Internal communicators share lessons learned, helpful tips

There was a surprise guest last week at Ragan’s Breakthrough Strategies for Corporate Communicators Conference at Discovery Communications headquarters: Oprah Winfrey.

She didn’t drop in the Ragan conference. She was making an appearance at Discovery, which broadcasts her OWN network, for a town hall with Discovery employees. It demonstrated the excitement that well-executed internal communications can make. The atmosphere in the packed atrium was electric.

The reality for many internal communicators is that they can’t just tap into the dynamism of an Oprah Winfrey. For every star turn, there’s also the seemingly mundane to communicate what’s essential to help people get their work done.

With that at its core, here’s what the three-day conference covered:

Hope and stability

Day One saw an opening keynote from Tom Rath, a senior scientist and advisor to global research consulting business Gallup. In 2007, Rath authored the New York Times best-seller “StrengthsFinder 2.0.”