Tag: communications expert
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One year of The Comms Collective
A year ago I pressed record on a simple idea: give the people who tell everyone else’s stories a chance to tell their own. Here’s what happened next, and what I’ve learned along the way.
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Beyond Logos: A Practical Guide to Strong Charity Branding
When people hear the word “brand”, many charities think of a logo, a colour palette or an expensive agency rebrand. Those things matter. But in my 25 years working in communications, I’ve learned that a strong brand is built somewhere much less glamorous: in the everyday choices you make about what you say, how you…
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Plain English, Second Language: Zhen Yang on Comms and Confidence
Zhen Yang came to the UK from China to study marketing. Twenty years on, she’s a Communications Manager at Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and she’s built her entire career in her second language. In episode 15 of The Comms Collective, Zhen joins host Vishnee Sauntoo to talk about the real cost of communicating in a…
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From Biotechnology to Powerful Storytelling
By Vishnee Sauntoo, Founder, VS Comms • 4 min read I was the first in my family to go to university, and I studied Biotechnology and Genetics. Not journalism. Not English. Not anything that obviously pointed toward a career spent writing. I chose it partly because I loved science, and partly because it felt like…
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Unlocking Confidence with Advita Patel: Key Lessons for Comms
If you work in communications in the charity sector, you already know: “do more with less” is not a temporary crunch. It’s the permanent state of play. Comms teams are being cut to one person. You’re expected to cover internal, external, and public affairs, as well as fundraising, simultaneously. And somewhere in the middle of…
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Celebrating South Asian Heritage: My Story in Comms
Last South Asian Heritage Month, I posted my story for the first time. The short version: first in my family to go to university, a Biotechnology degree I didn’t expect to lead here, twenty-five years in charity communications, and a consultancy I’d just started building. A year on, it felt right to update it, not…
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Spot It Before It Shouts: Recognising Burnout Signs
The burnout signs comms leaders miss. A funny thing happened at the Gallagher Comms Summit in June. I’d built a 30-minute session on leading through continual transformation. Confidence. Burnout. Leading. Three blocks, balanced timings. Burnout was meant to be the middle bit. It became the issue that the room kept coming back to. That told…
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Transforming Communications: From Broadcaster to Editor
Twelve years ago, I wrote a town hall script that I’m still not proud of. It was clear. It was on-message. It was signed off by everyone who needed to. And when the CEO read it word for word, the room went silent — not in shock, but in the way that says we don’t…
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Hasan Patel’s Newsroom Insights for Strategic Communication
In the world of communications, there is a distinct advantage to having a “newsroom heart.” For Hasan Patel, his career wasn’t built in a boardroom—it was forged at the BBC and Al Jazeera.
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Why I Chose Chartered Status After 25 Years in PR
After 25 years at the strategy table, here’s why I finally went for Chartered status – and what it’s actually changed. There’s a version of this post where I tell you Chartership taught me everything I know. That would be a good story. It would also be completely untrue. I’ve been doing this for 25…