There are just two places left on my Output to Outcome course which I'll be running through CiB in London on June 19th. I only run the course for small groups, so there's plenty of time to look at individual circumstances and scenarios during the day.
If you want to know more about it, give me a shout at mark.shanahan@leapfrogcomms.com.
Showing posts with label course. Show all posts
Showing posts with label course. Show all posts
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Thursday, April 05, 2007
New course date - June 19
I have a new course date for Output to Outcome, which is being delivered through CiB and will take place on June 19 in London.
This one day course is aimed at comms managers with at least three years' experience and focuses on assessing where your communications strategy is now, and how you can refocus communication on delivering real business objectives.
I'm also now taking bookings for two half-day courses that I will be offering later in the year through Leapfrog. The open courses will be delivered in London and Oxford in September, and can also be offered as bespoke in-house sessions to suit client needs.
The new courses are:
Effective writing for organisational communication; and
The new Comms Manager - putting communication on the front foot
The writing course is aimed at those new to organisational communication who may find themselves asked to write for an internal audience for the first time; while the second is aimed at the many managers who come to the comms function from elsewhere in business.
If you're interested in booking a place, please contact me at mark.shanahan@leapfrogcomms.com
This one day course is aimed at comms managers with at least three years' experience and focuses on assessing where your communications strategy is now, and how you can refocus communication on delivering real business objectives.
I'm also now taking bookings for two half-day courses that I will be offering later in the year through Leapfrog. The open courses will be delivered in London and Oxford in September, and can also be offered as bespoke in-house sessions to suit client needs.
The new courses are:
Effective writing for organisational communication; and
The new Comms Manager - putting communication on the front foot
The writing course is aimed at those new to organisational communication who may find themselves asked to write for an internal audience for the first time; while the second is aimed at the many managers who come to the comms function from elsewhere in business.
If you're interested in booking a place, please contact me at mark.shanahan@leapfrogcomms.com
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Tips for the new corporate editor
A couple of weeks ago I asked through this blog, through the IABC's MemberSpeak and through CiB's freelance forum for tips for newbie editors that I could use in hand-outs for one of the bespoke courses I run.
Nothing came back via the blog! The IABC forum produced one response, but these were the tips that came in from my CiB colleagues:
Set clear objectives
Be absolutely clear about your objective (or the message originator's objective) for writing any article or message. What do you want people to do, think or feel in response? Then focus clearly and concisely on that when you write. Too often in big companies, the real message is hidden two paras from the bottom of a page of waffle - and beyond the point where many people have stopped reading.
Brian Johnson, Communications Contractor
Think impact – and not just in the words
Involve your the designer at an early stage. You must present an holistic approach for a communication to be effective. Designers think visually and will bring a new dimension to your work.
Phil Steed.......not surprisingly, a designer
Two for the price of one
Don't try and be too clever. Too many of us think that we are being witty, urbane and ironic, when we are not. Keep it simple. And ignore anyone who tells you that you cannot ever start a sentence with And or But. This is something that too many people dimly remember from their long lost schooldays as not acceptable. If it's good enough for The Economist or The New Yorker, it's good enough for your newsletter.
Mike Thompson, communications specialist
Set deadlines – and stick to them
Set your deadline a day or two before the point where you really need to be ready in order to give yourself enough time/some flexibility. Ensure everyone in the approvals loop understand that it is up to them to come back to you by the deadline, not up to you to endlessly keep chasing all of them. Warn them clearly of the deadline and tell them that if they do not come back by the deadline, you will assume they are happy for the articles to appear unchanged.
Tell them that the deadline given really is the real deadline, not just an initial one that can be ignored for a few days pending the final one. Say at the outset that it will be respected. It is not a movable feast. f someone in the approval loop will be on leave they must make alternative arrangements for someone to sign-off on their behalf.
Lilian El-Doufani, writer & PR consultant
Check your facts
The three most important attributes of a story are: 1) Accuracy. 2) Accuracy. 3) Accuracy. If you get someone's name wrong it's the only thing about your beautifully written story anyone will remember.
Louise Birkett, Consultant, Leapfrog Associate........and law specialist
It’s all about meaning.........so when you’ve drafted some copy:
Get another person to read your copy aloud to back to you. The difference between what you think you've communicated, and what others perceive can be amazing.
Carol Harris, writer and pig breeder
Stamp of approval
When the newsletter goes on the approvals round, state up front that those approving it can only make changes where there are factual inaccuracies. It stops everyone putting their stamp and personal style on the text for the sake of it.
Carole Seawert, Copywriter
Be prepared
Make sure you have some stories and features in reserve for the times when somebody pulls a story or feature at the last minute.
Sue Williams, Editor and co-ordinator
Nothing came back via the blog! The IABC forum produced one response, but these were the tips that came in from my CiB colleagues:
Set clear objectives
Be absolutely clear about your objective (or the message originator's objective) for writing any article or message. What do you want people to do, think or feel in response? Then focus clearly and concisely on that when you write. Too often in big companies, the real message is hidden two paras from the bottom of a page of waffle - and beyond the point where many people have stopped reading.
Brian Johnson, Communications Contractor
Think impact – and not just in the words
Involve your the designer at an early stage. You must present an holistic approach for a communication to be effective. Designers think visually and will bring a new dimension to your work.
Phil Steed.......not surprisingly, a designer
Two for the price of one
Don't try and be too clever. Too many of us think that we are being witty, urbane and ironic, when we are not. Keep it simple. And ignore anyone who tells you that you cannot ever start a sentence with And or But. This is something that too many people dimly remember from their long lost schooldays as not acceptable. If it's good enough for The Economist or The New Yorker, it's good enough for your newsletter.
Mike Thompson, communications specialist
Set deadlines – and stick to them
Set your deadline a day or two before the point where you really need to be ready in order to give yourself enough time/some flexibility. Ensure everyone in the approvals loop understand that it is up to them to come back to you by the deadline, not up to you to endlessly keep chasing all of them. Warn them clearly of the deadline and tell them that if they do not come back by the deadline, you will assume they are happy for the articles to appear unchanged.
Tell them that the deadline given really is the real deadline, not just an initial one that can be ignored for a few days pending the final one. Say at the outset that it will be respected. It is not a movable feast. f someone in the approval loop will be on leave they must make alternative arrangements for someone to sign-off on their behalf.
Lilian El-Doufani, writer & PR consultant
Check your facts
The three most important attributes of a story are: 1) Accuracy. 2) Accuracy. 3) Accuracy. If you get someone's name wrong it's the only thing about your beautifully written story anyone will remember.
Louise Birkett, Consultant, Leapfrog Associate........and law specialist
It’s all about meaning.........so when you’ve drafted some copy:
Get another person to read your copy aloud to back to you. The difference between what you think you've communicated, and what others perceive can be amazing.
Carol Harris, writer and pig breeder
Stamp of approval
When the newsletter goes on the approvals round, state up front that those approving it can only make changes where there are factual inaccuracies. It stops everyone putting their stamp and personal style on the text for the sake of it.
Carole Seawert, Copywriter
Be prepared
Make sure you have some stories and features in reserve for the times when somebody pulls a story or feature at the last minute.
Sue Williams, Editor and co-ordinator
All of these are freely shared....especially with the person who felt I was taking people's good ideas for my personal gain.......!
Monday, March 05, 2007
And a good time was had by all.......
Lazy language and boring imagery. Both drive me to distraction and both came up in the training I ran last Thursday.
The language issue came up around a series of people appointment announcements in a business newsletter which all began: "I am delighted to announce......" Frankly, these guys must have been in a state of constant delight - and that can be very painful - since one chap was delighted on three occasions in the same bulletin, and another had about forty reasons to put a rictus grin on his face.
The point is, the announcements were formulaic. They were exactly the same every week and most people switched off even before they got to the end of the first sentence. The editors involved were worried that if they changed anything, it would slow down the process. The people wording the announcements were senior, and the newbie editors didn't want the hassle of ruffling feathers.
But that hassle's the job. In the end it's not about treading on the toes of the great and the good, it's about connecting with your audience - giving them something they want to read; providing information they can't find elsewhere.
Shake the top team out of their complacency. Give them the evidence that no-one's sharing the delight in their lazy words. Show them a better way to get the message across.
The same goes for pictures. As an editor I've been sent umpteen giant cheque presentation pictures, but I never use them. They're boring - a dull cliche that so often masks a great story.
Not so long ago I was guest editing a publication and heard a story about a guy who was terrified of flying yet had gone up in a small prop plane and buddy jumped thousands of feet on a parachute to raise money for a cancer charity because his partner had died of the disease. It was a good story and needed a strong image - something from the jump, the look on his face when he landed or even when he was climbing into the plane. He was surrounded by supporters, surely someone had shot a few frames? Nope. I got sent a picture of a man in a grey suit holding a cheque......BORING!
If we're lazy and boring we won't be read. We're in the business of storytelling and well chosen words driven home with great imagery is the way to convey meaning. Yet too often, we get reactive and cliche-bound.
My course went very well last week.......in fact, you could say that a 'good time was had by all'....But I'd rather you didn't.
The language issue came up around a series of people appointment announcements in a business newsletter which all began: "I am delighted to announce......" Frankly, these guys must have been in a state of constant delight - and that can be very painful - since one chap was delighted on three occasions in the same bulletin, and another had about forty reasons to put a rictus grin on his face.
The point is, the announcements were formulaic. They were exactly the same every week and most people switched off even before they got to the end of the first sentence. The editors involved were worried that if they changed anything, it would slow down the process. The people wording the announcements were senior, and the newbie editors didn't want the hassle of ruffling feathers.
But that hassle's the job. In the end it's not about treading on the toes of the great and the good, it's about connecting with your audience - giving them something they want to read; providing information they can't find elsewhere.
Shake the top team out of their complacency. Give them the evidence that no-one's sharing the delight in their lazy words. Show them a better way to get the message across.
The same goes for pictures. As an editor I've been sent umpteen giant cheque presentation pictures, but I never use them. They're boring - a dull cliche that so often masks a great story.
Not so long ago I was guest editing a publication and heard a story about a guy who was terrified of flying yet had gone up in a small prop plane and buddy jumped thousands of feet on a parachute to raise money for a cancer charity because his partner had died of the disease. It was a good story and needed a strong image - something from the jump, the look on his face when he landed or even when he was climbing into the plane. He was surrounded by supporters, surely someone had shot a few frames? Nope. I got sent a picture of a man in a grey suit holding a cheque......BORING!
If we're lazy and boring we won't be read. We're in the business of storytelling and well chosen words driven home with great imagery is the way to convey meaning. Yet too often, we get reactive and cliche-bound.
My course went very well last week.......in fact, you could say that a 'good time was had by all'....But I'd rather you didn't.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
TrainingZone
My thoughts are featured in this month's Training Zone's headline article - check it out.
Basically, I'm back on my high horse stating that we should be equipping business leaders with organisational communication skills rather than always delivering our training to practitioners - while the leaders learn how to make the most of PowerPoint.
Anyway, it's nice to see my reasoned rant in cyber-print.
Basically, I'm back on my high horse stating that we should be equipping business leaders with organisational communication skills rather than always delivering our training to practitioners - while the leaders learn how to make the most of PowerPoint.
Anyway, it's nice to see my reasoned rant in cyber-print.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
What should the newbies know?
I'm running a session for internal communication practitioners in a large global company next week. Most are young, very bright and on the upward curve in their careers. Some have come into the roles from university; others from sales, marketing and HR - but none has a background in corporate communication. They've been handed communication portfolios to manage for discrete parts of the organisation and operate fairly autonomously, providing a service for their functional or market 'top teams'.
The scary thing is that while they're most likely very competent managers, none yet regard themselves as competent in the craft skills of communication.
That's no problem when you first take on a comms role - but some of these managers have been in place for a year or more. My take is competence in writing for internal audiences is the start point for an IC career, but the reality is that it's a skill that's learned on the job by many in the new generation of communicators.
So what pearls of wisdom can I share in a couple of hours? Fortunately, my task is made easier by focusing on newsletters, print and electronic.
I'm going to run through the basics:
The scary thing is that while they're most likely very competent managers, none yet regard themselves as competent in the craft skills of communication.
That's no problem when you first take on a comms role - but some of these managers have been in place for a year or more. My take is competence in writing for internal audiences is the start point for an IC career, but the reality is that it's a skill that's learned on the job by many in the new generation of communicators.
So what pearls of wisdom can I share in a couple of hours? Fortunately, my task is made easier by focusing on newsletters, print and electronic.
I'm going to run through the basics:
- When is it right to use a newsletter
- Where do newsletters fit in your comms strategy
- How to define outcomes and use the newsletter to deliver them
- What makes a good story
- News v Features
- The importance of accuracy
- Who, what, where, when how....and why?
- Simplicity, active language and compelling writing
- Audience shoes
- Sign-offs and approvals
- Structuring for maximum impact.
So, I need two days not two hours - but this is a first scratch at the surface.
I'm after hints and tips on good newsletter writing to share - and have already put out a request through both CiB's Freelance forum and the IABC's memberspeak.
But if anyone passing through here has a 'must have' tip to share, please take time to leave a comment below.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Course: From Output to Outcome
I'll be running the latest version of my output to outcome course in London on March 20. It'll be hosted by CiB, so the delegate price is extremely reasonable.
Last time the course - which is very interactive - ran, it picked up a lot of very favourable comment from a blend of internal communication professionals ranging from less than a year's experience to a whole career in the IC game.
I'm looking forward to meeting the next group for what I'm sure will be a totally different, though - I hope - just as successful event this time round.
Last time the course - which is very interactive - ran, it picked up a lot of very favourable comment from a blend of internal communication professionals ranging from less than a year's experience to a whole career in the IC game.
I'm looking forward to meeting the next group for what I'm sure will be a totally different, though - I hope - just as successful event this time round.
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