Less Chatter, More Matter: The Communications Podcast

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

 At some point in your career - whether you work in communications or not - it’s likely you’ll need to do a presentation. It could be to your boss, company Board, a potential client or investor, customers, or anyone in between. Knowing how to deliver a presentation so that it engages people and gets the outcomes you want will be critical not only to the success of that presentation, but also potentially to the progression of your career. It’s a great skill to have, and really an opportunity to showcase your expertise and aptitude for leadership.Importantly, your presentation has to be memorable - for the right reasons! You want people to walk away remembering you and the points you made. So how do you do that?Hint - it's NOT about having a pretty PowerPoint deck! It IS about you!In this episode I'll share my top tips for how you can hone your presentation skills so you and your message is clear and memorable. Links mentioned in this episodeFirst Time Facilitator PodcastJoin my mailing listRead the blogSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

When working in a comms team or for yourself, it pays to put time and effort into developing a channels mix that services both your internal and external audiences. The right mix of channels, used in the right way, can help you achieve your business goals - whether that's growth, improving brand awareness, or something else entirely!The challenge we have today is that we have SO MANY channels to choose from! And it can be really tempting to just jump on the bandwagon of the latest fad, or try and use too many channels. So in this episode, I share three key principles to guide your decision making around what channels to use to meet your business needs.  Whether you're a management consultant, lead a corporate affairs team, design wedding cakes ... or anything in between, this episode is for you!Links mentioned in this episode:Blog post: How to reach a non-wired workforceSubscribe: FREE 12-month comms toolkitSay hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

In this week's episode, we’re going to start to tackle a really big segment of comms - crisis communication. Look, there’s a reason I can run a two-day training course on this topic, because there is a LOT to think about! But don’t worry, we’ll break it down into a few smaller topics over the course of this series.In this episode, we’re going to start with the three key principles of crisis communication. These are the principles that, no matter how little prepared your organisation is, will help guide your communication when a crisis occurs.Here’s thing thing - it’s not a matter of if, but when a crisis will come to your doorstep. It’s a given. I don’t want to scare you - it does appear there’s a lot that can go wrong, because there is! But if you’re aware of the risks and you’re well prepared, then you can confidently navigate a crisis when it does happen.I'll also briefly cover the difference between an issue and a crisis, what a crisis can actually look like, and the over-arching goal of crisis communication you should be working toward.To get your hands on the crisis communication framework, subscribe to my FREE 12-month comms toolkit here.Also, as I mention in the episode, if you're keen to beta test my new crisis comms bootcamp, pop your name down here.Say hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

So you’ve made the decision you’re going to try going out on your own - or even just testing the waters with a side hustle first. That’s awesome! It’s a courageous but exciting decision to make. But where to start? How do you even start a business?In today's episode, I'm going to share a few things you can do now to get ready - whether you're considering freelancing, consulting, or building a team. And these are what I deem the ‘fun’ things! They’re certainly more fun than some of the other bits and pieces you have to do - but we’ll cover those in another episode because they’re also super important, and things I wish I’d known before I kicked things off.If you haven’t already, I encourage you to head to my website - go to heymelcomms.training/freebies - and download my two checklists: Five fun things and five boring things you should consider before starting you business. This episode will give more details on what's in those lists, so you can follow along at home!Say hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question

We’ve all been there - you get a long email or message in a message app and you just don’t read it. Why? It’s not interesting or relevant, doesn’t look enticing to read, doesn’t grip you in the first couple of lines, or you just don’t have the time.All of these reasons and more are perfectly valid for ignoring the long, boring message.As comms pros, we need to be aware of how our audience takes in information. If you’re not going to read a long boring message, why would they?! And yet, we continue to see long boring messages being written by comms people, or people responsible for communicating. But, all is not lost. Today I’m going to share some top tips for formatting your written communication to give it a better chance of being read, even when it’s boring. AND these are tips you can apply to other people’s writing with hopefully very little resistance.You can also read a blog post on this very topic on our website here.Say hi!Follow me on LinkedInFind out what I'm up to InstagramCheck out my websiteAsk a question