Although it doesn’t always feel like it, we have come a long way in the communications world this year. Looking at outcomes rather than outputs is a good way to help yourself recognise what you have achieved. What’s the difference? Of course, outputs and outcomes sound very similar. So what does each term mean? How … Read more
During the unprecedented circumstances of this year, communication has been more important than ever and my daughter’s headteacher has been a shining light.
2020, as we are all painfully aware, is a year like no other. Many business strategies and plans written in January have long since been abandoned or postponed. The ongoing uncertainty of where we are headed means many organisations are re-evaluating what they can realistically achieve in the short-term and what might need to change … Read more
My guest this month, leadership comms manager Shalini Gupta, shares her top tips for being our leaders’ trusted partners and supporting them to communicate well. She also describes us as unofficial ‘key workers’. Wouldn’t it be easy if our leaders could just push a button and say the right thing in the right tone and … Read more
For this week’s blog I asked on my Twitter and LinkedIn pages for practical tips for communicators in a hurry. The results cover a wide range of areas, from planning and strategy to intranet and message suggestions. I particularly like the ideas in relation to sign-off, an area that can easily slow us down as … Read more
This month I’m really pleased to be able to share with you a guest blog from Jesse Appiah, a business support intern for Holy Brook Associates (HBA), a bookkeeping, financial services and business support company. He has written this post detailing his experience of using the Browning York communication strategy template. To be honest, before … Read more
Sometimes it seems as though messages are the part of communication that gets forgotten. There is often much focus on format – whether to use video or text, how to make an Insta-ready image, the best time of day to send the e-newsletter etc. But I rarely hear as much deliberation about the actual messages. … Read more
I regularly discuss selecting the best communication channels with my clients. They may have been using the same methods for many years, not really knowing why, or they may not be sure what to use for the best, so they try lots of different things. In the last 6 months, many organisations have introduced new … Read more
If you are making assumptions about your colleagues’ meanings and motivations, either consciously or not, chances are that the communication between you is not working very well. And while this isn’t great in any situation, it can be particularly problematic during a global pandemic (or any other time of pressure and uncertainty). Listen up A … Read more
One piece of communication can send many messages, some of which may not be immediately obvious to the person sending it. This is particularly true in situations of uncertainty, where your people are worried about the future. They may even be actively looking for hidden meaning behind your words. So as communicators we need to … Read more