Felicity Barber, founder of Thoughtful Communications, has penned speeches and spearheaded executive communications for some of the world’s most prominent financial institutions, including BlackRock, the Federal Reserve and Lloyds of London. Through her extensive experience, Felicity has discovered that storytelling—or as she calls it, “spinning a good yarn”—is one of the most effective ways to convey complex topics.

In this episode, Felicity shares how humor and openness can transform executive communications. She emphasizes the power of authenticity in storytelling to deliver key messages.

“A story gives a speech a really nice sense of completeness,” Felicity explains. “Adding an anecdote, or anything that humanizes the leader delivering the message, is a powerful way to connect with audiences.”

This engaging conversation delves into the challenges of executive communication, such as building trust with leaders and delivering strategic feedback. Felicity’s insights on honest communication and setting the right expectations offer valuable guidance for anyone looking to advance in their executive comms career.

The founder of Thoughtful Communications, Felicity Barber has written speeches and led executive communication for some of the most high-profile financial institutions in the world, including BlackRock, the Federal Reserve, and Lloyds of London. In her experience, she has found that one of the best ways to convey complex subject matters is to find a way to tell a story or, as she often puts it, “spin a good yarn.”

For more from Felicity, you can:

• Subscribe to her newsletter at thoughtfulcomms.com.
• Subscribe to her podcast, The Friendly Ghost.
• Reach out on LinkedIn.

The post EPISODE #78: CRAFTING STORIES THAT RESONATE – FELICITY BARBER ON EXECUTIVE COMMS appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Patrick Rogan of Ignition HR joins Chip to discuss the FTC’s new ruling on non-compete agreements and expected adjustments to overtime pay regulations.

They discuss strategies for managing overtime and compensation issues in small agencies, highlighting the importance of compliance, proactive planning, and seeking HR assistance when necessary. [read the transcript]

The post CWC 100: Practical HR advice on new overtime and non-compete rules (featuring Patrick Rogan) appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Hiring seasoned professionals sounds like it will solve a lot of headaches you have as an agency owner. But will it?

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the importance of balancing senior and junior hires in agencies, highlighting the pros and cons of primarily staffing with senior level talent.

They emphasize the need for clear expectations, relevant experience, and the importance of understanding what each hire truly needs to do before you commit to senior level hires.[read the transcript]

The post ALP 228: Should your small agency hire senior-level pros? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Just how much influence do online influencers wield? According to a Sprout Social report, nearly half of all consumers make purchases based on influencer recommendations, and influencers appear to nobody more than Gen Zers. Those born between 1997 and 2012 — the oldest of whom are now in their mid-20s with increasing buying power — are even partial to AI-generated influencers, casting doubt on the importance of authenticity (and even how authenticity is defined). Neville and Shel break down the report and explore what it means to marketers in this short midweek episode.

Links from this episode

• Influencer Marketing | Success 
• Gen Z mostly doesn’t care if influencers are actual humans, new study shows
• Gen Z curious about brands utilizing AI influencers: Study
• New Research Reveals Influencers Significantly Drive Purchasing Decisions – Company Announcement

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, May 20.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat most Thursdays at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. You can catch up with both co-hosts on Neville’s blog and Shel’s blog. Neville’s Asides blog is also available.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this podcast are Shel’s and Neville’s and do not reflect the views of their employers and/or clients.

The post FIR #405: Gen Z’s Connection with Influencers appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Meetings have evolved over the last few decades, so shouldn’t the agency owner’s role have changed?

In this episode, Chip and Brad Farris of Anchor Advisors discuss the importance of effective leadership and meetings in agencies, emphasizing the owner’s unique role in providing vision and direction.

They explore the need for well-structured meetings with agendas, purpose, and active participation from all members.

The conversation touches on techniques for better meetings, the role of leaders in encouraging participation, and the value of appreciating contributions and creating positive meeting experiences. [read the transcript]

The post CWC 99: Modernizing leadership in meetings (featuring Brad Farris) appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The need to promote ethical behavior in communications has never been greater as the volumes of misinformation and disinformation continue to rise with the growing use of AI fueling the speed with which unethical behavior intensifies. Marketers debate whether using AI in marketing is ethical in the first place, and when it is used, and whether and when it needs to be disclosed. And all the ethical dilemmas communicators faced before AI remain as challenging as ever.

Join four International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Fellows for a live-streamed panel discussion about ethics in today’s communication environment. By watching in real time, you will be able to participate with questions and observations. If you’re unable to attend the live stream, you will be able to watch the video replay or listen to the audio podcast at your convenience. The panel will convene at 9 a.m. EDT on Thursday, May 23, with Brad Whitworth moderating.

About the panel:

Todd “Tosh” Hattori — Leveraging 20+ years of leading in-house communication functions within a variety of organizations and industries, Tosh shifted his career focus toward helping organization leaders address business challenges by setting and implementing organizational excellence strategies. He is currently the continuous improvement lead for F5 Networks where he applies Lean Six Sigma methods to collaborate with cross-functional teams to eliminate waste and establish consistencies that deliver exceptional employee and customer experiences. Tosh also serves on the volunteer board of directors for the Technology Access Foundation, a national model / leader in providing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education to students of color; and improving diversity, upward mobility, and retention of teachers-of-color in Washington.

George McGrath is founder and managing principal of McGrath Business Communications, which helps clients build winning corporate reputations, promote their products and services, and advance their views on key issues. George brings more than 25 years in PR and public affairs to his firm. Over the course of his career, he has held senior management positions at leading strategic communications and integrated marketing agencies including Hill and Knowlton, Carl Byoir & Associates, and Brouillard Communications.

Jane Mitchell’s career began at the BBC in London on live TV programs. She moved on to producing award-winning films and videos for public and private sector organizations and developed groundbreaking employee engagement programs. Since 2006 when she formed her own consultancy, she now guides organizations, (some of which have experienced cultural trauma), with embedding values and ethics through understanding culture and leadership and their link to high-performing sustainable organizations. She has worked with Top 100 companies across the world, is a regular conference speaker and writer, and is a Director of two highly successful UK-based agencies. Jane has been a member of IABC since 2008 and has had the privilege of serving on local, regional, and International IABC Boards. She is currently Chair of the 2021 World Conference and was awarded the honor of IABC Fellow in March.

Jennifer Wah, MC, ABC, has worked with clients to deliver ideas, plans, words and results since she founded her storytelling and communications firm, Forwords Communication Inc., in 1997. The company operates as a strategic alliance of hand-picked professionals; all renowned for work in their areas of specialization. This approach means the right team is assembled for each project; no more, no less.   With more than two dozen awards for strategic communications, writing and consulting, Jennifer is recognized as a storyteller and strategist. She has worked in industries from healthcare to financial services to academia, and is passionate about the opportunity for stories to inspire actions and reactions within organizations.In 2013, Jennifer was named Associate Faculty of Royal Roads University, and in this capacity, continues to teach, coach and mentor others with an interest in business communication.

Brad Whitworth, ABC, SCMP, IABC Fellow, is a pre-eminent thought leader, lecturer, and author in organizational communication. He is a senior executive communications leader at Pacific Gas & Electric. During his career, he has led global internal and executive communication programs at HP, Cisco, Hitachi, PeopleSoft, AAA, and MicroFocus. He holds an MBA from Santa Clara University and undergraduate degrees in journalism and speech from the University of Missouri. Brad lives in California, a wine country, and grows Pinot Noir on his property. A former broadcaster, Brad has made more than 300 presentations to executives, communicators, and university classes worldwide. Brad is a past board chair of the International Association of Business Communicators and a Fellow of the association. He is one of the authors of The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication and the new IABC Guide for Practical Business Communication: A Global Standard Primer. He chaired the Global Communication Certification Counsel in 2021.

The post New Ethical Challenges Face Communicators. Learn How to Address Them. appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

For several years, bolstered by research showing the public trusts business more than any other institution to address societal issues, companies have taken positions on everything from the environment to LGBTQ rights. As the U.S. population grew more polarized, though, those on the other side of a company’s position made things increasingly difficult for those organizations. Yet companies understand that the younger workers they want to attract put a high premium on working for purposeful organizations. Some companies are finding an alternate approach to fulfilling that need by turning to a not-so-new activity: company-sponsored volunteerism.

Links from this episode:

• Seeking engagement and purpose, corporate employees turn to workplace volunteering
• Corporate Advocacy in a Time of Social Outrage
• Company Bosses Draw a Red Line on Office Activists
• Unleashing the Good in Your Workforce: 10 Ways to Encourage Employee Volunteering
• Examples of robust workplace volunteer programs in the UK.

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, May 20.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat most Thursdays at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. You can catch up with both co-hosts on Neville’s blog and Shel’s blog. Neville’s Asides blog is also available.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this podcast are Shel’s and Neville’s and do not reflect the views of their employers and/or clients.

The post FIR #404: Purpose Without the Peril appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

You trust your team, right? In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the importance of agency owners letting go of micromanaging, trusting their team, and focusing on building a scalable business. They emphasize the need for owners to delegate tasks and avoid being bottlenecks.

They also touch on the challenges and benefits of transitioning from being deeply involved in all aspects of the business to taking on a more strategic role. The conversation underscores the significance of balancing involvement while ensuring clients feel supported and valued. [read the transcript]

The post ALP 227: Building trust and letting your team shine appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The author of an AI-focused newsletter suggests that companies need to establish discrete ethics policies for using Artificial Intelligence (AI). With all the codes of ethics out there designed to address anything and everything, is this really necessary? Neville and Shel don’t see eye to eye in April’s monthly long-form FIR episode. Also in episode 403, there’s a new beauty pageant — just for AI-generated women. While critics pile on with their disdain for this idea, the Dove brand is coming at AI-generated beauty differently, which you might expect if you’ve followed the Unilever company’s 20-year-old Real Beauty campaign. TikTok needs to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned from app stores in the U.S. if the new law can survive the challenges it will surely face in terms of freedom of speech. Peter Shankman revived his free email service, Help A Reporter Out, under a new name. He had previously sold the service to what is now Cision, and Cision has essentially killed it. So Peter re-invented it as Help Every Reporter Out. Imagine an accountant who failed to use AI to review financials when the AI might have caught a fraudulent entry the accountant missed. Could that accountant be held liable for not using AI? It’s a question every profession should be pondering. And you may find yourself working alongside a synthetic employee before too long. In his Tech Report, Dan York looks at 20 years of editing Wikipedia, WordPress’s announcement of a new way to develop sites locally, Mastodon’s establishment of a U.S. nonprofit, the status of Threads’ integration with ActivityPub, and the Internet Society’s post on the internet and climate change.

Links from this episode:

• Making the Case for an AI Marketing Ethics Policy
• Technology Trust Ethics (PDF from Deloitte)
• World’s First AI Pageant To Judge Winner On Beauty And Social Media Clout
• Exclusive: World’s first beauty pageant for AI women is announced
• Read comments on the AI Pageant on the Facebook House of Marketing & PR community of practice
• Dove pledges to not use AI models in lieu of real women in its advertising
• The TikTok bill passed. Here’s what PR pros need to know. 
• Andy Lambert on LinkedIn:  I honestly didn’t think this would happen; The US TikTok ban has been passed
• ByteDance would shut down TikTok in US rather than sell it, sources say
• Congress passed a TikTok bill. Will the US really ban the app?
• TikTok User Statistics 2024: Everything You Need To Know
• Everything TikTok users need to know about a possible ban in the U.S.
• 19 Ways TikTok Changed America
• LinkedIn is experimenting with a TikTok-like video feed in its app
• Help Every Reporter Out
• Christopher Penn on LinkedIn: Using Google Gemini with Help Every Reporter Out (HERO)
• It will soon be negligent not to use AI, Master of the Rolls predicts
• Speech by the Master of the Rolls: AI – Transforming the work of lawyers and judges – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
• Building Your First Synthetic Employee
• Synthetic Employees, your Ai colleague

Links from Dan York’s Tech Report

• 20 Years as a Wikipedia Editor
• WordPress announces “Studio”, a new way to develop sites locally
• Mastodon forms new U.S. non-profit
• President Biden is now posting into the fediverse
• Threads on Mastodon and The Bright Future of the Fediverse
• Threads Has 150 Million Monthly Users
• The Internet and Climate Change (from the Internet Society)

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, May 20.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat most Thursdays at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. You can catch up with both co-hosts on Neville’s blog and Shel’s blog. Neville’s Asides blog is also available.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this podcast are Shel’s and Neville’s and do not reflect the views of their employers and/or clients.

The post FIR #403: Does Marketing Need a Separate Ethics Standard for AI? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Four distinguished IABC Fellows discussed the myriad benefits of earning the Communication Management Professional (CMP) or Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP) certification offered through the Global Communication Certification Council (GCCC). The panel shed light on how becoming a CMP or SCMP not only elevates your credibility but also significantly enhances your strategic communication skills. Whether you’re looking to advance in your career, expand your network, or stay ahead in the ever-evolving field of corporate communication, this conversation is tailor-made for you.

Our panelists shared insights into the certification journey— from preparation to examination and beyond. They will also share personal anecdotes and professional advice on leveraging this certification to its fullest potential for individual career growth and organizational success.

 About the panel

Zora Artis is a leading Alignment, Brand, and Communication Strategist. She works with executive and senior leaders to unlock the value in their people, brands, and organizations through alignment with purpose, promise and strategies, and effective communication. She has over three decades of experience in business, brand, marketing, communication, and advertising, working with government, private, and non-profit sectors. This includes roles as Group Account Director, Strategy Director, and CEO of integrated marcomms and advertising firms. She now runs her own management consulting practice, bringing together strategic alignment, capability training, and brand and communications expertise. Zora holds a Master’s in Marketing and Commerce and is a trained facilitator in alignment, design thinking, and business model generation.

Ginger Homan, ABC, SCMP, IABC Fellow, counsels senior leaders seeking to bring out the best in their people and their brands. Her award-winning communication model for driving transformation has been used to change behaviors, align cultures, and build thriving communities worldwide. Her work with senior communication professionals has enabled them to align their department goals with business goals, achieve measurable results, and expand their influence. Founder of Zia Communication, she is a seasoned speaker, coach, and workshop facilitator. Her clients include Walmart, the Walmart Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, T.D. Williamson, CITGO Petroleum, Phillips Seminary, and MOSAIC. Ginger’s work has been honored by IABC, PRSA, and SMPS on the local, regional, and international levels. A past chair of IABC, her volunteer work has been honored with three IABC International Chair’s Awards for leadership, and she is a recipient of the Leadership Tulsa Paragon Award for work in her local community.

Cindy Schmieg is an award-winning strategic communicator. Her 30+ years of corporate, agency, and consulting experience focuses on making the communications function strategic within an organization. Cindy now teaches online in the Communications Master Degree program at Southern New Hampshire. She has served in many IABC leadership roles and is today a member of the IABC Audit/Risk Committee and Pacific Plains Region Silver Quill Award Committee, as well as assisting on the IABC Minnesota Annual Convergence Summit.

Brad Whitworth, ABC, SCMP, IABC Fellow, is a pre-eminent thought leader, lecturer, and author in organizational communication. He is a senior executive communications leader at Pacific Gas & Electric. During his career, he has led global internal and executive communication programs at HP, Cisco, Hitachi, PeopleSoft, AAA, and MicroFocus. He holds an MBA from Santa Clara University and undergraduate degrees in journalism and speech from the University of Missouri. Brad lives in California, a wine country, and grows Pinot Noir on his property. A former broadcaster, Brad has made more than 300 presentations to executives, communicators, and university classes worldwide. Brad is a past board chair of the International Association of Business Communicators and a Fellow of the association. He is one of the authors of The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication and the new IABC Guide for Practical Business Communication: A Global Standard Primer. He chaired the Global Communication Certification Counsel in 2021.

The post Circle of Fellows #103: IS IT WORTH THE TIME AND EFFORT TO GET A PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION CERTIFICATION? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.