What is holding communicators back? Take this quiz to find out!
Communicators, pencils ready! You have three minutes to complete the following multiple-choice question. Good luck! Why do most corporate communicators fail to reach the status of Strategic Counselor in their organizations, and instead fall into the “Communication Order Taker” role: a. Never-ending deadlines that suck your time away and leave you no time to be …
I’ve got all this data, now what?
The good news about being a communicator is that there are so many ways to collect all kinds of data these days. The bad news … if you collect it, you’ve got to do something with it. Often times, we end up with that sinking feeling and we say to ourselves, “What did I just …
Five reasons your internal surveys are generating a low response
As you can see, we’re talking a LOT about measurement in May. But so many times when I talk to communicators about conducting internal surveys, I hear this: “Surveys just don’t work for our organization. No one pays attention to them.” When it comes to using surveys to measure your internal communications, does this statement …
What does ‘engagement’ really mean in the communications world?
In the communications biz, we like to throw the word “engagement” around a lot. We’re always trying to figure out if our workforce is “highly engaged,” or “somewhat engaged” or “disengaged” or some other kind of engaged. But the problem that none of the high-priced engagement consultants want to admit is, it’s really, really hard …
Avoid passive voice with this proven technique
Just one word to describe this tip: genius. Go on … give it a shot. You know you want to. Thanks to Rebecca Johnson, a professor of culture and ethics at USMC for this proven writing technique: Just in case you have doubts: The HR initiative was launched on Monday (by zombies — passive voice) …
Where do bad words come from?
People say “world class” when they haven’t the energy or the courage to find and use a word that actually means something There are a lot of bad words out there. And most of them can be found inside companies, where good people use bad words for the wrong reasons. You hear words and sentences in …
Do your internal communications match your external brand?
They should, and the only way to find out if they are is to get out and have conversations with the people you’re trying to reach You have a kick-ass website that really resonates with your target audience. It reflects your brand: cool, hip, a bit irreverent and modern. In fact your marketing efforts have …
Great Writing is built on specificity
Great writing is built on specificity By Steve Crescenzo Organizational leaders love to talk about “the big picture.” They love to talk about “the view from 30,000 feet.” Why? Because that’s where they live. They sit up there on the corporate version of Mount Olympus, and hurl communication thunderbolts down upon the masses in the …
Bar Charts don’t equal an infographic
Sigh … it seems that too often, left to themselves organizations will always create bad, boring content. In our Creative Communications case study in this issue, we showed you how an infographic can be a creative and powerful way to tackle a complicated topic. But, that’s because it was well thought out and designed. Just …
What is the communicator’s role in engagement?
While some companies spend thousands of dollars on useless “engagement surveys” smart communicators do their own thing to drive employee engagement This month, I’m giving a speech in Warsaw, Poland on the communicator’s role in employee engagement. And make no mistake: I believe a strategic, creative communications team do a lot to drive employee engagement. …