Less Chatter, More Matter: The Communications Podcast

Welcome back to the Less Chatter, More Matter podcast. This week's episode starts with the impact of mental health in the workplace to celebrate Mental Health Month here in Australia this October. We asked Cherie Canning, founder of Luminate Leadership, to join us on this episode to explore how communication plays an instrumental role in advocating for mental health issues in the workplace. When done with mental health in mind, our communication practices can create safe spaces to have conversations, particularly in the workplace. And it's even more fortuitous in a way that the theme for Mental Health Month in 2023 is 'we all have a role to play'. So this episode is really about encouraging people to think about ways we can connect with the people around us in more meaningful, supportive ways.So, without further adieu, let's get into it! Links mentioned in this episode:Mental Health First Aid Training: www.luminateleadership.com.au/mhfaLuminate Leadership website: www.luminateleadership.com.auFollow Luminate on InstagramFollow Luminate on LinkedInConnect with Cherie on InstagramConnect with Cherie on LinkedInAbout Cherie:Cherie Canning is a passionate optimist, an avid traveller and the Founder and Director of Luminate Leadership.After almost two decades of leading teams and running development training at Flight Centre Travel Group, Cherie and her husband Andy were thrown a Covid redundancy curve ball. It was then Cherie knew she had to follow her passion of Leadership development and Luminate Leadership was born. Cherie is passionate about creating training and development experiences that challenge people, inspire them and give practical tools to create real life impact in their workplaces and lives.Say hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

It's our third birthday! That’s right, Hey Mel! has been offering our communication and training expertise for three big years, full of big business learnings - learnings that we’d love to share with you.Whether you’re looking to start your very own consultancy, or you’re a lover of all things learning, we’ve got some pretty cool lessons to share from around the world of freelancing and what it could mean for your career. That's why this special birthday episode covers some of the key takeaways that the business has compiled over the three years we've been doing it! We've also packed all of said shiny insights in this one, fantastic podcast episode - full of insights you can use across the board in any career.So... why wait for the fourth birthday? Let's get into it!Links mentioned in this episode:Blog: Three tips for choosing the right channels for your businessCourse: Fresh 2 FreelancingOffer: Third birthday 30% discountEmail update: Sign up here! Say hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

Gone are the days of simple websites, media releases and CEO emails. These days, we have so many more channels to use and choose. But the challenge is knowing which ones to choose and why! Especially when a new social media app comes onto the market because it can be really tempting to jump onto it right away. And why not? It's the latest shiny thing and apparently everyone is using it… but, before you do, can you answer whether it will serve your business any good?Knowing which channels to pick, how to use them, and how to use them well is crucial before heading onto any new media platform. It’s especially important for those who are starting a new business or starting from scratch in an existing business. That's why we've gathered some tips on how to pick the right channels for your business here. So, let’s get into it!Links mentioned in this episode:Blog: Three tips for choosing the right channels for your business Say hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

Do you know what it takes to create a website that is accessible, creative, design friendly, SEO ready, easy to navigate, and fits your brand? All of these things are crucial parts of your website's job in ensuring your brand is taken seriously and that your clients can trust you to deliver on what they need. Which is exactly why this week's podcast is all about website design. We've asked the fantastic Jessica Panozzo from Feel Good Creative to join us and share some of her insider knowledge on the key aspects to website design, and why it's so important to get it right, no matter if you're a small business or massive organisation.Jess is the owner of Feel Good Creative, a website design agency in Brisbane, Australia. She's a colour loving, food obsessed, website designer and an ex-accountant, but we won't hold that against her.  She works with creative businesses and all-round good humans to ensure that your digital home communicates a special sauce, stands out from their competition and is a dream for your visitors to use.She has mastered the art of managing website projects in an efficient, personalised two week period so that you can get back to running your business ASAP. That's why we were stoked to have her on the show to spill the beans on all the website aspects you'll need to know!Let's dive in.Links mentioned in this episode:Website: Feel Good CreativeInstagram: Feel Good CreativeEpisode 32: What is accessibility and why is it important? (ft. Kelly Thibodeau)Say hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

What exactly is a hard-to-reach person? They're the people in your business who are on the road,  serving customers, on a construction site or simply out of range (like on a plane!).  They aren’t, and simply can’t be, in front of a computer screen all day.But as the people who are often our frontline employees, it's critical to get organisation-wide messages to them effectively. Unfortunately, our traditional internal comms channels, like intranets and emails, are pretty useless a lot of the time.  So where do you start? Much like every communication that we do, we have to start by thinking from our audience's perspective because to put it bluntly: we can't communicate the way we want, we have to do it the way they want. Luckily for us, the good news is there are a lot of ways to communicate with the 'unwired' workforce very successfully, and some of them might surprise you. And we’ve gone into a bunch of them, right here in this podcast. So, what are you waiting for?Let's get into it.Links mentioned in this episode:Communication Career Fundamentals course Episode 12: Three ways to avoid the broken communication cascadeEpisode 6: How to tailor your communications for your audiences Blog: Four channels to use to reach auditory learnersSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

If you’ve ever heard of the terms Pulse survey, or Employee Engagement Survey - then you’ve most likely had to answer a variety of questions surrounding the effectiveness of communications in your organisation.More specifically, you've most likely had to deal with the repercussions or the aftermath of 'poor communication' being identified in these surveys, and the way by which a company or team handles outcomes like this. But, when it comes to this sort of outcome, it's less likely that a company will actually identify what the poor communication is attributed to, rather than simply trying to address it with more communication.That's why on this week's episode, we've dived head first into what employees REALLY mean when poor communication is identified, and the ways by which you can fix, work on, or even implement strategies to combat it permanently. Let's get into it.Links mentioned in this episode:Blog: What employees really mean by ‘poor communication’Say hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

On this week's episode, we dive into a new topic: Accessibility.We chatted with the incredible Kelly Thibodeau, who is based in Manitoba, Canada, and is the founder of Squarely Accessible - a social media marketing consultancy and training organisation that focuses on accessibility, content strategy, and digital experience. She's a consultant, trainer, and speaker who's been making online marketing make sense for organisations and non-profits for 25 years.Kelly joins us on this week's episode to shed light on the topic of accessibility in communications. Find out what accessibility in communication really means, why it's important, and how you can make sure your communication is hitting the mark!Links related to this episodeFollow Kelly on LinkedInAccessible SocialMeryl EvansWAVE web accessibility evaluation toolColour contrast checkerSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

Oh it’s a sneaky bonus episode!I’ve just returned from the two-day IABC Asia-Pacific Fusion 2023 Conference in Bali, which brought together 70 communication professionals from around the region, as well as Europe, South Africa, and the USA.And while it’s all still fresh in my mind, I wanted to share my key takeaways.In this bonus episode, I’m sharing the three big themes that came out of the conference: leadership, cross-cultural communication, and of course, artificial intelligence! There’s loads of gold I took out of these two days, so dive in and get the download!Links mentioned in this episode:IABC Asia Pacific on LinkedInAustralia’s AI Ethics PrinciplesConference speaker: Rita ArrigoConference speaker: Subho DasConference speaker: Ross MonaghanConference speaker: Supriya AddankiConference speakers: Chris Saxby and Elizabeth PetersenConference speaker: Serge BorgConference speaker: Adrian CropleyConference speaker: Soundari MakerajehConference speaker: Clare GleghornSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

Today's episode is all about how you can make yourself an undeniable hire when you're new in your communication career.More specifically, we dive into the key practical skills that every communications professional needs to hit the ground running. So whether that's new graduates, people who are about to graduate or people who are shifting careers - these are the absolute bare bones skills that will help you elevate yourself above your peers, and ultimately keep your career thriving. Not to mention, I've already done the hard yards for you and collated all of the key collateral and templates you should have, or should know about, in my very first online-only course. Talk about making it easy for you! So, have a listen, rate the show and if you're interested in getting those schmick templates and some one-on-one coaching, check the course out below.Let's get into it.Links related to this episodeSign up to the waitlist for the new course AND to get the special launch offer!Find out more about the course hereBlog: 5 practical skills every comms pro should haveSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

Welcome to the 30th episode of the Less Chatter, More Matter! That means 30 weeks of sharing all the things, and there's still so much more to come!This week, we've focused on how no two brains are the same and how each of us interpret things differently. We've touched a lot in the past on how to communicate in different ways to reach your audiences in a way that is meaningful for them, and gets your message across. To do this, we've brought in the best of the best! The incredible Kylee Leota, founder of Elements 4 Success - a global organisation delivering transformational experiences to individuals, teams, and businesses. Her services include psychological safety, high performance teams coaching, leadership, change management, and she designs bespoke programs as well. Her background is actually in the education sector. She spent 20 years working in education, including leadership roles in schools and at the regional level.On this episode, we dive deep into the world of neurodiversity, what it means, and how it could, or should, impact your communications. Join us to hear all about it and grab some great tips on making sure your comms are inclusive!Let's get into it. Links related to this episodeKylee's business InstagramKylee's business Facebook pageKylee's business LinkedInBlog post: 4 Cs of effective communicationEpisode 28: The 4 Cs of effective communicationSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question