The comms blog

Guest post: The 5 Ps for developing a narrative

I’m delighted to welcome communication specialist, Katie Jones, as my guest blogger this month. Katie shares with us her story of seeing the communication light as a student and her top tips for developing your organisational narrative. In a smoke and beer-filled room in Freshers Week I had a revelation. Angels sang and the clouds … Read more

Retro post: What’s on your to do list?

This summer I’m going retro. I don’t mean with my choice of beach wear, but with the blog posts that I share. Each week during August I am going to re-publish something that I’ve written in a previous summer. Today I share with you something which I wrote way back in 2011 – it’s hard … Read more

How to communicate: a tip from Sir Terry

At the height of his broadcasting fame, Sir Terry Wogan was apparently asked how many listeners he had. He was the much-loved presenter of Wake up to Wogan, Radio 2’s popular breakfast show, at the time. His actual listening figure was around 10 million. But his answer to the question? “One.” Communication genius I am … Read more

10 tips for your internal comms strategy

If you’re currently working on your internal communications strategy, you’re not alone. I’m working with two charities at the moment to help them develop theirs and strategies were the topic for yesterday’s CharityComms special interest group for internal communicatiors. It’s great to know that so many organisations are recognising the strategic importance of effective internal … Read more

20 questions to ask yourself for a brilliant communications plan

There’s a lot to remember when you’re putting together a communications plan for your project. Who are you trying to reach, would a newsletter be better than a tweet series, what do you want to say and so on….. Use this handy checklist of questions to make sure you don’t forget anything. 1. What is … Read more

Have you got a communication plan for the unexpected?

Many households in the area where I live have today been affected by a lack of water – apparently it was something to do with a problem at the local reservoir and it has given the water company a chance to demonstrate their abilities with customer communications. As it happens, my house isn’t one of … Read more

Audience insight – where to get it and what to do with it

Last week I attended the Public Sector Communications Conference. It was a great day, with really interesting speakers and useful conversations with my fellow delegates to develop ideas further. It was the sort of day where you go home with a spring in your step and ideas buzzing round your head! As you might expect, … Read more

Effective, planned communication solves problems

After taking the 6 week summer holiday off to spend time with my daughter, this week I’m getting back into the swing of things. One of my first tasks was to order some new business cards, as I have several conferences and networking events coming up this month. I haven’t ordered new ones for a … Read more