News from the FIR Blog

For a while, the wave of new technologies offered communicators obvious opportunities to incorporate these new tools into their communication strategies. The introduction of Twitter and Instagram, the rise of mobile use, chatbots, and other technologies that were grounded in communication were introduced at a dizzying pace.

Many of today’s new crop of technologies have less obvious communication applicability. That doesn’t mean communicators should ignore them. From Artificial Intelligence to Blockchain, from live streaming to machine co-creativity, there are technologies gaining steam that can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of both internal and external communication.

On November 14, four IABC Fellows will gather for a live-streamed discussion about emerging communication technologies; they will take your questions in real-time via the YouTube Live chat function or via Twitter (using the hashtag #COF63).
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Safety communication is vitally important. Besides the obvious vital outcome of avoiding injury or death, a focus on safety tells employees the company cares about them. There is another dimension of safety communication that is often overlooked altogether. Psychological safety may not be addressable by wearing PPE and eliminating hazards like exposed electrical wires, but it is equally important in achieving the goal of employees being able to bring their best selves to work every day and go home whole every night. All these dimensions of safety communication will be on the table when four IABC Fellows join moderator Shel Holtz at noon Eastern Time on Thursday, October 15.
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In his book, “The Great Game of Business,” Jack Stack introduced the business world to open-book management. The Great Game of Business website points out, “Open-book management at its most effective far outperforms a definition as simple as “sharing financial information with employees”. Open-book isn’t just about opening your financials to your company, it’s about responsibility, ownership, results, and growth, all of these things can come together to drive the needle forward in your organization. With proper training and knowledge, all levels of your business start to act and engage just like the owner, or leadership.”

Clearly, communication is a vital dimension of open-book management. On the next Circle of Fellows, four IABC Fellows will look at the communicator’s role, including introducing the concept to leadership. At noon ET on Thursday, September 17, join moderator/Fellow Brad Whitworth and IABC Fellows Jim Shaffer (who worked with Stack on the concept), Tosh Hattori, and Amanda Hamilton-Attwell for a fascinating conversation.
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Episode 43 of Circle of Fellows — back in March 2019 — addressed the communicator’s role in supporting their companies’ diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts. The topic has undergone dramatic transformation since then and, notably, since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Suddenly, companies that had merely checked the D&I box are revisiting their commitments and introducing more meaningful policies and practices, in addition to taking direct action.
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The weekly FIR Zoom Chat is making a change.

Rather than a chat about anything (or nothing), we’ll focus on a topic. For the first theme-based FIR Zoom Chat, we’ll talk about the move toward empathy and emotion in marketing and its applicability to other communications (corporate, internal, investor, community, etc.).
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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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