About half of all Canadians and 25 per cent of Americans volunteer in some way each year. This includes coaching kids’ sports, visiting seniors, sitting on boards and a variety of other volunteering activities. We can all list a number of benefits organizations get from the work of volunteers. But how often do we think about the benefits to the…
Read MoreIntegrity Matters – Not Just in Politics
I’ve been sitting back watching political events unfold post the NATO summit Europe – which is equal parts news and entertainment. Listening to the commentary on the latest meeting of foreign leaders, and the public’s reaction, it got me thinking a lot about integrity. Each of us is personally responsible for our own integrity and how we hold true to…
Read MoreCrisis Communications Lessons Learned From Thailand Cave Rescue
I’ve been struggling if I should write about the efforts to rescue 12 soccer players and their coach from deep inside a cave in Thailand. As a parent, I’m concerned about being seen as exploiting a crisis situation (especially one involving children) in any way. However, there are great lessons in crisis communications to be learned from this rescue operation….
Read MorePresentation Skills – Go From Boring to Engaging
A few weeks ago I had to sit through a particularly painful presentation. The presenter not only had a never ending Power Point slide deck, but also spent most of the presentation reading from notes. To keep myself from falling asleep, I made notes on how this person could have gone from boring to engaging with some key presentation skill…
Read MoreAmplify Your Voice – and Be Heard!
It’s been two months since I launched How to Communications – a digital product website aimed at helping people understand and learn public relations tools and techniques. In the months leading up to going live, I worked on fine tuning my templates, creating power point presentations, writing the copy as well as getting a visual identity and brand for this…
Read MoreCommunications Plan – Your New Best Friend
The simple and easy to use communications plan is my absolute favorite tool and has saved my skin more than once. Especially when I’m juggling multiple projects with different deadlines. It is the number one way to get organized, and keep others accountable and on track. If you don’t know what a communications plan is, or you aren’t using them…
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