As communicators, we are often at our best while functioning as trusted advisors to executives, colleagues and other key business stakeholders. But trust isn’t gained overnight. How do you build trust for the long-term? Enter Jason Anthoine, the managing founder and “head honcho” of Audacity, a communications consultancy that helps companies inform, involve and inspire their employees by immersing themselves in businesses and absorbing as much as possible, from balance sheets and organizational goals to day-to-day operations. “We will never be able to understand what their world is like unless ..read more

Artificial intelligence (AI) is here, and no one is less surprised than Shel Holtz. So many of us know Shel from his 40-plus years as a consultant, speaker, blogger, author, and co-founder of the FIR Podcast Network, but it is his fascination with emerging technologies that make him the ideal person to discuss AI models like ChatGPT. “Mark my words,” Shel wrote in 2016, “Bots are coming to the workplace, to media relations, to public relations. They are coming just as surely as the web was going to completely disrupt the way communications was done a quarter century ago.” Now, w ..read more

In our first episode of the year, we look to unpack what’s going on and what lies ahead for communicators in 2023. To us, there’s no one better suited to discuss the present and future of executive communication than David Murray. In addition to being an expert communicator and accomplished author, David is the Executive Director of the Executive Communication Council, the head of the Professional Speechwriters Association and pens the popular communications blog, “Writing Boots.” We’re thrilled to have him back on EE Voice. During our conversation, David jests that this is “the first and only ..read more

As we prepare to take a brief pause for the holidays – and hope you do, too! – we’ll first take a moment to reflect on the challenges we faced this year: increasingly passionate employee bases; global, domestic, and online uncertainty; developing data and communication methods; and the many other factors that contributed to the year that was for internal communicators in 2022. In looking back, we’re happy to continue our holiday tradition of a year-end roundup episode: one podcast with highlights from our 2022 conversations, in just a few minutes. Here are some of the top insights from this ye ..read more

  What is it they say about “the best laid plans?” In this episode of the EE Voice podcast, we are joined by Caleb Gardner to discuss his new book – No Point B – and how leaders must embrace change and use effective communication in the face of developing technology, social activism, and other key elements in today’s tranformational world. “All leadership has to be change leadership,” Caleb told us. “Because we just have so much inbound, so much new data, so much going on in the world that we’re going to have to be constantly asking our people to think differently — and we’re not prepared ..read more

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that had legalized abortion nationwide. Immediately following the announcement, several companies – including Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Lyft, Dick’s Sporting Goods and JPMorgan Chase – announced that they were offering to cover travel costs for employees who must travel out of state for abortions. This clearly has implications for communicators who are facing the need to respond to their internal and external audiences. We reached out to Robin Fretwell Wilson, a law professor at the University of Illinois and an expert o ..read more

We’re back after a brief hiatus and are ecstatic to be joined by author, internal communications leader, and our “welcome rebel” Mike Klein. Principal of Changing the Terms and Senior Strategic Advisor for Sparrow Connected, Mike has made it his personal mission to challenge the status quo and advance the effectiveness of internal communications. His recently published e-book, “Employee Engagement or BUSINESS IMPACT? It’s Time To Choose,” takes on the current state of employee engagement and identifies six levers to engage better performance: Clarity (so people know what they are supposed to ..read more

How can we help? As the world reacts to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, companies must decide how their actions – or inactions – can answer that pivotal question. (Note: Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of the Yale School of Management updates a list of companies daily “that have curtailed operations as well as those that remain.”)  In today’s abridged EE Voice clip, Sharon and I cover key points including employee safety in affected areas, corporate donations and the importance of proceeding together with empathy.  Take a listen, and please let us know if you’d like to share your experiences wit ..read more

Welcome Victoria Dew, SCMP, Founder and CEO of Dewpoint Communications back to this month’s EE Voice podcast. Victoria joined Sharon and me to discuss Dewpoint’s insights report, “The New Rules of Employee Experience & Communications in 2022.”  In speaking to dozens of business leaders, Victoria and her team captured and analyzed emerging trends – the themes and trends that will impact the way we work moving forward.  Some of her key findings included: The connection between employee experience and commercial success  Managers’ critical role in communicating with and engag ..read more

Whew – what year 2021 was for internal communications. You were overworked but overdelivered – and you did it all (well, most of the time) with passion and enthusiasm. We hope all of you are getting some well-deserved rest and peace as we wind down these final few weeks. We leave all of you with a final EE Voice gift — one podcast with the best IC ideas and advice from our 2021 guests, in just 20 minutes. Here are highlights of the best insights from the year’s conversations:   David Murray on the evolving challenges of communications, heightened expectations faced  by leaders ..read more