Amanda Swennes

Talking effectively about systems and system change is tricky. This short article sums up a key dilemma (overemphasizing individual choices vs. creating fatalism about systems), and outlines a path forward: "By being careful about *how* we present systems, we can guard against fatalistic interpretations and advance a constructive understanding of systems as under the control of people and therefore able and open to change." 

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Question for the communications pros out there: Do you think the job market is finally improving? The past 24 months have been 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘭 for comms professionals, and now I’m hearing mixed signals about where things stand. Here’s the general vibe I’m getting: 🙂 More roles are popping up for specific comms roles, especially internal comms and analyst relations. 🫠 PR, social media, and content are still facing cuts across the board (and the open roles are few and far between). 🫠  Senior-level comms positions are seriously scarce or non-existent. Is this matching what you’re seeing out there?

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👇📢 PR and communication pros: **DO NOT write anything YOU wouldn’t read.** ☝💯 That advice came up in a webinar yesterday. I think it’s spot on. Even when writing about subjects that might not personally interest us, we can ensure that our copy is: - Clear - Lively - Informative - Neither too long nor too short If it’s painful or boring for you to read what you wrote, odds are your audience will feel the same way. That's a great signal to edit what you're working on. Or maybe even throw it out and do something else! #writing #communications #pr #publicrelations

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CALIFORNIA

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I will bang this drum until I die, probably. You're getting VISIONS and MISSIONS all wrong, corporate communicators. I don't really blame you. The higher-ups don't get it either; this trickles down. But here's the thing: A VISION defines the long-term aspirations of the brand and where it wants to go. Therefore, it's a forward-looking statement that outlines what the brand aims to achieve in future - and perhaps the impact it hopes to make. A vision is expressed in the future tense: "Our vision is to..." A MISSION describes the specific commitments and actions that the brand takes *in the present day* to achieve its vision of the future. It is a high-level statement of the brand's purpose and the way it serves its customers and stakeholders now. Today. It's expressed in present tense: "Our mission is [verb]+ing..." Cool? Cool. #TiffsTips

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As a strategic communications pro, I LOVE this approach. Strategy quickly becomes overthinking, so an easy calendar like this + focused priority messages is all you need. Depending on the donor level (thinking major donors), I might suggest fewer appeals and more impact stories, but that's the only adjustment you need to make, in my opinion.

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🤓 OK, I admit it, I'm a total formatting geek. 🔍 As a communications expert, I know there are bigger things to focus on like strategy, content, and designing and delivering a campaign in three days flat. But I can't overlook the formatting. 📄 Earlier this year, I received a job application formatted in a Word table. It looked neat at first, but when I started filling it in, the table went crazy because it was aligned with spaces instead of tabs. My information was now all over the place and looked a mess... ✅ Reader, I reformatted it and returned it as a PDF. 📥 Good formatting is crucial for clear communication. It might seem like a small detail, but it can make a big difference in how your message is received. 🚫 (Reader, I also didn't get the job.) #CommunicationsConsultant #AttentionToDetail #FormattingMatters

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I often think of internal communicators like back-up singers, out of the spotlight and rarely getting the credit they deserve. Your work behind the scenes ensures that employee voices are heard and that every message resonates with them. You build bridges, dismantle silos, and drive meaningful change. Though often unnoticed, your efforts are vital to the success of your organization. Sooner or later every company realizes they need someone like you. Thank you for your relentless commitment. Your work is essential and appreciated. Keep being the force that shapes a better, more connected workplace. 💙

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I’ve worked with countless senior leaders on major change initiatives, and here’s what stood out to me most... They don’t want more information - they want clarity and confidence. Yes, I’m one of those who believes the real key to landing change communications isn’t about data overload or endless reports. What I focus on when communicating with senior leadership is... ↳ How clearly I articulate the business impact of the change, ↳ My confidence in the proposed solution, ↳ Anticipating their concerns and addressing them head-on, ↳ Ensuring my message is concise and actionable. The most underrated strategy? Tailoring your message to their priorities. Senior leaders care about outcomes, risks, and opportunities. If you can speak to these points in a clear, confident manner, you’ll not only capture their attention but also gain their trust. The biggest impact comes when you deliver a message that is laser-focused, direct, and speaks to their strategic objectives. ♻️ Share if you found this helpful. ☝️ Follow Mark Woods Chart.PR MCIPR for more leadership and comms insights.

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Deadline looming. Document nearly [finally!!] done. Just waiting on one more author. Would you ask the copyeditor to go ahead and get started? To save some time? Not so fast. Great copyediting uses the WHOLE document. Without the missing piece, it's impossible to eliminate repetition, build seamless idea flow, or define acronyms on the first mention only. Not to mention -- merging two versions of a document with tiny changes sprinkled throughout is extremely fraught and very time-consuming. Read: low-level work with a hefty price tag. Want great work? Give your copyeditor all the elements she needs to produce it. Don't send her your document until the final draft is truly, truly DONE.

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What do PR and novel writing have in common? Both require solid story telling skills. I was honored to write this blog post for Ragan Communications and PR Daily about how communicators can use novel-writing craft to strengthen their messaging. Specifically, making your target audience the protagonist in your organization's story. It was a fun piece to write and a great opportunity to sit in the center of my own Venn diagram of skills! Give it a read and let me know what you think. Will this help you approach your audience differently? https://lnkd.in/ec8_C9wk

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"We're too small to do internal comms." 🤨 I have actually had someone say this to me in a business setting. It's possible my eye-roll was heard all the way down the hallway. → NO company is too small for internal comms. → NO organization is too small for internal comms. → NO team is too small for internal comms. Communication isn't just something you 𝗱𝗼 as a leader—it's the foundation of everything your team does. 💥 It drives alignment. 💥 It creates psychological safety. 💥 It empowers your people. 💥 It builds trust and transparency. 💥 It fosters belonging and engagement. So tell me again how you're "too small" for internal comms? (Spoiler alert: you're not.) 🚨 Here's a truth bomb: If you think internal communications doesn't matter, what you're really saying is that you don't value your employees enough to keep them informed and engaged. Yeah. Your employees should be your TOP priority audience. Yes, even before your customers, your investors, the media, or industry analysts. Because here's the thing—without engaged, informed, and empowered employees, you won't be able to impress any of those other audiences for very long. It's really that simple. ✊ Does your organization invest enough in employee communications?

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The biggest mistake we see? Teams start planning their project and refining their theory of change AFTER spotting a grant announcement. It happens all the time. A new contact books a call with us. They're stressed-- it's urgent. We find a time to meet ASAP. They've got this grant they want to apply to. It's due in 2 weeks. Not impossible, we say. Who is in your consortium? Why are you the right folks for the job? What matching funds do you have? What's your project plan? What's your theory of change? It becomes apparent that they don't need help writing. Or should I say, the writing would be the easy part. What they REALLY need is to define their project idea. What they are going to ask for money to do, exactly? And by the way, it's gotta be unique, detailed, compelling, and well-researched enough to beat ALL the competition. In 2 weeks. The tough love: it's best for your precious resources to let this particular grant pass you by. Your chances of winning are low. And the upside: you'll be ready for the next one. And there WILL be a next one. Then we throw our Grants Groundwork package into gear. It's a service particularly dear to our hearts. We get to watch as a team dreams big, and then weaves those dreams into thick, golden ropes that bring them all the way down to earth, step by step, defining the actions necessary to make those dreams reality. And we are the midwives, guiding and advising their energy as they define their own path. The results are pretty incredible. Team members leave intensive workshops aligned and energized, armed with a detailed 40+ page document that outlines every next step forward. This living document isn’t just a roadmap—it’s a narrative tool, perfect for internal strategy and engaging external stakeholders, from grant applications to broader communications. We then meticulously scan the grant landscape, identifying the best opportunities tailored to your mission. With the groundwork laid, you can choose your path forward: forge ahead independently or continue crafting winning applications with our support. Our Grants Groundwork Package doesn’t just get you in the game—it sets you up to lead it. #GrantWriting #NonprofitSuccess #StrategicPlanning #WrittenProgress #ClientSuccess

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⏰ Could you spend your writing time better? To Write Better, Easier and Faster, experts say, break the writing process into these three steps: 1️⃣ Prewrite: Get ready to write. This is where you develop your theme, organize your message and do your research. 2️⃣ Write: If you’re writing right, this part of the process should put you in a state of flow. You’ll feel as if your fingers can’t keep up with the message, which is already fully formed in your head and can’t wait to get onto the page.  3️⃣ Rewrite: Here’s where you fix the grammar, punctuation and spelling — and make sure your message hits your targeted readability score.  🔻To get the biggest return on your writing investment, spend most of your time and effort prewriting, a medium amount freewriting, and the least amount of time rewriting. ⚠️ Most people do the reverse. That costs them time, effort and quality. 👉 Learn more tips for Writing Better, Easier & Faster: https://lnkd.in/gtYqFbWt ➡ Never miss a tip: Sign up for my weekly newsletter: https://lnkd.in/edQsGZV

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I work with journalism and editing (my passions). I used to work more with/in communication (I'm good at it). It looks like the same, but they are definitely NOT the same thing, however, it's not a big jump for a journalist to become an editor (and an editor is a journalist, but not necessarily the other way around) and some adaptation is required for a journalist to work in comms for an NGO, company, etc - the other way around is a bit more difficult, but obviously not impossible. You also have the copywriter and copy editor who have also different set of skills - they focus on content creation for marketing and refining text by correcting grammar, punctuation, and style issues; ensuring factual accuracy respectively. "Oh, but editor and copy editor are the same?" No. The editor supervises the process of creation and refines the draft. His task is to turn a draft into an engaging article so then the copy editor can proofread, check style, etc. But i digress... These jobs are already complicated in themselves, with their own demands, expertise and skills needed, but I just love (please note the irony here) when I see job ads requiring most of if not ALL skills advertised as "communication [officer, expert, add any fancy name here]." Sometimes there's a "communication and [insert here something else that usually makes no sense]" to make it less preposterous, but it doesn't change anything. You have to write, edit, do copy, research... and also you have to master both social media AND image editing! Why hire 5 people to properly do the job (or jobs, they are all different) if you can hire someone to be underpaid to half-ass do it? Sorry, but no one is good at everything and no one should be, because it makes no sense. No one can do all the work or should do all the work of 5 other people, but unfortunately that's not how things work in the EU bubble. Oh, I forgot, employers also expect you to organise meetings, events, and you guessed it right: another completely different set of skills. Sure, there can be overlapping, it's good that they exist and you're capable of doing a bit more - you can write and edit (like I do and I have no complaints there), you can work with comms and also do some social media, etc... But demanding that everyone has all the skills is not just ridiculous, it's offensive. Particularly when the paycheck comes and you see that you're working for 5, but getting paid for LESS than one. I like looking at job ads to see how bad things are and are becoming and I'm never too surprised to see that, well, they are indeed getting worse. Also, not surprising that the same places that love to say they are helping changing the world are the ones changing the lives of their employees - for the worse. Giving them anxiety, stress, impossible workloads and expecting them to be happy while being underpaid. #Job #Work #EUBubble #Journalism #Comms #communication #Editing #Skills #Employment #copywriter #copyeditor #Exploitation

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Another truth nugget about gatekeeping and Internal Comms: Keep your audience and key messages in mind, and advocate for them. Not every bit of feedback should be implemented because doing so fractures and dilutes your message. But be prepared to justify (nicely) why you're not incorporating input and close the loop so people don't angrily ask you why their edit wasn't included in the final communication. If they understand your reasoning, they're more likely to respect your communications judgment.

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How do in-house communications professionals really feel? We finally have a clear picture thanks to the Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence. It's not a pretty picture - just check out the word cloud below. These are responses to "So how do you really feel?" If you lead or manage comms professionals, I highly recommend downloading the full report. About 50% of in-house comms professionals are considering leaving the field! Access the full survey findings here: https://lnkd.in/g-QyTyNH #communications #internalcommunication #internalcommunications

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Some good stuff pops up in this article about how reading a book is a simple solution to...all the things. "Those who did read reported better mental health, improved sleep and concentration, and better understanding of other people’s feelings." ... "Great art does moralise. It often is about politics. Or the battle of good and evil. But life keeps breaking in. As we read, we are confronted with a range of characters, ideas, plot twists. We do not stop and argue. We experience. We think." https://lnkd.in/e5GkSfkU

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