Tag Archive for: strategiccommunication

Like a boss…….?

Sometimes you feel like a boss lady. And sometimes you’re working in bare feet and drowning in sticky notes.

Anyone else relate?

My mum bought me the ‘Boss Lady’ desk thingy because it was pink, and because it said words she thought were both funny and encapsulated me. Another side says ‘yeah, nah’ ?

I love working across different projects. In my everyday life I work as an integral part of the ResilientCo team, as well as with my own clients in crisis communications and public relations.

The past few weeks have been a balance of strategic planning and crisis support.

Shifting between the two requires a different mindset and focus but working on one prepares you for the other.

/0 Comments/by

The ones I never got to meet

I wrote about the lives of many I never got to meet.

As a young journalist, I asked questions of their loved ones to learn about them, and to share their lives and loss with the wider world.

The love and grief in family, in friends, with so many missing early on, and later, confirmed lost, was a grief felt by those closest to them as well as a town, a nation and the world.

Through the Lee family and the Cartwright family I learned how much Aaron, Justin and Stacey Lee and Bronwyn Cartwright meant to the world.

Therese Fox, who survived incredible odds, felt like a miracle. Her generous and loving family allowed me in to the Sydney hospital where she began her treatment and recovery. They allowed me to follow her life for the next 12 months as she gained strength and met the first year anniversary of a bombing that rocked Bali and Australia.

I spent the first anniversary of the bombing in Bali. I listened to each of the names of the many dead read out as part of the memorial ceremony, the voices rolling their names like waves of grief over the crowd.

It’s been 20 years. It’s only been 20 years.

It’s unlikely that grief has lessened for the families of any of those who were lost.

Those tears don’t end.

October 12 2002

/0 Comments/by

The risk of risk communication

Government and public health officials are coming up against a universal truth in risk communications and awareness raising – people will make their own determinations about risk using a range of information, feelings, rationalisation and historic knowledge. 

They’ll check in with others, assess what suits them based on convenience, perceived threat and circumstances, and act accordingly. 

The processes for decision making are not straight forward, based in life biases and sometimes – often – emotions.  

Every Australian in lockdown under COVID19 is weighing up what they believe, with their own reality and experience.  Some disagree with the entire concept, we know that. Others are tired. Some don’t think it will happen to them. 

This happens in all emergencies, in fire, in flood and storms. It’s happening in COVID19. In many cases with COVID19, deprivation (knowledge, belief, choice or human contact) is driving our response to the risk. 

Media is currently talking about not just the ‘big events’ potentially leading to COVID19 spread, but the everyday small choices people are making. 

How are you going being derived of human contact, family, ‘normal life’, playgrounds? How is your mental health or ability to pay bills going? 

It’s not just the assessment of risk that drives being able to do what you know is right or required. But the differing responses between states – and countries – to such a public health emergency doesn’t help settle the response. 

And where the response is compromised, risk communication struggles. 

It’s hard enough for communication experts – who have to use behavioural understanding plus societal understanding plus reasoning plus myth busting for communities – to get cut through.

As humans we’ll always (often) look for loopholes until we experience the reality.  It’s a reality that in reality, none of us want. 

It’s not just epidemiologists who are looking at how NSW, Victoria, other Australian states, New Zealand and other countries tackle the response to COVID19. 

Behaviouralists and communication specialists are eyeing this off just as much, wincing or cheering. 

It’s the world’s biggest and most frightening case study. 

Reference: https://lnkd.in/gpg2Bjdx

/0 Comments/by

Talking in the name of…..

Wow I’ve had a good time talking to people lately.  In the name of work I mean ?

For the past few months, I’ve been focusing on writing content for a range of clients based on interviews – both employees and product supporters. 

Harking back to my journalist days, I’ve had a ball planning out the overarching strategic approach and questions, getting to know the ‘subjects’, ahem, people, and writing bang on content for clients with a human edge. 

The power of words. And natural human stories. My favourite. 

Sound like something you need? Feel free to have a chat. 

Shoot me an email or give me a call ? ☎️ 

www.nataliestaaks.com.au 

/0 Comments/by