Less Chatter, More Matter: The Communications Podcast

This week’s podcast episode focuses on the often overlooked part of communication that is: communication that is neither written nor verbal. When the word ‘communication’ comes to mind, most people will immediately imagine things like emails, meetings, conversations, website copy, town halls and all sorts of other mediums across the board for written or verbalised communication. But, what many people fail to realise is that conversation traverses into the world of behaviour, and as such - your behaviour is a direct type of communication. Anything that sends a message is a form of communication. Regardless of what you’ve written in an email, verbalised to a colleague or discussed in a meeting - there are ways by which we communicate, such as behaviours, that can be often more impactful, regardless of whether they are intentional or not. Not to mention that the messages you send through your behaviours are just as powerful, if not more powerful than the words you speak or write. So this episode will touch on all the ways your behaviours send messages, how to be more aware of them and also, what the repercussions could be for not keeping them in mind.Let's get into it.Links mentioned in this episodeLinkedIn: A post about the timing of your communicationSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

Welcome back to your favourite comms podcast, and we've got a treat for you!This week, we've had our very first ever guest star on the show - and we've started big. We've teamed up with the incredible Paula Maidens, to bring you a podcast relevant to the current time of year, all about performance reviews and how you can make the most out of them.Paula is  a hiring and leadership coach, and speaker, who helps fast growing entrepreneurs build high performing teams so they can scale with ease, get their time back and create the life they damn well deserve. She's been a business consultant for over 13 years and uses her signature six pillar framework to shift the perception that hiring leadership, and stepping up as an empowered CEO needs to feel hard. She has a straight talking reputation and uses her simple systems and tools to support you to look within, find a way that feels authentic and amazing and build your dream team to support your dream life. As an entrepreneur herself, Paula shares her own business and life lessons, as well as the hands on experience she has from interviewing and hiring.We're super excited to have her on the show to talk all about the ins and outs of performance reviews, but also, how you can make them as effective as possible. Let's get into it. Episode links:Paula’s website: https://paulamaidens.com/ Instagram:  @paulamaidensconsulting Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/paulamaidensbuildingawesometeamsLinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulamaidens/ Say hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

Are you someone who either is, or has hired, an internal or change communications professional? If so, then you've most likely come across the two topics of change and communications, and their many cross-overs. The key part to these topics are that there are many differences between change comms and internal comms. The first thing you need to know is that communication is only one element of change and it is not the silver bullet that will solve all the problems.There are four other elements to change, including leadership, stakeholder engagement, learning and development and governance. And in today's episode, we are going to discuss and uncover these five elements of change to give us the foundation on how, and why, internal and change comms differ.Let's get to it.Links mentioned in this episode:Blog: An EPIC system for communicating changeEpisode 19: Three key documents every comms team needsSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

In this week's episode, we're delving into the world of leadership communication skills. We all know that communication is a key skill for all leaders, but communication could generally mean almost anything. So what are the specific communication skills that a leader needs to master?In today's episode,  we unpack five key leadership communication skills that I think every leader should master and how they differ from management communication. I'll be giving you a run down on some free tools I've collated to help  you learn more about leaership communications and I'll even give you some key examples of how to apply it.Let's get to it.Links mentioned in this episode:Leadership Communication Skills Self-AssessmentEpisode 6: How to adapt your communication style for your audienceCommunication Personality Type QuizBlog post: Five communication skills every leader needsLinkedIn: The differences between management and leadership communicationAsk your burning questions, or submit a topic for us to cover!Say hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

Having your personal brand narrative is not something that you suddenly one day need in order to apply for a job. Figuring out what sets you apart from others may be useful for that, but having your brand narrative precise and ready can, and will, underpin your career as a whole.Whether you think you need one, already have one or aren't sure - it's more than likely your colleagues, friends and even family already have one conjured up on your behalf.So, why wouldn't you take the time to craft and refine the way that you wish to be perceived in a professional or unprofessional capacity?In today's episode, we take the time to really scope out the why and even the how behind the importance of a brand narrative that encompasses you and what you bring to the table. I'll be giving you a run down on a mini-workbook I've collated to help run you through the entire process in detail (which you can find here) and I'll even give you some key examples of how to apply it.Let's get to it.Say hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

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