In October, Barefoot PR’s strategy team traveled to Kansas City to attend the ComNet24 conference. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to spend three days with people who know exactly what you do and why you care about comms for good.
While it is impossible to capture the full spirit of this experience in a blog, we do have four ideas to share about our experience.
We learned from Jonah Berger how magic words can change actions and influence subtle behavior shifts. Next time you’re writing to inspire your audience to take action, try appealing to their identity – change “help” to “be a helper” or “vote” to “be a voter.” We tend to choose actions and behaviors that reinforce our existing identity or align with an aspirational identity.
We practiced how to develop a good story with help from The Moth’s Kate Tellers. A story is defined as the intentional ordering of information. But a good story is the compelling and intentional ordering of information. In your storytelling efforts, think about how you can engage the senses, raise the stakes and make people care.
We shared our own best practices for conducting community conversations. The main ballroom at ComNet showcased a beautifully designed poster (thank you to our Design Associate, Annabelle Gallegos!) featuring four lessons to keep in mind when gathering information from key audiences.
Learn what you are doing well and where you are missing the mark.
Connect with people in ways that work for them.
Be open to feedback and new ideas.
Trust what people tell you.
We made new connections with communicators across the country. During one of the sessions, someone remarked, “This is the only conference where I’m excited to sit next to a stranger.” ComNet provides a unique opportunity to strike up conversations that go beyond the small talk and right into the work, shared challenges and inspired reflection.
If you are feeling a bit of FOMO, don’t worry! ComNet25 registration is open and it will be right here in Denver!
You can also catch a sneak peek on our Instagram.
Written by Laura Schwinkendorf, Director of Strategy at Barefoot PR