Last Thursday and Friday, over 100 communication professionals came together in Bristol for IoIC Live 2017, an annual conference run by the Institute of Internal Communication (IoIC).
This year’s event focused on the core skills that internal communicators need to engage their colleagues and to add value to their organisations. Delegates were treated to a great programme of speakers and workshops on a variety of topics, including mobile technology strategy, storytelling and the psychology of communication.
As a member of the IoIC event committee, I organised two sessions and was able to attend some of the talks (when I wasn’t ushering delegates between rooms or on roving mic duty!).
Here’s what I took away from my six favourite sessions. As I like a challenge, I’ve tried to capture each session in one sentence (wish me luck!):
Day 1:
- ‘Design for people who are mobile; but remember they won’t care after 96 seconds.’
Session: What you need to know about successfully adopting mobile technology in the workplace – Sharon O’Dea
- ‘When it comes to ROI for face-to-face comms, outcomes (e.g. changes in behaviour) mean more than employees’ general event feedback.’
Session: The value of face to face – Dale Parmenter, drp group
- ‘Logic is not king – 86% of our decisions are driven by emotions.’
Session: Get inside the head of your CEO – Graham Cox, Boundaries Edge
Day 2:
- ‘People are people – to communicate more effectively, combine an understanding of psychology and common sense.’
Session: Psychology of communication – using psychology to gain influence and trust – Nicole Utzinger, EMEA Communications Consulting
- ‘Do in/with an email what you would in a face-to-face conversation.’
Session: How do we solve a problem like too many emails? Nick Crawford, Sally Otter and Sam Thomas
- ‘Your people are the most valuable tool for enabling organisational change, so make the most of their drive, empathy and resilience.’
Session: Ready for change with strengths-based training, Jane Sparrow, The Culture Builders
Ultimately, the conference has reinforced my view that psychology and internal communication are closely cousins. When it comes to informing and engaging your people, having a basic understanding of universal human behaviour and cognition and those specific to your people is hugely beneficial.
To that end, I’ll be exploring these topics as part of my new blog site (launching in June). I’ll be sharing more details about my blog on LinkedIn and Twitter soon, so watch this space.
* Special thanks go to IoIC for giving me the opportunity to work on the event. I look forward to working on the IoIC Live 18!
Annique Simpson 