PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS

Second City Works presents: Adapting to change and communicating like an improviser

Improvisers create as an ensemble by adapting in the moment to changing circumstances, always looking for opportunity. The ensemble agrees to drop personal agendas and accept all information as “gifts”—the good and the bad—to keep moving forward. This high-energy session is a crash course in improv fundamentals, with a focus on collaborative communication, adaptive thinking and change-ready teams. Participants will engage in experiential activities, facilitated discussions and group exercises.

You’ll improvise while you explore how to:

• Reserve judgment of self and others by remaining “other-focused” and supporting individual growth and shared goals
• Become aware of personal communication styles for connecting better with different audiences
• Create a culture where everyone is committed to having each other’s backs
• Identify the effects of change in the moment and understand why it feels so personal
• Effectively communicate the story of change with empathy and clarity
• Engage in the process around change by identifying new and/or existing opportunities
• Have fun

Lunch on your own

Visual storytelling lifespan: A story is born, produced, promoted, measured and reinvented

This hands-on pre-conference session is a deep dive into how to create an editorial vision, story or brand—beginning with how to think about visual storytelling, how to bring a story to life, how to promote and distribute it and what to measure to determine whether it was a success or not. We will use one real-life example to showcase how to think about the conception, birth, life, potential death, minor reinvention, probable death and major reinvention of a real story or content brand, along with the actual hurdles you’ll face throughout the process. Attendees are encouraged to bring ideas for stories or series they’re currently working on to develop during the hands-on portions of each section.

In this session you’ll learn:

• The realities of the social media content landscape, right down to the mortality rates of new brands and video series. Spoiler alert: It ain’t pretty
• How to find the “why” for your brand/series/video: Why does this story deserve to be told? Why does your audience care? Why should you use precious internal resources to bring it to life? In short: Why do this?
• How a good production plan and editorial calendar is everything
• Which metrics should matter most to you early in the life of a video series
• When (and how) to bring the life of your brand/series/video to a merciful end—and where to go from there

Beyond the numbers: How to prove the value of internal communications

Everyone says employee engagement is one of the keys to being a great place to work. The key to engagement is great internal communications. How can you tell if it’s working? What are you actually measuring, and to what end? What will you do with the results to move your communications from good to great? Join Ragan Consulting Group’s Jim Ylisela and Rebecca Shaffer as they make the case for continuous communications measurement—beyond the yearly comms audit.

During this session, you’ll learn:

• What to measure and why (Hint: It should be tied to your business goals)
• From comprehensive audits to pulse surveys: The right frequency to measure all your communications
• What metrics matter most? Beyond clicks and open rates
• The five best internal comms measurement tools
• The five-step process for a comprehensive comms audit
• What to do with what you measure: How to win approval to make significant upgrades to your communications