The comms blog

CharityComms Inspiring Communicator Awards 2019

The CharityComms Inspiring Communicator Awards and Winter Social is one of my favourite evenings of the year. In recent times we have become used to hearing a lot of negativity about our sector (and many other things). So it’s nice to take time to learn about some of the amazing people doing their level best … Read more

Developing a strategic approach to diversity communications

Over the summer I am sharing examples of some of the projects I’ve been involved with over the years. I love the variety of clients I am lucky enough to work with and the ways in which I can help them communicate better in order to achieve their objectives. If you are taking the summer … Read more

5 great ways to improve case-study gathering

During a session on engaging content at a recent conference, the speaker talked about how to gather a case-study. Whatever your organisation does, you will have great stories of the work you do and the difference you make: used well, these will have a powerful effect on your intended audiences. But before you can start … Read more

The story of a hot-desk and other ideas

Earlier this week I facilitated table discussions at the CharityComms Internal Communications Special Interest Group. The topic was story-telling and we heard from a range of speakers, giving us first a framework for stories and then real-life examples from charities St John Ambulance, Mencap, World Animal Protection and Scope, who have used story-telling to engage … Read more

3 communication lessons from the CharityComms IC group

Earlier this week I had the great pleasure of chairing a panel discussion at the CharityComms Special Interest Group for internal communictors. This fantastic group of people with responsibility for IC in the not-for-profit world comes together quarterly to compare notes, share experiences and learn from each other. This month our speakers came from other … 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

Retro post: 8 tips for an effective presentation

Last summer I shared some tips for communicating effectively if you are called upon to give a presentation at work. If you will be doing something similar in the autumn, why not take a look and see how you can up your game. So far this year I have presented to groups large and small … Read more

Communicate what you love

Many years ago when the large charity I worked for was launching a particular employee initiative, I wanted to contact other organisations who had done something similar and ask for their advice and learning about the communications. Because I was in a junior role and felt inexperienced, I decided to ask a more senior colleague … Read more