Letter to Father Christmas
A chance to practise your communication skills while writing an important letter
communication planning
5 tips for writing an effective shopping list
Towards the end of the calendar year I have to get serious about using a shopping list. Several important people in my life have birthdays in November and December. And then of course we’re into the festive shopping period…
3 ways to write a comms strategy quickly
I often work with clients who tell me they really want to work from a comms strategy but they don’t have time to write it. Because I am not (usually) involved in the day-to-day delivery of communications at their organisation, I have the time and space to do the strategic thinking. I can take a … Read more
4 internal comms tips for high profile organisations
Over the years I have worked with several organisations that had a high profile with the public. Content about them regularly appeared in the traditional media, as well as on social media. This coverage could be mixed in terms of being positive and negative. Some was based on fact, some based on rumour and hearsay. … Read more
4 steps to reducing silo-working
Duplication. Inefficiency. Higher costs. Missed opportunities – for the organisation and for individuals. Bad feeling. Internal politics. Reputation issues. Loss of funding. If any of these problems sound familiar, your organisation may be suffering from silo-working patterns. There are a number of factors that can lead to this situation – such as conflicting priorities or … Read more
What to include in a communication toolkit
Over the years I have worked with a lot of clients to put together a communication toolkit. These are a great way to share communication skills and spread consistency. Particularly when you have people whose natural impulse is to start by deciding on a channel, without thought for their purpose, audience or outcome. Toolkits can … Read more
5 tips to improve email communication
Email is generally held up to be the bane of business life. Especially now that so many of us have spent over a year working in different locations from our colleagues. We’ve all heard (and many of us have experienced) the horror stories of tidal waves of emails that just keep coming. But I have … Read more
8 tips for conversation at your organisation
Conversation should always have been an important part of organisational communication. But the reality for many has been that genuine 2-way communication was not always top of the priority list. Listening to the voice of others takes time. Pressures to ‘get the comms out’ and tick a box don’t always allow that time. But being … Read more
5 benefits of strategic, planned communication
Over the years I’ve been privileged to work with a whole host of inspiring individuals and organisations. I’ve worked alongside them to realise the benefits of a strategic, planned approach to communicating. They have been at different stages and needed different outcomes from their work with me. Together we have assessed the advantages they would … Read more
5 tips to communicate dry subjects
Today I am blogging about something that we know we will need to communicate about in 2021 and beyond – dry subjects. Topics such as procurement, data compliance and health and safety. (I say this with love; I have worked with enough procurement teams over the years to believe that you are a truly misunderstood … Read more