Are you looking to build your business and/or influence in 2019? Understanding how to connect with your audience is vital, as is understanding your unique strategy for communication.

One-size-fits all marketing plans, the hard sell and the scatter gun approach have no place in most businesses. They don’t give long-term results and they can leave you exhausted.

It’s time to get focused and strategic about your marketing and communications, and strive for real connections that make us all feel valued and give us long-term results.

Authenticity, storytelling and customer awareness help foster connections and build a loyal customer base for long-term success.

Join us for our one-day Communication Strategy Workshop and build your unique strategy to connect with your audience and thrive through 2019.

This opportunity will provide you with clear and open education, honest and generous advice (including a breakdown of each element through the 'live workshopping' of examples) and a take-home resource kit and workbook to educate, enable and empower you to succeed in your communications.

To keep your energy up, you’ll also have access to good coffee, tea and other refreshments, as well as nutritious food. The beautiful Nishi Gallary will also help spark your creativity.

In addition, to celebrate your learnings, your 'ah-ha' moments and the connections you form over the day, we’ll toast a glass of bubbles (or another celebratory drink of choice) before we finish for the day.

This workshop is for business owners and teams, and anyone who needs to communicate or influence in their role (government, not-for-profit and private sector).

Our workshop

The outline for our interactive one-day workshop is:

• Introduction to communications
  • o How communication and connection is essential for every business and organisation.
  • o How stakeholder engagement can shape the future of your business/organisation/project
  • o Raising community awareness to support your objectives

• Why there is no one-size-fits-all in communication
  • o There are many variables and therefore, there is no single communication solution
  • o Workbook and discussion exercise: Let’s define your values and use them to set your communications framework.

• The importance of strategy and the perils of comparison
  • o Setting your communications objectives – and how they can differ from your business objectives.
  • o Being focused on your objectives to create the impact you choose.
  • o Workbook and discussion exercise: Let’s identify your communications objectives.

• Identifying your audience/s
  • o Without a connection, you have no invitation to communicate.
  • o How true communications success rests on your understanding of your audience.
  • o It’s not just about basic demographics, it’s time to get a clear insight into who you want to connect with.
  • o Workbook and discussion exercise: Let’s identify your audience.

• Storytelling
  • o The art of communication and connection.
  • o Workbook and discussion exercise: Let’s identify your core stories/messages.

• Where to tell your stories.
  • o Understanding the right communications channels for your project.
  • o Let’s look at a few of the major channels, and some lesser known gems.
  • o Workbook and discussion exercise: Let’s identify where you could tell your stories to connect with your audience.

• Being stronger together
  • o How collaborations and third-party endorsements can strengthen your message and reach.
  • o Workbook activity: Let’s identify your collaborators.

• Consistency and keeping up with the times
  • o The need for planning and evaluation
  • o Communications should not be a chore
  • o How to learn from what you’ve done and pivot when you need to.

• Overview of further training and resources.

Our venue

To help us shift into a creative mood, we will immerse ourselves in the beauty of the Nishi Gallery, in the New Acton precinct.

The New Acton precinct is close to public transport and pay parking.

Our trainer

Sheena Ireland is a passionate advocate for meaningful connection in communications, public affairs and marketing. She believes storytelling has the power to truly connect people and through it, we can build trust and brand awareness, achieve product sales and influence change for the better.

She is the founder and director of communications consultancy Specialists in Communications, and she has held senior communications positions in government and industry, including in the areas of science and research, automotive, arts and sport.

Sheena has spoken at government and small business conferences and seminars on the importance of communications strategy, the power of social media and the need for stakeholder engagement in any communications plan. She has also facilitated panel and ‘in-conversation’ discussions on meaningful connection, our quest for happiness, and mental health and wellbeing.

As a facilitator, coach and mentor in the area of communications, Sheena believes that organisations can benefit greatly through specialised training and support that educates, empowers and equips communications teams and business owners to improve and succeed.

Find out more on the Specialists in Communications website.

Participant numbers are limited to 20 people per workshop to allow every participant to have the opportunity to workshop their strategy.