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Well, hi everybody, and greetings from Toronto in Canada. So I'm recording this as you can see, uh, not if you can hear it, from my hotel room. [00:01:00] So the sound quality might not be as good as usual, but hopefully you can persist. And thank you for tuning in again.

So this morning we wrapped up the final date of the IABC World Conference. So, IABC, for those of you who don't know what that is, it's the International Association of Business Communicators. It's truly the only global organisation for business communicators, which is really special. It does differ little from some of the other organisations you might have heard of, like PRIA or AMI, for example, in that it's less of a PR marketing focus, more a focus on professionals working in corporate comms, internal and external comms crisis and social media and social responsibility communication, for example. So it really is a business communicators' organisation, which is what makes it really special and why I was so keen to come along to the conference, not only because I was [00:02:00] chosen as a speaker, but I was keen to come anyway and meet other people from all around the world in, uh, this amazing city and learn from them.

So, Each year, IABC has a massive global conference and it's hosted by a different chapter. So this year's was obviously hosted by the Toronto chapter. They are huge. They have like 700 members or something, which is amazing. And there were 900 people at the conference from 34 countries, which is just mind blowing.

So how cool is that? So our little Queensland chapter I think really showed its strength. We might be small, but we are mighty. So myself and one of my other board members, Bosco Anthony, we were chosen to speak and another Queensland member, Ayllie White, she won the APAC scholarship to attend. So go us! There was three Queenslanders there.

There was also some other Aussies represented from Canberra, uh, Victoria and New South Wales as well. And a shout out of course to the [00:03:00] Kiwis.

Now it is impossible to share everything I've learned in two and a half days in just under 20 minutes. So I'm going to share three of the top line trends that I identified and my key learnings from the sessions I attended. There were concurrent sessions throughout the day, each day. So I didn't see everything, but if you're listening to this and you also attended, I'd love to hear your insights from anything I missed.

Also, I'm gonna share these top three trends, but stay tuned to the end of the episode because I'm also going to share, uh, my summary and insights from the keynote on day one, who is an amazing young woman, Zaria Parvis, who is the genius behind Duo Lingos TikTok account. But before we get to that, let's get stuck into it.

Of the top three trends, number one by far is a focus on artificial intelligence and automation.

Hands down, this was the most talked about topic of the entire conference this year. The first [00:04:00] spotlight session of the conference was a panel of three really amazing comms pros, and they of course touched on AI like pretty much every session did, to be honest. Some of the key points from this discussion were really around the fact that AI is fantastic for spotting patterns, and because of that it is really great for finding out who to reach out to and the language we should be using to reach out to them.

So for example, uh, getting into ChatGPT and asking something like, what keywords should I be using to reach young people age 12 to 15 on social media, if that is your target audience. But they did stress, and this is a really key point, that garbage in equals garbage out. So if we're inputting crap information or data, or asking non-specific, non-relevant questions, then we'll get poor results from AI.

And the more people who use it and the more it learns, it's really going to rely on good information being put in. Right. [00:05:00] The other key point from one of the panelists, uh, John Yoon, who was hilarious by the way, highly recommend you follow him, is that AI lacks common sense. So I think that's really key to remember: What you get back out of AI really needs your common sense overlay before you even think about using it.

I also attended Bosco's session. His topic was communication in a digital era. So Bosco shared just a few of his many insights in generative AI and automation. So what he's seeing from the clients and the company he works for. But before I touch on those, I do think it's really worth mentioning a key point he made that our audiences, no matter what organisation you are in, are large groups of diverse people and they all want personalised experiences.

The beauty is AI has the power to help us deliver those personalised experiences, in [00:06:00] comms and in marketing, and that's pretty exciting. And he posed the question, how do we use AI in our lives? It's not about if to use it, but how? Because it's here and it's only going to get more sophisticated, only going to become more prevalent in our everyday lives, not just work.

So four of the key trends in AI and automation that Bosco touched on, and I've been told there are many more, are, number one: using AI and automation for creative enhancements. So right now AI is helping to provide insights that help designers, communicators, and marketers create work that is truly and really resonating with unique audiences.

So, There's technology right now that uses AI to go through reams of data from all over the world and use that information to provide a clear picture of what elements of comms will work for different audiences. So not just messaging, but down to the colours used, the [00:07:00] fonts, uh, the people and the images that you use.

It's absolutely fascinating. Also, a little terrifying. Now again, it's not going to replace a real human. You still need to come up with the strategy. You still need to apply common sense, and you still need designers involved, et cetera. But what you are producing will be based on hard data, not gut feel.

And the testing around this that's already being done and in place right now is showing that it's working. So the artwork, the ad advertising that is being based on what AI is bringing back through this technology is showing greater results in advertising than previously, which is just phenomenal.

The second one is marketing automation. So if you use a CRM or a a customer relationship management system, if you don't know what that is, essentially a database, you are probably already seeing AI creep in. So things like automating [00:08:00] workflows without you having to set them up step by step, for example. The beauty here is the huge time saving.

So again, you still need to figure out what it is you want to achieve, but AI can help you achieve that much more quickly. So that's really cool.

Deep fakes: when he brought this up on the screen, I almost shuttered because I'm sure we've all seen some really disturbing examples of deep fakes. There's heaps of Keanu Reeves on TikTok for some reason, but if you don't know what deep fakes are real quick, it's using AI to mimic a person's image, voice, mannerisms the lot, create an entirely fake virtual persona of that person, which can then be used in any number of scenarios.

So you could, theoretically, have a deep fake of the Prime Minister of Australia climbing a tree, and it's produced as a video that goes viral, but it's a complete fake, but it looks pretty close to the real thing. Now that might sound pretty scary and look, it is. But there is a good [00:09:00] side. So it has applications for customer service, for example, or to use in retail or even creative applications as well.

And I've been told we're only going to be seeing more and more of it in more official settings. So let's see where that goes.

The other key trend is virtual and augmented reality. So this is much more than just the fun games that it's been up until now. VR and AR is now being used for tertiary education, for training, for virtual travel experiences for those who can't travel, uh, retail, so much more. The education applications are really quite interesting. So one example is medical students being able to practice a surgery over and over in a virtual world with of course no harm done, which is incredible. That's pretty cool. And I also really love that idea that people who can't travel for whatever reason can still enjoy some sort of experience like it.

So that's really cool too. [00:10:00] Now, I can tell you from my own experience as a speaker, it's really hard to squeeze a lot into just 45 minutes. So that's just the high level overview of some of the key points around AI that these speakers were able to share. But it does tie in with the next trend, which is...

data is king. Data, of course, was the buzzword a few years ago, and you may have thought it died out a little with AI coming on, but actually it's so much more important now. AI is becoming more prevalent. So when we're talking about data in the comms context, there's a couple of things we need to think about.

Firstly, If you want to be considered a strategic communicator, then you absolutely have to draw on data and numbers to not only be heard by senior leadership, but to be considered a strategic advisor and to enable you to prioritise your work. I'll say that again. Drawing on good data and knowing the numbers, we'll [00:11:00] help you be heard by senior leadership, position you as a strategic advisor and help you prioritise your work. So this was a really key point made by an amazing, very senior communications leader at a big bank in North America.

As communicators, we often have access to loads of different data sets from insights from internal and external surveys, like with customers or staff, to rep track reporting that tells us how our organizations are perceived by the public, to data from our digital channels like social media, websites, et cetera, et cetera.

All of that information provides us with insights we can use to help sway decision making within our teams and with senior leaders, with our clients and customers. And it gives us the unique opportunity to spot trends early. So this is where we have a bit of a superpower. We can spot trends early, we can act on them.

That's what's going to keep us evolving as professionals, being creative and innovative and [00:12:00] advocating for our profession. The other piece on data, of course, is it's linked to AI. As I said earlier, a key point was made that AI is great at spotting patterns, so we can use it to help us trawl through this data quickly and give us insights in minutes that would've taken us hours or days.

And again, AI and what it outputs is really reliant on the inputs. So if we have really good data and we have a lot of it, we're going to get better results.

Trend number three, is a real focus on communicator's role in corporate social responsibility and ethics as communicators.

I know that probably sounds a little dry, but let me enlighten you. So firstly, Corporate social responsibility is really about responding to what audiences expect of businesses. So if we really are doing our jobs as communication professionals, then we're taking an audience-centred approach and tailoring our comms to [00:13:00] what they need and what they want to hear.

Ultimately, like all comms, it's about building trust in an organisation and its people. So one of the sessions I attended was facilitated by two very smart humans from York University here in Canada. It was called Stepping into the Fray: when leaders should and should not comment on social issues. So a couple of key points they shared that really resonated with me were: Number one, when you're looking at the huge array of societal issues in our environment, you need to look at them through the lens of is it a corporate strategic opportunity or is it a strategic risk?

And either way, it can positively or negatively impact the bottom line. Secondly, research shows that people genuinely expect organisations and businesses to do the right thing by people, by society, by the environment. The stat they shared was actually pretty incredible. It's 55% of [00:14:00] Canadians choose a brand based on if that brand has chosen to take a stand on an issue that's important to them.

So I'll say that again. 55% of Canadians choose a brand based on if that brand has chosen to take a stand on an issue that's important to them. So that really makes the case for why organisations should be really seeking out input from their customers and their people and finding out what issues are important.

Another thing I really liked about this presentation was they shared a very practical framework and steps to take when your organisation is considering what, if any issues they will weigh in on or comment on. I won't go through it step by step because that will take far too long. But a couple of the key elements include developing a set of guiding principles to help inform decision making, but building some flexibility, particularly if you have a [00:15:00] large organisation with diverse interests or different audience groups, for example.

Also, there are three positions you can choose to take if you choose to weigh in. Firstly, You can commit. So this means making a statement of commitment, for example, to do your own work to address the issue internally and commit to the broader cause. So that's kind of the, the lowest level of taking a stand.

The next step up is positioning yourself as an ally. So perhaps partnering with a leading organisation or group whose, uh, sole issue is that issue. Show your support and have a say in partnership with them. The third and the biggest step if you choose to take it, is to actually lead the response.

Obviously, this step isn't for everybody. It's only going to be for a select few organisations who have a very clear mandate on what they stand for. So you really have to choose very carefully. Now, these presenters, along with a few others [00:16:00] from other different sessions, also made a few more points regarding corporate social responsibility and communication.

Firstly, it needs to be purpose driven. That will help you devise your guiding principles. It will put in place some guardrails around what you will and won't support. So purpose driven. Secondly, you need to make sure your stakeholders know about what you're doing. So be transparent and use storytelling to show your purpose in action.

It's good business to be a good business. It helps you attract and retain staff and customers. Ultimately, that leads to an improved business result. And ultimately, your engagement in these issues has to be genuine and authentic, and not just a matter of observing a special day, but following through and embedding principles in your day-to-day operations.

And as communicators, we need to show that in action. So that leads me to the second part of this trend, which is around ethical communication. [00:17:00] Uh, there was a keynote on day two by a fellow called Helio Fred Garcia. He's worked with the US military for years, along with other, other organisations and teaches on professional and ethical communication.

His key point was that communication has power, and with that comes responsibility. Now that may just sound like a pillaged line from Spider-Man, but the examples he shared around the use of disinformation and misinformation were very real, and it really highlighted how this statement is so true and so impactful.

The communication that leaders and organisations share has the power to harm if it is harmful in intent and knowingly false. This is where I will just pause and give a quick definition that he gave; Disinformation is knowingly producing and sharing false information. Misinformation is sharing information that you didn't know was false.

So I'm looking at you people on Facebook. [00:18:00] So he gave examples like how the US got involved or even started the Vietnam War, the invasion of Iraq, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the pandemic response in the US. In these examples, you can see the playbook of misinformation and disinformation that Helio has identified through his studies.

So there's four steps to this playbook. The first one is publicise a provoking incident, even if it's just like an overstep or it's just not true. The second step, exaggerate the incident. The third step is position the response as necessary or even honorable or noble. And then the fourth step is to continue to justify involvement.

The point he made with all these examples, and at every step along the way in this playbook is that professional communicators abetted, this disinformation; media abetted the misinformation and people were harmed or even [00:19:00] died because of the action or lack of inaction. Now, those are very extreme examples, but it does bring home the real truth, that we have an ethical responsibility to ensure our communication causes no harm, whether that's in your own team, your organisations, with your customers, your shareholders, whoever.

If you're not comfortable with what you are being asked to say or do, you need to step up. And we need to, as Helio puts it, be disinformation detectors.

So that's the three key trends. Just to recap, number one, AI and automation is here and it's only getting bigger. Number two, data is still everything, if not more than what it was.

And number three, ethical communication and showing up as ethical organisations is core to our profession, and we need to know how to lead it.

But there was one other presentation I wanted to touch on, which was a fabulous presentation by a young woman behind the incredibly successful Duolingo social media [00:20:00] accounts, Zaria Parvas.

Now, when she first started at Duolingo as the lone social media manager, it was a brand that had very little social media presence or purpose. What she's managed to do with very few resources is turn that around to the point where Duolingo now has 6.7 million followers on TikTok alone. That's just incredible.

So how did she do it with just an iPhone, zero budget and an owl suit? The big point Zaria made was that it wasn't luck and it wasn't a whim. There was and always has been a thought out strategy behind what they're doing, whether that's the owl twerking on a boardroom table or hunting down people who aren't up to date on their language lessons, right?

Their strategy is informed by their brand insights and their audience insights, so it is based on evidence and data. Secondly, it's all about calculated risk. You need to do the good old-fashioned cost [00:21:00] benefit analysis. Use the data to inform what's working and what isn't. But don't let great get in the way of good.

Take the calculated risk. And most of the time you'll get the rewards. And if you don't, you learn from it. Right. Now calculated risk leads to the third point Zaria made, which was that social manager's key superpower is shapeshifting. They have to be agile, they have to be quick to respond to opportunities and be able to change direction.

Adeptly, and this is where she argues that people who are usually considered the troublemakers and who come from intersectional backgrounds become great social media managers because they are highly adaptable to change. They're willing to make seismic shifts, and they can create unique dynamics and impacts because of their unique insights.

So yes, creativity has a lot to do with it too. But she knows the audience she wants to attract, and she's not afraid to step outside of the box to achieve those results. [00:22:00]

So that's enough for me. I know that was a real whirlwind of information download, but if you follow me on LinkedIn or Instagram, you'll know I've been posting the sketch notes from some of the sessions I attended and my key insights for those sessions as well.

So head over there if you want something more specific or you just wanna have a look at those sketch notes because you're a visual learner. Also, a quick note of thanks to those of you who reached out to wish me luck before the conference. I had no idea how many people I would be talking to, and I ended up having almost 300 people in my session, which was incredible and terrifying.

So thank you so much for your show of support.

I also met some incredible professionals and humans from around the world at the conference, and I'm sure many of those connections are now for life. So a big shout out to you guys too. Okay, that's it for now. I'll be back in Oz next week. Fresh episode coming your way next week as always.

And of course, if you have something you're curious about, [00:23:00] please get in touch and I'm happy to take requests. I'm like a podcast episode DJ. and if you do have a couple of seconds spare, please do me the massive honor of rating and reviewing the show. It literally only takes a few seconds, but would mean the world to me and allow me to share this learning more broadly.

In the meantime, have a great week. Keep doing amazing things, and I'll see you all again next time on Less Chatter, More Matter.