How to transform internal communications from snoozefest to lovefest

If the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago can host a town hall that looks like a street festival and publish a funny and irreverent newsletter, your organization can too. Here’s how to pull it off.

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Communications has changed considerably over time. Just imagine if Romeo and Juliet had cell phones. Things probably would have turned out much differently for them.

But not every organization has grown with the times. Some still send memos dripping with corporate speak and host town halls you could easily mistake for nap time.

Until a few years ago, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago was one such organization.

At Ragan’s Corporate Communications Conference held June 9-11 at the Federal Reserve, communicators Lynn Benjamin and Jocelyn Sims described how the bank was able to bring its communications into the 21st century.

“We’ll never be Google and we’ll never be Zappos,” said Sims, internal communications team lead. “But we can still do a lot with who we are.”

And if the Fed can do it, your organization can, too. Here are a few of Benjamin and Sim’s tips:

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