Less Chatter, More Matter: The Communications Podcast

There was a lot of excitement earlier this year when ChatGPT took off! A tool that produces copy in an instant? Fascinating! Helpful! Worrying!Whatever your initial reaction was, tools like ChatGPT are evolving quickly, and if we don't learn to use them, we'll be left behind.I've been playing with some of these tools, attending events, listening to other podcasts, and putting a few of them into practice myself, and I've now got a list of use cases for professional communicators - or people who communicate a lot as part of their work - that shows how useful artificial intelligence (AI) tools can be for our work.So get ready as I share six ways you can use these tools to boost productivity and reduce time spent on tedious work, particularly if you're a resource-poor comms team! I also share some examples of how I've tested out these tools myself, and the results of those experiments.Links mentioned in this episodeChatGPTMunchSwell.aiTangoBlog post - re-written by ChatGPT to optimise SEOSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

65 per cent of people are visual thinkers. People remember 80% of what they see and do; only 20% of what they read; and only 10% of what they hear! That's why it pays to know your audience, and think about how you could communicate in a way that will actually work.If you've been following the podcast for a while, you'll know we say tailoring your communication to meet the needs of your audience is key to your communication cutting through. A big part of that is understanding people's different personality types, so whether they are more introverted than extroverted; more of a strategic thinker or a detail thinker; or more of a visual or auditory learner.In today's episode, we're going to delve into the specifics and focus on ways you can adapt your communication to resonate with people who are visual thinkers.  I'm going to share four ideas with practical examples of how you can take your communication and repackage it in a visual way that will actually work!Links relevant to this episodePodcast episode 6: How to adapt your communication style for your audiencesBlog post: How to reach visual learnersCommunication Personality Type QuizKate Norris, Presentation Boss, LinkedIn profileSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

If you don't have these three key documents, you're working harder not smarter.Communication teams - and the broader organisation - need tools to help them make decisions, uphold standards, and educate others.The tools I'm sharing in today's episode will help you work more efficiently, and ensure everyone is singing from the same songsheet - so you have consistent output, you protect your brand, and you protect your channels.Importantly, they also help to protect your time! So tune in to find out what these three golden documents are, and how you can get your hands on a template for one of them.Links relevant to this episodeFree 12-month comms toolkitSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) annual World Conference in Toronto has just wrapped up, and boy was it an incredible learning experience!Across two-and-a-half days we heard from international speakers on a variety of corporate communication hot topics and trends, that are relevant not only for professional communicators, but for anyone who has communication as part of their work responsibilities (looking at you, leaders!).In this special episode of Less Chatter, More Matter, I'm going to share the three key trends I identified from the sessions I attended across the conference, and stay tuned to the end of the episode for a bonus - my summary and key takeaways from the woman who took Duolingo's TikTok account from just a few thousand followers to 6.7 million followers in a flash!Links relevant to this episodeIABC websiteZaria Parvas LinkedIn profileSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

Today's episode addresses a bug bear of many - how to write concisely, without losing friends! It takes a lot of practice to write in a way that's short and clear, without sounding abrupt or rude.But with a few simple writing tips and tricks, you can be a much better, clearer writer, which will help you get the outcome you want!I'll walk you through my three-step process for writing concisely, and share a few of the writing 'red flags' you need to look out for when honing your writing skills. I'll also share a simple formula that will make drafting any content so much easier. Links mentioned in this episodeEpisode 2: The three outcomes every comms plan should haveSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

If you've ever worked in communications, corporate affairs, investor relations, or even finance, you'll be aware of the beast that is the Annual Report. Whether you work for a listed or non-listed company, a for-profit or not-for-profit organisation, the Annual Report will be around in some shape or form.Annual reports are important - they need to be done to meet regulatory requirements, let shareholders know how their investment is performing, or let donors know how their funds are being used.But the problem with annual reports is HOW they're produced - in my opinion, they're currently a colossal waste of time and effort. They're not targeted at their audiences, they don't respect their audience's needs and behaviours, and they don't achieve good business or communication outcomes.So as we approach end of financial year, I'm sharing a few ideas on how to re-think the dreaded annual report, and produce it in a way that's both more efficient and more effective. Links mentioned in this episodeLinkedIn article - how to position profit in an environment of lossEpisode 6 - How to adapt your communication style for different audiencesSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

One of the things I’m asked about all the time is advice on starting a business. I offer it freely, although brunch is often involved! Back in episode eight I shared the five fun things you should consider doing when you’re looking at starting a business - whether that’s as a side hustle or a full-time gig.Today’s episode is about the five boring things you’ll need to consider - at least, I consider them boring! But they’re really super important things that will help set you up for success, and they’re things we often don’t consider and then learn about the hard way! I want to help you so you don’t have to do that.So if you're thinking about starting a business - whether now or in the future -  this episode is absolutely critical for you!Make sure you grab a copy of my 'five things' checklists from my website to play along from home when listening to this episode!Links mentioned in this episodeFree checklists: Five things to consider when starting your businessEpisode 8: Five fun things to do before starting your businessSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

What exactly is a communication strategy, how is that different to a comms plan, and what are the types of strategies you could be developing?If you’re new to comms, it’s really important that you know this, because simply jumping to a plan is jumping to tactics, without overarching direction. And when you can show strategic thinking to your client or leader, you’ll be able to start building a bank of credibility. If you stay in the land of tactics, you’ll only ever be asked to create and execute tactics. I want you to be able to set strategy!Also, helping people to understand the differentiation between a strategy and plan is something I’ve had to coach quite a few people with over the years. Often it’s because they’re simply new to comms, or they’ve been in other roles and never had to think about comms strategies and plans like this before - they’ve simply just communicated the way they always have. Except now they might be in a position where they need to communicate more broadly, rather than just to a few people.So in this episode, I'm going to help you understand what strategic thinking means in comms, and how your strategy and your plan work together to deliver a solution!Links mentioned in this episodeEpisode 5: How to write a comms plan that actually worksWeekly HMC BlogSubscribe to my fortnightly emailSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

I'm going to take you back to 2017, when Cyclone Debbie hit large parts of my home state of Queensland, and I was leading the internal comms team at a big insurance company. In this case study episode, I'm going to talk you through the steps my team and I took to communicate during this crisis - the channels we used, what messaging we used, and our tools and processes - to show you how the three crisis communication principles work in practice.It's a peek behind the curtain of crisis communication 'in real life', and a reminder to all leaders and communication professionals that being prepared is the best way to manage communication during a crisis.Links mentioned in this episodePodcast episode 9: Three key principles of crisis communicationUpcoming Crisis Communication Bootcamp registrationSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

Today’s episode is about something you might have tried before, or didn’t know existed, but that is the communication cascade.This is a strategy that’s been used since the beginning of time - where we give information to senior leaders, and we expect them to pass it on to their next line of leaders, then we expect them to pass it on to their teams.The reasoning behind it is pretty solid -  people are more likely to listen to and trust the information coming from their direct leader, than from any other source. There’s been some wide-ranging research into that, and it really reinforces why good leadership and good relationships are so important, particularly when it comes to the effectiveness of your communication.Also, one central person and one central comms team cannot possibly communicate personally with every member of an organisation. So the logic is sound … however, humans get in the way!What often ends up happening is the message gets diluted or misconstrued by the time it ends up at the team member level; or there’s the permafrost layer - usually at middle management level - where the message gets trapped and just doesn’t go any further.What we really want leaders to do is not only pass on a message, but make it relevant to their teams, and personalise it to reach their audience.So while our comms strategies might have a cascade element with the best of intentions, the reality is that they often aren’t successful.So, how do you navigate it when you can’t personally communicate with every individual?That’s what we’re going to tackle today - how to still use the communication cascade, but put in place some strategies to give you a better chance of success!Say hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question