One of our regular in-person offerings at the All Things IC Hub is the Effective Internal Communication Masterclass.
Aimed at both those who are new to the profession and existing communication practitioners, it’s ideal if you’re looking to gain an introduction to internal communication or need a bit of a refresher.
I caught up with Dan Holden, All Things IC Communication Consultant, who delivers this Masterclass to share his insights into what attendees can expect from the day.
So Dan, who is this Masterclass aimed at before we talk about the day itself?
It’s not just internal communicators who attend this course. We encourage IC pros with up to three years’ experience in the field and have designed the content with them in mind.
We’ve had a wide range of people attend the course in the past, which makes for some great conversations throughout the day. We’ve had Human Resources professionals, as they know there is a close working relationship with the internal comms team, comms professionals working in other disciplines of public relations who want to understand more about IC and people returning from parental leave and looking for a refresher before returning to work.
Sometimes we have External Comms professionals who are responsible for a team of IC professionals, and want to learn more about the discipline.
The variety of attendees always makes for excellent discussions and questions.
It’s also a great opportunity for students who are thinking about a PR career, but who haven’t had much exposure to internal communications. I’ve also spoken with Executive Assistants who often are involved with internal communication and curious to explore it as a potential career change.
I’d encourage anyone who is looking for a good foundation knowledge of what IC is about to attend.
Is there anyone it’s not aimed at?
If people have more than three years’ experience, such as IC Managers and Heads of IC, our Strategic Internal Communication Masterclass is better suited.
Based on experience, this course is for in-house professionals only. Agencies who want to attend an All Things IC Masterclass should contact us about a separate session. We’ve run bespoke sessions for agencies in the past, including creating tailored Online Masterclasses for them.
What do you cover during the day?
It’s a bumper-packed Masterclass, but there is plenty of opportunities for questions and to work through examples. In summary though we explore:
- The role of internal communication within organisations
- What are Internal Communication channels?
- Some of the latest trends
- Methods of planning, aligning to strategy and working with stakeholders and
- Some of the basics.
Each time I deliver the course, the content changes to reflect the latest insights having worked with clients, past Masterclass attendees and talking with fellow Comms friends. This helps ensure the content is more relevant to those working in-house.
What type of learning style is the Masterclass best suited for?
Everyone learns in different ways, whether that’s through reflection, listening or reading. No one is ever put on the spot to share anything. I know that some comms peers learn best by listening to others, reading back on their notes later and then developing their thoughts, and that’s fine.
Throughout the day, there is a bit of theory, plenty of time for discussions, case studies we work through and some small group work so everyone can support and learn from each other.
There is just as much value in chatting with other comms professionals from different organisations.
Is there any pre-work or actions afterwards?
I know people are busy so there isn’t anything to do in advance. Louise from the All Things IC team looks after everyone, ensuring you have directions to the All Things IC Hub and captures any dietary requirements. You don’t even need to bring a laptop or notebook as you’ll get some lovely All Things IC stationery to use.
There is time at the end to reflect on your learnings and think about what you’re taking away from the day. This allows you to plan what you might do because of the Masterclass, whether trying out something new or having stronger knowledge to help support your professional development planning.
We also have an alumni group on LinkedIn and will invite you to join it after the Masterclass.
What advice do you have for anyone who isn’t sure if this is the right Masterclass for them?
The best thing to do is drop us an email at hello@allthingsic.com. One of the All Things IC team will be happy to jump on a call or drop you an email to help point you in the right direction.
We also have our Online Masterclasses that are handy for anyone who can’t make it to London.
P.S. Did I mention the morning pastries, fruit, a lovely lunch and plenty of snacks and drinks throughout the day?
Thank you Dan.
You can find the latest dates for our in-person Masterclasses on our ‘What’s on for Comms Pro’ page.
First published on the All Things IC blog 17 November 2022
Post author – Dan Holden