to support behaviour change and here are some takeaways from the … Read more

Guest post: The importance of consultation in redundancy

In this month’s guest post charity HR consultant, Sonia Wilson, shares some advice on communication and consultation during redundancy situations. If you manage a small organisation and it begins to grow you may need at some point to consider restructuring. This can often result in some roles changing or even becoming redundant. One of the … Read more