Less Chatter, More Matter: The Communications Podcast

On today's podcast, we're tackling the age-old situation of resource-poor comms teams (or organisations who don't even have comms teams!). Communication teams are often left stranded, sometimes after a restructure, or sometimes simply by the business not understanding the function well enough. And yet, the expectations don't change - internal and external communication goals ne...

On this week's podcast, we dive into one of my most-asked-about topics: what makes communication effective and how can I improve my own communication skills? Off the back of these queries, I developed the 4 Cs of effective communication framework to help you develop communication in a way that is clear, concise, considerate, and connected. With these 4 Cs in mind, you can start to judge for y...

This week, we've got a special guest on the show who specialises in the world of visual communications and is a top tier expert on making sure your comms are received by the wider audience. It's Hayley Langsdorf. Hayley is the self-described Chief Doodler at Thoughts Drawn Out , a creative consultancy powered by the art and science of illustrated storytelling and human-centred design. Ha...

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 pe...

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 leader...

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...

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 sh...

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, frie...

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 fe...

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...

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...

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...

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 writi...

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...

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 consi...

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 ba...

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 t...

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 -  peopl...

 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 pote...

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 channel...

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...

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...

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 today’s episode we’re going to be delving into the world of tailoring your communications. As you’ve probably picked up by now from me banging on about it, all of our comms should start with ‘who’ … not ‘why, what, how’ etc. Your audience is absolutely key to nailing your communication objectives. The challenge we have is there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. We are communicating with humans,...

It's the number-one thing I've been asked to write or help with in my 20-plus years in communications - a comms plan! In this episode I give you the 101 on how to write a solid communication plan. While the complexity of a plan might change depending on the context, the key elements remain the same. This is a good, juicy episode for those of you who are new to comms and want to learn the...