Articles

Watch our May session,“Scrutiny-Ready: Reputation Engineering in the Age of Skepticism” with Cheryl Overton.Many teams still design communications for attention when the real requirement today is examination by consumers, journalists, regulators, investors, and employees who are actively looking for gaps and gotchas. In this session, Cheryl Overton reframes earned media as a strategic stress test

When is the right time to use the corporate voice?  Members share how they approach the issue.By Mike Prokopeak, director of Council learning, community and content, Ragan CommunicationsWhen to speak up on a social or political issue has long been a question many companies struggle with.  During the second Trump Administration, it's become even more fraught with risk.Following the fatal shooting o

A guide to getting the most out of meetings with your leadersBy Sean Devlin, editor, Ragan Communications When internal communicators are charged with writing on behalf of the C-suite, they need to do the legwork before making a single keystroke on any memo or statement. This includes asking questions that enable communicators to learn more about what’s on the mind of leaders to help capture their

Triggers, roles, tabletop exercises and real-world checklists to help communicators respond with clarity—before a model makes headlines for the wrong reasons.By Robbie Caploe, director of strategic initiatives, Ragan CommunicationsIn 2026, AI incidents won’t be edge cases — they’ll be routine moments of leadership.A chatbot will hallucinate a policy. A model will expose data it shouldn’t. A well-m

Public policy is moving fast — and the ripple effects are landing squarely on corporate reputation, executive credibility and stakeholder trust. In the past week alone, regulators in Europe and the U.S. have sharpened their focus on competition, digital safety, AI transparency and climate disclosure, while geopolitical tensions and shifting federal priorities are reshaping the operating environmen

How to craft a thoughtful, careful message when it is time to speak.By Allison Carter, editor-in-chief of PR Daily and Ragan.comEditor's note: Since this article was posted, Minneapolis-based companies have issued a joint statement in response to the killing of a 37-year old protester. Read that statement and analysis here. Minneapolis has become the epicenter of America’s immigration debate. Larg

When layoffs, M&As, or corporate restructures hit, employees are flooded with questions and fears, while leaders scramble to preserve trust and momentum. In these moments, communications become a lifeline to handle shifting employee mindsets.Drawing from personal experience on both sides of the table, a leader driving restructuring decisions and as an employee impacted by them, you’ll learn the le

Video storytelling and LinkedIn can be a powerful combinationBy Robbie Caploe, director of strategic initiatives, Ragan In an era when corporate communications can feel scripted and disconnected, Loren Talley thinks she has cracked the code on authentic leadership storytelling at Zoetis for her CEO, Kristin Peck.Her tool? A LinkedIn video and newsletter called On Purpose, which demonstrates how ge

Corporate earnings season is more than a peek into economic health. It's an exercise in storytellingBy Mike Prokopeak, director of learning and Council contentCorporate earnings releases aren't the sexiest of communications tasks but they're important. This year, they take on added significance as investors scrutizine reports to parse out the effect of the Trump Administration's policies on trade

Yahoo’s Who We Work With shows that lighthearted rituals can make teams more connectedBy Robbie Caploe, director, strategic initiatives, RaganAt Yahoo, culture isn’t left to chance. For the 20-person global communications team at the Silicon Valley stalwart , small rituals play a big role in building trust and connection.One of the most successful has been a simple, one-on-one practice called Who

Use empathy, authenticity and candor to connect with employees and deliver hard news. Here are examples.By Sean Devlin, editor, Ragan Communications Done well, internal memos provide a powerful comms pathway from leadership directly to employees.Here are some examples that effectively get to the heart of a situation and let employees know where leadership is coming from.Related Article: Check out

Managers play a pivotal role in critical cultural carriers and effective two-way conversations with employees. This session will tackle how best to address company-wide tough news and the essential tools and strategies managers need to excel as communicators. You’ll learn:Effective Comms Techniques: Proven communication techniques that middle managers can use to convey messages and foster open dia

It will require much more than AI prompting to be a future communications leaderBy Robbie Caploe, director of strategic initiativesTo be successful, the next generation of communicators will require more than good writing skills or AI fluency. They’ll need business acumen, adaptability, strategic judgment and curiosity.To explain why and how, we asked three communications executives about evolving

3 executives share how to transition from managing tasks to leading peopleBy Robbie Caploe, director of strategic initiatives, Ragan Communications Leadership and management are often used as interchangeable terms, but they serve distinct purposes.Leadership inspires vision, drives change and motivates people. Management focuses on structure, processes, and efficiency. Both are essential yet funda

Continuous learning means continuing conversations, says  one of Ragan Training’s expert instructors At Ragan’s 2025 Employee Communications and Culture Conference, Delonzo Rhodes, vice president of talent development at Dotdash Meredith, told Ragan’s Mary Buhay that the best performing organizations have one thing in common—they invest in the learning and development of employees.With the rollout

Hone your narrative and use existing content to respond fastBy Allison Carter, editorial director of Ragan and PR Daily. On the morning of April 9, Harvard University’s homepage was fairly standard collegiate fare.“Where world-class faculty and talented students come together to pursue knowledge, conduct groundbreaking research, and produce transformative scholarly work to help create a better wor

Most leaders aren't prepared to rebuild trust following a crisis, says a crisis comms expertBy Robbie Caploe, director of strategic initiatives, RaganAnti-DEI actions, rapidly shifting regulations and a rise in shareholder and employee activism have added fuel to an already volatile environment and pushed crisis management to the top of communicators' agenda.According to Ragan's 2025 Communication

Starbucks' orchestrated layoff announcement contrasts with the chaotic process playing out in U.S. federal agenciesBy Mike Prokopeak, director of learning and council contentStarbucks said on Monday that it will lay off 1,100 corporate employees and eliminate hundreds of unfilled open positions. It's among the largest round of job cuts in company history, according to the Wall Street Journal. The

Take a big-picture view of the value chain to uncover value creation opportunitiesBy Justin Joffe, senior director of learning and development, RaganAt a Communications Leadership Roundtable last fall, comms leaders were given a challenge: Find where communications fits into the strategic value chain. The answer? Everywhere and nowhere at all.When you look the classic value chain model, communicat

The executive coach and author shares how to navigate personal and professional challenges in her new bookBy Justin Joffe, editorial director and editor-in-chief, Ragan Communications Note: This article was first published on Ragan.com.When Mary Olson-Menzel, founder and CEO of MVP Executive Development and a coach to Ragan’s Communications Leadership Council began to write about her work, she kne