News from the FIR Blog

What does it take to launch a communications consulting practice? What should communicators who have never been entrepreneurs know about going solo? Should they bring aboard partners? Staff? Most importantly, how do they become trusted advisers, delivering value, and helping clients drive business results? At noon EDT on Thursday, July 16, four Fellows from the International Association of Business Communicators will gather for a live streaming conversation about entrepreneurship and how to be a successful consultant. FIR co-host and IABC Fellow Shel Holtz will moderate the discussion that will feature Kellie Garrett, Jim Lukaszewski, Mark Schumann, and Jennifer Wah.

 
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Internal communication engages your employees and helps ensure they focus their efforts on activities that produce business results. External communication engages your stakeholders and customers, builds your reputation, and sets expectations. When both are clicking, employees are connected to the marketplace and customers interact with employees. Four IABC Fellows will discuss the blurring of the lines between internal and external communications at noon EDT on Thursday, June 18, 2020.
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You cannot discuss internal communications these days without someone asking about the blurring of the line between internal and external. When done well, there has never been a clear boundary between internal and external, since they are designed to achieve common objectives. When strategized to work together, along with all facets of external communication, this is known as “integrated communication,” a system that coordinates and harmonizes messages from various senders and to various audiences. It is composed of rules (including policies, procedures, and formats) and tools (including distribution channels, styles, and timelines).

How to make this work will be the subject of an hour-long conversation with four IABC Fellows: Priya Bates, Diane Gayeski, Angela Sinickas, and Stacy Wilson. You will be able to ask questions in real time during the discussion, which is set for noon EDT on Thursday, May 21. Submit questions using the built-in YouTube chat feature or with the hashtag, #COF57. The session will be available later as a video reply and audio podcast.
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This is why we can’t have nice things.

We wanted to have a collegial weekly Zoom chat that any communicator could join without too much hassle. But on the April 9 chat, we were Zoombombed. And to be frank, it was pretty disgusting.

Moving forward, since we want to continue these chats, we have implemented some new protocols. Key among them: You will need to reach out to Neville or Shel for the login information (URL and password). You can email us or reach us through LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.
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Organizations with high-performance leadership are better equipped to develop, maintain, and retain individuals, teams, business units, and the whole organization’s culture. These organizations are also in a better position to manage change. The characteristics of high-performing leadership range from leaders’ behaviors and beliefs to what they say and when they choose to act. The role of communication in leading changer and creating a high-performance leadership environment will be the focus of the next Circle of Fellows conversation.

Participating in episode 56 will be Priya Bates, Amanda Hamilton-Attwell, Ned Lundquist, and Stacy Wilson.
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Our first FIR meetup went so well, we’ve decided to make them weekly.

It’s an opportunity to gather with fellow communicators to talk communications (coronavirus-related and not). We will record each meetup and post it as an FIR episode. (The first is already available.)

The meetups are scheduled for Thursdays at 1 p.m. ET. Connection details follow. Neville and Shel look forward to the conversation!

Please be sure to copy down the password. We’re trying to keep the Zoombombers away!

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/711369863?pwd=WjlaT3JLMGRmSytnWWt0R0VsWkJ3UT09
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Communicators have been in overdrive during the coronavirus outbreak. Even working from home, it’s hard to remember a busier time.

We could all use a little space to recharge and connect with other communicators, especially when association meetings, meetups, and informal gatherings are out of the question.

The hosts of the “For Immediate Release” podcast have decided to host a virtual meetup. Join us in a Zoom meeting at noon Eastern on Thursday, March 26. We have no agenda, no stories to report, no sponsors to promote. Just open conversation with one another.

The URL for this meeting is https://zoom.us/j/232873940?pwd=SHpVVGhEUy9CeGk1VmxETlZUa2trUT09; the password is 497764. Bring your own coffee or tea (or other beverage of choice).
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Bosses: True Stories of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a candid and provocative new book in which communication and leadership expert Roger D’Aprix (also an IABC Fellow) asserts that many leaders are ignoring the proper selection, training, development, and ongoing support of the mid-level bosses they entrust to manage company talent.

Roger will join four IABC Fellows and moderator Shel Holtz on March 19 for a conversation about bosses, their communication role, and how organizational communicators can help improve the culture of management in their organizations.

In addition to Roger and Shel, Fellows participating in this conversation will include Bish Mukherjee, Jim Shaffer, Angela Sinickas, and Stacy Wilson.
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Communications — internal and external — are cost centers. Other cost centers, like Human Resources, have transformed themselves from bureaucratic necessary expenses to vital business partners whose work directly affects business performance. Communications can (and does) have a direct effect on business when managed and measured strategically, but far too many communication functions still focus on message outputs than on improving productivity or other business elements that matter to the company’s leadership.

In episode 54 of Circle of Fellows, four IABC Fellows will discuss how communicators can make this transition from cost center to vital business partner. Shel Holtz will moderate the panel that includes Priya Bates, Neil Griffiths, Ned Lundquist, and Jim Shaffer.
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