Internal
Communications
Conference
I had an incredible experience at the Ragan Internal Communications Conference. It was a valuable opportunity to learn and connect with peers across industries. The sessions were insightful, and I left with ideas I could immediately apply to my team. This conference was a true highlight in my professional journey.
– Dir of Comms, Fidelity Investments
The pressure on communicators has never been greater. Neither has the opportunity.
Leadership transitions. AI rollouts. Geopolitical tensions. Internal and strategic communicators are navigating one of the most complex workplace environments in decades. Employees expect faster updates, authentic leadership and consistent messaging across all platforms. Meanwhile, communicators are helping their organization adopt AI, navigate digital transformation and keep teams aligned through constant change.
With change comes opportunity.
Ragan’s Internal Communications Conference on Oct. 13-15 gives you the playbook you need to lead with clarity and credibility and advance your role within your organization.
Join us on Microsoft’s campus for an immersive learning and networking event filled with practical strategies you need to meet this moment with confidence. You’ll learn how to strengthen executive communication, guide teams through disruption, combat misinformation and integrate emerging tech into your workflows responsibly. Join hundreds of peers from leading organizations and leave with ideas, tools and frameworks you can apply immediately.
Includes conference sessions, networking, presentation materials and post-event resources.
Everything You Need to Advance Your Internal Communications Strategy
YOUR COMPLETE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS LEARNING EXPERIENCE
- Learn from 30+ communications leaders sharing practical strategies, real-world case studies and proven best practices you can immediately apply.
- Choose from 30+ sessions, workshops, keynotes and fireside chats covering AI, employee communications, executive communications, change management, manager communications, measurement and more.
- Access every speaker presentation so you can revisit key insights and share what you've learned with your team.
- Receive exclusive bonus resources and post-conference tools available only to attendees.
- Join a Conference Cohort and connect with a small group of peers to learn together, exchange ideas and build lasting relationships throughout the event.
- Network with hundreds of internal communications professionals from leading organizations to benchmark strategies, solve common challenges and expand your professional network.
- Stay connected through the event app to schedule meetings, message attendees and continue conversations before, during and after the conference.
- Explore the latest communications technology and AI tools from leading industry partners and discover solutions to strengthen your internal communications strategy.
Top reasons to attend RAGAN'S INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE
- Reimagine AI Workflows: Move beyond prompts to agentic AI workflows that improve productivity, accelerate content creation and help communications teams turn AI adoption into strategic business impact.
- Reinforce Trust & Culture: Strengthen employee trust and engagement by communicating through political polarization, workplace tension and organizational change while protecting culture, credibility and organizational alignment.
- Reinvent Leadership Influence: Strengthen executive communications, improve leadership communication and elevate internal communications as a strategic partner in executive decision-making.
- Rethink Crisis Preparedness: Prepare your organization for deepfakes, cyber incidents, misinformation and global disruptions that can rapidly impact employees, operations and organizational reputation.
- Revise Content Strategy: Use AI to conduct faster content audits, strengthen internal content strategy and deliver more consistent employee communications across every channel.
- Rewire Intranets & Platforms: Optimize intranets, employee newsletters and digital workplace platforms to improve the employee experience and help employees find, understand and engage with critical information.
- Realign Mixternal Comms: Align internal communications, external communications, public relations and marketing to deliver consistent messaging across employees, customers and stakeholders.
- Reskill the “New Collar” Workforce: Build the internal communications, AI, business and leadership skills needed to succeed in AI-enabled workplaces where strategic thinking matters more than ever.
- Reenergize Manager Cascades: Equip managers with communication toolkits that help frontline, deskless, hybrid and remote employees navigate return-to-office changes, organizational change and business disruption.
- Reclaim Comms ROI: Measure the impact of internal communications using dashboards, KPIs and communication measurement frameworks that demonstrate business value and help secure future investment.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE AGENDA
Ragan's Internal Communications Conference agenda features three days of expert-led keynotes, interactive workshops, case studies and peer discussions designed for communications leaders. Explore sessions covering AI, employee communications, executive communications, change management, crisis communications, digital workplace strategy, measurement, manager communications and the future of internal communications.
Pre-Con - Tuesday, October 13
WORKSHOPIntegrated Content Strategy: How to Align Internal, Social and PR Channels
Your internal story is already shaping your external reputation, from executive posts to employee shares, AI answers and media narratives. Join this workshop to build one integrated strategy that connects internal comms, PR, social media, marketing and branded content without muddying ownership. You’ll learn:
The 360° Map: How to align audiences, channels, business goals and one core narrative across internal and external platforms.
No More Silos: Ways to clarify ownership, approvals and handoffs between IC, PR, social, marketing and executive comms (and how IC can lead that charge).
AI-Assisted Planning: How to use AI to streamline traditional content audits, repurpose stories and spot misinformation, mistakes or messaging miscues before they spread.
Integrated Metrics and Dashboards: What to track across engagement, reach, sentiment, reputation and business impact so leaders see the full story.
Interactive Lab: You’ll pressure test one campaign or announcement and rebuild it into an integrated content plan.
WorkshopBuilding Agents and Reworking Work: The Everyday Comms Tasks AI Can Automate
Join us to learn how internal comm teams can identify repetitive tasks, design practical AI workflows and build agents that save time while keeping comms in control. Through live demos and guided exercises, you'll leave with a workflow your team can pilot immediately. Whether you're exploring Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Gemini Enterprise, Claude or other AI tools, this workshop will help you think like a workflow designer, not just a prompt writer. We'll explore real examples of AI helping comms prepare for town halls, draft intranet content, summarize employee feedback, build communication plans and more. You’ll learn how to:
Spot Automation Opps: Identify repetitive, time-consuming tasks that could be streamlined with AI and agents.
Design Smarter Workflows: Define instructions, source materials, permissions, review processes and success measures before launching an agent.
Keep People at the Center: Understand where human judgment matters most and how to bring your team along as new ways of working emerge.
Build Your Own Lab: During an interactive workshop, you'll map an agent or workflow for your organization and leave with a plan you can test, refine and share with leadership.
WorkshopThe New IC Scorecard: Measuring Your Wins and Winning More Budget
Budgets are harder to defend when comms reports focus on opens, clicks and attendance instead of behavior change, risk reduction and business value. Join us to build a better scorecard with business-fluent KPIs and dashboards that show what worked, changed and needs fixing. You’ll learn:
Business Fluency Primer: How to translate retention, readiness, productivity, risk and trust into IC goals that leaders understand.
KPI Scorecard: Ways to set metrics for reach, comprehension, adoption, sentiment, behavior change and manager follow-through.
Measurement Stack: What to pull from email, intranets, surveys, HR data, collaboration tools and AI-assisted insights.
Dashboard Proof Points: Steps to turn numbers into executive-ready stories about impact, tradeoffs, budget needs and next moves.
Interactive Lab: In small groups, you’ll workshop a fictional scorecard so it delivers clearer KPIs and extrapolate your next steps and recommendations to the C-suite.
Interactive Sessions and Exclusive Tour: Inside Microsoft’s Famous Garage
Back at headquarters, you'll join other attendees in two programmed interactive sessions.
Offsite, get ready to go behind the scenes at Microsoft’s Garage to see how hackathons and “hacking culture” helped employees turn ideas into better products, processes and ways of working. Garage team members will share how the Global Hackathon grew, what they learned along the way and how this innovation model helps drive culture change across Microsoft.
Day 1 - Wednesday, October 14
Breakfast SessionWhat Does ‘Good’ Actually Look Like? Measuring Internal Communications That Matter
Every communicator is expected to prove impact, but metrics alone rarely tell the full story. Without meaningful context, it's difficult to know what's working, what needs improvement or how to communicate results to leadership. Learn a practical framework for measuring communication effectiveness, establishing benchmarks and turning data into smarter decisions that improve employee engagement over time.
In this session, you'll learn how to:
Identify meaningful metrics that reveal employee engagement beyond opens and clicks.
Establish benchmarks using historical, organizational and industry performance.
Translate communication data into actionable insights that improve future campaigns.
Present results in ways that build credibility and support informed leadership decisions.
KeynoteDriving Workforce Transformation: Proven Recipes to Redesign Work in the AI Era
AI is reshaping how work gets done. As roles evolve, workflows shift and skill demands accelerate, orgs need a new approach to transformation. Hear how Microsoft is becoming a “Frontier Firm”—an AI-powered, human-led organization—with takeaways you can apply to comms. You’ll get an inside look at how Microsoft is redesigning work, reimagining roles and building the skills, behaviors and operating models needed to succeed in the AI era. You’ll also learn three proven approaches to applying AI across roles, processes and new ways of working—and leave with a roadmap your team can use to help drive adoption, manage change and deliver impact. You’ll explore how to:
Redesign Work for the AI Era: Ways to rethink roles, workflows and operating models to unlock impact.
Apply Three AI Transformation “Recipes”: How to accelerate individuals, reinvent processes and design AI-first teams.
Drive Adoption at Scale: How to build the mindset, skillset and behaviors needed for sustained change.
Mobilize Your Org: How to align leadership, strategy and measurement to deliver business outcomes.
Interactive Table TalkThe Change Reality Check: Turning AI Anxiety Into Action
Compare notes with your peers on what AI, reorgs and shifting work models really mean for employees and internal stakeholders. Facilitated by Ragan’s Chief Growth Officer and head of its Communications Leadership Council, you’ll trade practical ways to address fear, build trust and help your employees move from anxiety to action.
No More IC Career Ladder: New Skills for the Climbing Wall
The skills that built yesterday’s internal comms career won’t be enough for tomorrow’s role. Join LinkedIn leaders to explore the “career climbing wall” concept and map new routes to the top for teams whose work now spans technology, influence and change. We’ll cover:
Rising IC Skills: What LinkedIn and Ragan are seeing in the skills reshaping comms work now, including an IC-specific checklist.
Revisiting Comms Tasks: How to break internal comms work into what AI can handle or assist, and what to leave to humans.
Rethinking L&D: How to help HR turn new skills data into learning paths, manager nudges and adoption campaigns.
Route Mapping: How to build career climbing paths across AI fluency, leadership, executive comms, business acumen, adaptability, judgment and more.
The First 90 Days: Executive Comms for New and Shifting Leaders
New and shifting execs create a rare window to reset expectations, reinforce culture and realign teams before employees lose the thread. See how to support CEOs, VPs, function heads and other C-suite leaders as they onboard, expand their remit or step into change-heavy roles. You’ll learn:
Role Reset: How to assess what employees need to hear from a leader stepping into a new, expanded or higher-pressure role.
Voice, Vision and Values: Ways to connect leader voice, business priorities and culture commitments before contradictions take hold.
Trust-Building Moments: How to plan all-hands, team visits, Q&As and informal touchpoints to make new leaders more credible.
90-Day Momentum: How to sustain clarity, transparency and consistency through the first 90 days and beyond.
Tech ShowcaseMove Faster, Mean More: How AI Made Your Team Bigger
AI is already changing how internal comms work gets done — quietly taking on busywork, clearing space for better judgment and making room for the parts of the job only a person can do. Rick Knudtson, CEO of Workshop, shares what he's seeing across the industry, with a few glimpses of what's coming next! Either way, your internal comms team just got bigger, even if the org chart hasn't changed. You'll leave with a clearer sense of where AI genuinely helps, and where your judgment still matters most.
You'll walk away with:
A clear-eyed view of where AI is already doing real work in internal comms — and where it still falls short.
A practical way to think about what to hand off to AI and what to hold onto, so judgment and taste stay part of the job.
A look at where things are headed, so you're ready to move when the next shift hits.
Case StudiesAI Workflow Show-and-Tell: Real IC Use Cases to Borrow
AI won’t fix a broken internal comms workflow. Use agents to speed up stale processes and you’ll just do the wrong work faster. This show-and-tell reveals real workflow use cases you can borrow to improve planning, content decisions and your strategic impact. You’ll learn:
Workflow Reality Check: How to audit comms asks, briefs, reviews and approval loops without making your team feel replaced.
Content Improvement: How AI can pinpoint weak pages, missing answers and unmet employee or executive needs before you draft.
Use Case Library: Real AI-enhanced IC workflows to borrow, from campaign planning to manager toolkits, employee surveys and content repurposing.
Beyond Time Saved: How to measure and tie AI gains to better targeting, message retention, risk reduction and smarter business decisions.
Case StudyEmployee Safety Crisis Comms for Execs: Handling Fires, Floods and Flashpoints
Employee safety crises thrust you in the middle of changing facts, anxious teams and execs who must deliver the message internally and sometimes externally, rather than just approve it. See how one team shaped leader remarks, message maps and support resources during a fast-moving disruption. You’ll learn:
Leader Message Maps: How to prep execs with facts, decision points, employee-first language and answer guidance for tough questions.
Internal Response Channels: How to sequence alerts, texts, intranet updates, manager scripts and exec messages when answers change fast.
Employee Support Hubs: How to create one reliable source for exec updates, relief links, counseling and local resources.
Mixternal Alignment: How to keep employee updates, executive talking points and external statements consistent as conditions shift.
PanelFrom Data to Decisions: How IC Earns Trusted Advisor Status
Too many IC pros have the valuable employee data needed to help shape decisions, but are still asked to just “send the update” or “pull the numbers” instead. See how to turn engagement patterns, employee behavior and business priorities into counsel that moves you from order taker to trusted advisor. You’ll learn:
The New Measurement Stack: What top teams now track, from channel analytics and engagement KPIs to surveys, HR trends and AI-assisted sentiment.
Diagnosing Data: How to find the “so what” behind confusing patterns, drop-offs, repeat questions and low adoption.
Analysis and Counsel: How other communicators are turning those findings into sharper recs for execs, managers and other departments.
Dashboards Execs Love: What to show so leadership clearly sees adoption gaps, trust risks, employee friction and decisions that need changing.
PanelThe New Thought Leadership Story Stack: Video, Podcasts and Social
Employees and stakeholders don’t need more executive content. They need leaders with a useful POV, stronger stories and formats worth following. See how other teams are using narrative development, podcasts, short-form video, LinkedIn and social tools to make thought leadership easier to create, repurpose and scale. You’ll learn:
Leadership Storytelling: How to turn executive expertise, company priorities and real moments into practical stories employees and stakeholders can use.
Narrative Development: Ways to shape a clear leadership POV across speeches, events, campaigns, podcasts, videos and corporate social channels.
Video, Podcast and Social Lift: Tips for turning speeches, Q&As and long-form ideas into short clips, executive posts, employee-shareable assets and social moments.
Story Stack Cheat Sheet: A look at the tools, templates, workflows and repurposing hacks panelists use to turn one strong idea into multiple assets.
PanelFrom Homepage to Habit: Redesigning Intranets Employees Actually Use
Too many intranets become digital dumping grounds full of important updates, buried answers and pages employees only visit when they have to. See how other teams are redesigning homepages, search, navigation and personalization so employees can find what they need faster and return when it matters. You’ll learn:
Homepage Priorities: How to decide what earns top placement, what gets archived and what employees need first.
Search and UX: How better search, cleaner navigation, AI assistants and voice-style interfaces are changing the intranet experience.
Personalization Journeys: How to tailor content by role, location, department, employee lifecycle moment or employee need.
Usefulness Metrics: What to track beyond clicks, from search success and repeat visits to task completion and employee feedback.
PanelIt Starts at the Top: Manager Toolkits That Get Used
Most manager toolkits die in a folder. If you want one that survives the real workday, it must translate top-down executive messages into scannable, manager-ready answers for tough employee questions. See how others design resources that clarify change, support cascades and earn trust. You’ll learn:
Manager Reality Check: How to identify what managers truly need before building another bloated PDF or portal page.
Toolkit Essentials: How to create clear FAQs, talking points, message maps and plug-and-play employee question guides.
Cascade Design: Ways to sequence executive messages, manager prompts and frontline updates so teams hear one story both locally and globally.
Tracking with AI: How to track manager adoption, employee questions and feedback using a simple AI dashboard for review.
TL;DR: Simpler, Smarter Employee Newsletters and Content Channels
Employees skim, skip and ignore newsletters when every issue becomes a kitchen-sink blast built for everyone and relevant to no one. In this case study, see how one healthcare team is rethinking newsletters, intranets and employee channels with simpler writing, smarter taxonomy, more personalized content and AI-assisted workflows that make updates easier to find, read and use. You’ll learn:
Channel Reset: How to move from “personal publisher” and request-based sends to a strategic channel model that reduces overload and drives action.
Writing and Design Principles: How Smart Brevity, human tone, “weekend words” and refreshed style guides can make newsletters and intranets easier to skim.
Personalization Playbook: How taxonomy, tagging, editorial guidelines and content categories can help serve more relevant updates by audience and need.
AI and Measurement Moves: How AI agents, editorial templates and behavior-based metrics can improve content work beyond vanity metrics like opens and clicks.
The Brain Science of Trust: What Employees Need From Execs
Everyone says executives need to build trust, but few explain what employees actually need to feel safe, stay open and act on hard messages. Learn how brain and behavioral science can help executive communicators reduce threat responses, sequences tough updates and design leadership moments that reach both logic and emotion hot buttons. You’ll learn:
Trust Triggers: What happens when uncertainty, inconsistency, fear or loss of control shapes how employees hear leaders.
Safety Before Strategy: Why employees need clarity, agency and emotional steadiness before they can process complex change.
Message Sequencing: How to order facts, empathy, decisions and next steps so execs reduce defensiveness instead of raising it.
Credibility Cues: How to measure whether your executive comms is increasing confidence, alignment, sentiment and follow-through.
Industry SpotlightFrom a Small Team to a Force Multiplier: Emerging Technology for Executive Communications
What happens when a lean communications team can operate like one many times its size? Communications leader Chris Zona joins Amer Tadayon to share how emerging technology has already reshaped executive communications. They'll cover the tools their team relies on every day, from AI agents that prep meetings to platforms that turn any employee into a content creator, along with the real wins and honest trade-offs. Communicators will leave with practical ideas for using these tools to do more with less and earn comms a lasting seat at the leadership table.
Case StudyBrands Taking a Stand: When Employees Expect You to Speak
Midterms, policy fights, DEI backlash and social flashpoints are putting companies under pressure to say something, say nothing or explain why they chose either path. In this point-counterpoint session, two comms leaders will test both instincts and share a practical framework for deciding when and how to respond. You’ll learn:
Decision Filters: How to assess whether an issue connects to your values, workforce, business or communities before taking a position.
Employee Expectations: Ways to gauge what employees need to hear without turning every flashpoint into a companywide statement.
Backlash Readiness: How to prepare leaders, managers and employee channels for disagreement, questions and reputational fallout.
DEI Case Study: How one team tapped ERGs, employee listening and wellbeing data to protect belonging when inclusion efforts came under fire.
Case StudyEmployee Ambassadors: Turning Internal Influencers Into Brand Advocates
Employees can be your most trusted messengers, especially when their stories reinforce executive visibility, thought leadership and the employer brand. See how one organization build an ambassador program across HR, brand, marketing and comms to help employees carry the brand story. You’ll learn:
Ambassador Selection: How to identify credible internal influencers who can represent culture, expertise and employee experience.
Brand Education: How to use an internal brand hub, core values and approved story tools so ambassadors share consistently without losing authenticity.
Executive Amplification: How employee ambassadors can extend leader visibility, thought leadership and key messages across LinkedIn, events and peer conversations.
Program Governance: How to align HR, brand, marketing and comms on ownership, approvals, metrics and what ambassadors can adapt.
Reaching the Hard-to-Reach: Rallying Frontline, Deskless and Global Teams
Hard to reach employees don’t miss updates because they don’t care. They miss them because shifts, sites, devices, languages, cultures, borders, time zones and local managers all shape how information reaches them. See how to match messages, channels and timing to the realities of frontline, deskless, distributed and international teams. You’ll learn:
Workforce Personas: How to map employee needs by role, shift, site, language, device access and urgency.
Channel Fit: How to choose between SMS, digital signage, apps, manager huddles, breakroom posters, video and email.
Global Nuance: How to adapt messages across regions, languages, cultures and time zones without losing consistency.
Reading the Results: How to measure reach, comprehension, action taken and feedback across regions, roles and employee groups.
Fixing Failed Feedback Loops: Helping Leaders Listen and Act
Employee feedback breaks down when surveys, townhalls, manager escalations and listening sessions all produce input, but no clear action. See how internal comms can connect the signals, advise leaders, push back on performative listening and close the loop with credibility. You’ll learn:
Signal Mapping: How to connect pulse surveys, townhall chats, manager feedback, ERG input, frontline buddies and intranet comments.
Pattern Spotting: Ways to separate recurring employee concerns from one-off noise, late-stage objections or internal politics.
Leader Counsel: How to turn messy feedback into sharper recommendations, better questions and clearer decisions for execs.
Action Loops: How to visibly show what changes, what didn’t and why, without overpromising or reopening every debate.
Closing Keynote FiresideThe People-Tech-Comms Power Seat: How IC Joins the Inner Circle
Internal comms now sits where the people agenda and the technology agenda meet: AI adoption, workforce change, culture, trust and employee experience. In this closing convo led by Ragan’s Chief Growth Officer and head of its Communications Leadership Council, comms execs and tech leaders reveal how IC can woo, wow and work with the C-suite leaders shaping what employees experience next. You’ll learn:
People-Tech Priorities: What CHROs and CIOs care about most when culture, systems, AI and workforce change collide.
Early Influence: How to get invited into planning before the big decisions become rushed announcements.
Translation Superpowers: Ways to turn complex people, tech and process changes into messages that inspire employees and move them to act.
Influence Secrets: What separates order-taking from trusted counsel when execs are balancing speed, risk and employee trust.
Table TalkComms Therapy: Fixing the Frustrations We All Share
Bring the internal comms headaches everyone knows too well: vague feedback, late approvals, manager silence and CEO curveballs. In this peer exchange, you’ll trade practical fixes, borrow peer-tested language and leave with solutions you can actually use.
Networking Reception
Wrap up the day at the Mixer at Microsoft HQ with good drinks, great bites, and even better conversation. Connect with new contacts, catch up with familiar faces, and swap ideas with fellow attendees in a relaxed atmosphere designed for easy, meaningful networking.
Day 2 - Thursday, October 15
Breakfast SessionThe Attention Budget: Spending What's Left of Employee Focus Wisely
Employee attention is basically a currency now, and it's shrinking fast. Every all-company email, every unread intranet post, is a withdrawal. Most organizations have no idea what's left in the account, let alone that AI is already spending it on their behalf.
Building on Fresh's Intent Gap Report 2026, this session makes the case for treating internal comms like a budget, not a broadcast: consolidating the tools people already live in, protecting your content for a world where Copilot decides what gets read, and planning attention instead of hoping for it.
The strategic communicator's new role model isn't the newsroom editor. It's FP&A.
Must-See IC: Turn Townhalls Into Your Video Strategy
Townhalls still matter, but staff no longer want the slide marathons they half-watch while clearing emails. See how an award-winning team is turning all-hands, leader updates and employee Q&As into a video-first experience that works live, on demand and across internal channels. You’ll learn:
Townhall Design: How to structure all-hands meetings around leader visibility, employee stories and Q&A—including open, pre-submitted and tough questions.
Repurposing Q&A and Content: How to turn employee questions, leader answers and key moments into clips for intranets, newsletters, Teams, lobby screens and manager cascades.
Production Lite: Smart ways to use phones, templates, captions, AI editing and internal talent to create sticky video without a big-studio budget.
Box Office Metrics: How to turn attendance, views, completion rates, replays and feedback into budget wins for bigger video pilots.
Employer Branding in the Age of AI Layoffs
During a time of high anxiety, employees are asking: “Can I trust this leadership team with my future?” See how executive voice coupled with employee-led storytelling can help make your EVP credible, human and real. You’ll learn:
Leadership Proof: How CEOs and senior leaders can show the employer promise through stories, visibility and decisions.
EVP Reset: What layoffs, workforce anxieties and AI disruption demand from your leadership narrative, employee messaging and EVP.
Employee Voices: How intern and early-career voices can show mentorship, growth, belonging and business purpose.
Trust and Talent ROI: How to track clicks, conversations, internal recognition, recruiting interest and retention tied to executive and employee-led content.
PanelThe New Digital Crisis Toolkit: Cyber, Deepfakes and Viral Blowback
Digital crises don’t stay external for long, and many start inside. From phishing clicks and AI misuse to deepfakes, misinformation and viral backlash, these threats quickly becomes employee questions, manager escalations and internal rumor loops. Hear how IC can spot risk sooner, verify facts faster and guide employee messaging before panic spreads. You’ll hear:
Monitoring Stack: How to connect social listening, employee channels, IT alerts, media monitoring and manager feedback before risk spreads.
Facts First: Ways to confirm what’s real, what’s unknown and what employees need before speculation fills the gaps.
Message Routing: How to decide what goes to email, intranet, SMS, Teams, managers and leaders when internal goes external fast.
Recovery and Readiness: Metrics to track rumor spread, response time, message reach, sentiment and what to fix before the next crisis.
PanelCross-Generational Mentorship: What Every Career Stage Can Teach
When the workplace feels sink-or-swim, cross-generational learning gives employees across five generations a way to steady each other, protect hard-won knowledge and grow faster together. Hear how you can support mentoring, reverse mentoring and peer learning that turn generational differences into shared skills, stronger networks, career confidence and a stronger culture. You’ll learn:
Comms Preferences: How to decode generational differences in channel habits, feedback expectations and meeting norms without relying on stereotypes.
Skills Exchange: How to pair AI fluency and emerging tools with institutional knowledge, judgment and business context.
Mentorship Models: Ways to structure mentoring, reverse mentoring, peer circles and manager-led learning without creating another HR program that stalls.
Culture Builders: How cross-generational learning can strengthen resilience, executive presence, belonging and readiness for what comes next.
Tech ShowcaseStop Communicating Certainty. Start Building Trust.
Organizations are moving faster than ever, yet many leaders still wait until every decision is finalized before communicating. By then, employees have already filled the information vacuum with assumptions. This session explores how communicators can help leaders build trust by communicating earlier, acknowledging uncertainty, and creating opportunities for employees to ask questions, share concerns, and make sense of transformation together — strengthening credibility, confidence, and adoption even when every answer isn't yet available.
This session will cover:
Communicating earlier: Bring employees into the conversation before every decision is final — without creating confusion.
Leading through uncertainty: Build trust by communicating what you know — and what you don't.
Listening to build trust: Invite questions, address concerns, and strengthen trust through dialogue.
Coaching leaders: Practical approaches for helping leaders communicate through ambiguity instead of waiting for certainty.
Closing Keynote PanelReclaiming Trust in the Age of Attack: From Exec Comms to the Frontlines
When misinformation, polarization and public skepticism hit your org, employees often feel the impact first even though the issue might hit the C-suite hardest. In this high-level fireside panel, hear how mission-driven communicators and top brand-side teams alike are rebuilding trust through sharper diagnosis, stronger storytelling, integrated content, employee voices and faster systems to help teams respond before doubt takes hold. We'll touch on:
The Real Problem: How to diagnose any given trust challenge or issue before chasing shiny tactics, reactive statements or internal distractions.
Moments, Not Channels: How executive speeches, visits, convenings, employee stories and field moments can reinforce one mission-driven narrative over time.
Influence from the Inside Out: How to align internal comms, PR, social, partners, employees and SMEs around one mission-driven narrative over time.
Speed with Systems: How clearer ownership, AI-assisted workflows and practical guardrails can help teams move faster without sacrificing judgement or trust.
Greatest Hits and Giveaways
Close out ICC 2026 with a fast, fun roundup of ideas, tools and takeaways to bring back to your team. We’ll share smart moves from across the conference, hand out final giveaways and send you home with a short list of what to try first. Your career and company will thank you!
Includes conference sessions, networking, presentation materials and post-event resources.
SPEAKERS
Learn from communications leaders who are shaping the future of internal communications, employee communications and executive communications. Through practical case studies and real-world examples, they'll share proven strategies you can immediately apply within your own organization.
INTERESTED IN SPEAKING?
Please reach out to Senior Director of Event Programming Alyssa Smith.
PRICING
Secure Your Seat Today! Bring Your Team to Learn & Grow Together.
All registrations include conference sessions, speaker presentation decks, networking and notes taken by the Ragan editorial team.
| PRIORITY Until June 12 |
ADVANCED Until July 17 |
EARLY BIRD Until August 14 |
VIP Until September 11 |
REGULAR RATE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference All-Access Pass includes the Pre-Conference Workshops and conference recording | |||||
| Standard | $3,495 | $3,595 | $3,695 | $3,795 | $3,895 |
| Nonprofit/Gov/Edu | $3,395 | $3,495 | $3,595 | $3,695 | $3,795 |
| Ragan Insider | $3,345 | $3,445 | $3,545 | $3,645 | $3,745 |
| Conference Registration - Individual | |||||
| Standard | $3,095 | $3,195 | $3,295 | $3,395 | $3,495 |
| Nonprofit/Gov/Edu | $2,995 | $3,095 | $3,195 | $3,295 | $3,395 |
| Ragan Insider | $2,945 | $3,045 | $3,145 | $3,245 | $3,345 |
| Conference Recording On Demand | |||||
| Includes pre-conference workshops and conference sessions | $1,999 | $1,999 | $1,999 | $1,999 | $1,999 |
| Vendor Registration | |||||
| $4,999 | $4,999 | $4,999 | $4,999 | $4,999 | |
Bring your team! Discounted group pricing for 3 or more is available. Contact customer service for more information.
Lawrence Ragan Communications, Inc is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities.
This program is valid for 15 PDCs when using Activity ID: 26-DZZUQ.
Download this letter to convince your boss you should attend The Internal Communications Conference.
Group Discounts
Would you and your team like to attend? Group pricing for 3 or more is available when going through the registration process!
RAGAN COUNCIL MEMBER DISCOUNTS
Membership includes free registration passes. Contact Shallon Blackburn for more information on becoming a member.
RAGAN INSIDER DISCOUNTS
Insiders save on all Ragan events. Not a Ragan Insider? You can become one during registration for this event!
Building 92/Learning Center
Microsoft
15010 NE 36th Street
Redmond WA 98052
- How IC can Embrace AI: A Practical Guide
- LinkedIn’s Guide to Executive Thought Leadership
- Benchmarking for Internal Communicators
- An Internal Communications Strategy Checklist
- Using Measurement to Prove Internal Comms Has Value
- Creating a Mixternal Measurement Strategy
- Top Employee Newsletters: Ragan Award Winners
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Ragan's Internal Communications Conference is designed for professionals responsible for communicating with employees, executives and stakeholders across their organizations. Whether you lead communications strategy or create the content that keeps employees informed, engaged and aligned, you'll find practical ideas you can immediately put into practice:
You should attend if you spend at least a quarter of your time in any of these areas:
- Internal Communications
- Employee Communications
- Executive Communications
- Corporate Communications
- Manager Communications
- Change Communications
- Crisis Communications
- HR Communications
- Employer Branding
- Employee Experience
- Organizational Communications
- AI Integration and AI Adoption
- Brand Management
- Brand Journalism
- Public Relations
- Marketing Communications
- Content Strategy
- Content Creation
- Social Media
- Storytelling
- Writing and Editing
The conference is valuable for communications specialists, managers, directors, vice presidents, chief communications officers (CCOs), heads of internal communications and communications executives working across corporate, nonprofit, government, healthcare, higher education and technology organizations.
COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONALS WHO ATTEND
Join communications professionals from some of the world's most recognized organizations. Every year, internal communications, employee communications, executive communications and corporate communications leaders from Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, healthcare organizations, higher education institutions and government agencies attend Ragan's Internal Communications Conference to discover new strategies, explore AI, benchmark best practices and build valuable professional connections.
Whether you work for a Fortune 500 company, nonprofit, healthcare organization, university, government agency or growing business,
you'll find peers facing many of the same communication challenges and opportunities.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Premium
Want to become a sponsor? Get in touch with our team to discuss sponsorship opportunities.
WONDERING IF YOU SHOULD ATTEND?
Here’s what past attendees are saying about Ragan and PR Daily Events!
I had an incredible experience at the Ragan Internal Communications Conference. It was a rare and valuable opportunity to learn and connect with fellow internal communicators from a wide range of industries. The sessions were insightful and provided me with intense knowledge, reaffirming my passion for internal communications. I walked away with great insights that I could immediately take back and apply to my team. This conference truly stands out as a highlight in my professional journey.
I thoroughly enjoyed attending the Ragan Internal Communication Conference. As a communication specialist responsible for internal communications at the Panama Canal, everything I learned was incredibly valuable, useful, and enriching. The speakers, sponsors, moderators, emcees, the punctuality, and the networking opportunities all exceeded my expectations. I can't wait to attend again—this was the first of many. Ragan rocks!
Ragan provided the perfect opportunity for fellow communicators to listen to experts and share insights into what is going on in our field. I left with a renewed vision and sense of excitement!
This conference was absolutely worth the trip! The Ragan folks are very well organized and prepared. I learned a ton.
We left the conference energized with new ideas, empowered by peer validation, and inspired to pursue deeper learning and engagement through Ragan’s CLC. This is already a valuable investment for our team and the employees and communities we serve.
Wow! The Internal Communications Conference at Microsoft Headquarters was an invigorating experience. There were so many lively discussions and dynamic sessions that left me feeling energized and inspired. I cannot wait to see what Ragan plans next year.
What is Ragan's Internal Communications Conference?
Ragan's Internal Communications Conference is one of the leading professional development conferences for internal communications, employee communications, executive communications and corporate communications professionals. Held October 13-15, 2026, on Microsoft's Redmond, Washington campus, the conference brings together communications leaders to explore AI, employee engagement, change communications, leadership communications, crisis communications and the future of workplace communication through practical sessions, workshops and networking.
Who should attend Ragan's Internal Communications Conference?
Ragan's Internal Communications Conference is designed for professionals responsible for communicating with employees, executives and stakeholders across their organizations. Whether you lead communications strategy or create the content that keeps employees informed and engaged, you'll find practical ideas you can immediately put into practice. The conference is ideal for those working in:
- Internal communications
- Employee communications
- Executive communications
- Corporate communications
- Change communications
- HR communications
- Manager communications
- Employer branding
- Employee experience
- Organizational communications
- Public relations
- Marketing communications
- Content strategy and content marketing
- Social media
- AI communications and AI adoption
- Executive leadership
Attendees include communications specialists, managers, directors, vice presidents, chief communications officers (CCOs), heads of internal communications and communications executives from organizations of every size and industry.
Why should communications professionals attend this conference?
Today's communications leaders are expected to lead AI adoption, strengthen employee engagement, guide organizational change, advise executives, improve manager communications and measure business impact. Ragan's Internal Communications Conference is designed to help you build the skills, strategies and confidence to lead through that transformation.
Whether you're looking for new internal communications strategies, AI best practices, executive communications guidance or employee engagement ideas, you'll leave with practical solutions you can immediately apply in your organization.
Ragan's Internal Communications Conference provides practical frameworks, proven best practices, peer case studies, templates and real-world examples that help communications leaders solve today's biggest workplace communication challenges. You'll return to your organization with actionable ideas, new perspectives and practical solutions you can immediately put into practice.
What makes Ragan's Internal Communications Conference different?
Unlike general marketing, PR or HR conferences, Ragan's Internal Communications Conference is built specifically for professionals responsible for employee communications, executive communications and organizational alignment. Every session focuses on the real-world challenges of communicating with employees, executives and organizational stakeholders through AI transformation, change and disruption.
Rather than theory, you'll learn from practical case studies and proven strategies shared by communications leaders from organizations including Microsoft, PepsiCo, FedEx, Hasbro, The New York Times and other leading employers. You'll leave with actionable frameworks, templates and ideas to strengthen employee engagement, executive communications, organizational alignment and workplace communication that you can immediately put into practice.
Is this conference focused on internal communications or broader corporate communications?
Yes. While internal communications is the primary focus, the agenda also covers executive communications, employee communications, change communications, crisis communications, employer branding, AI governance, manager communications and cross-functional communications strategy. Many attendees oversee multiple communications functions and attend to learn integrated approaches they can apply across their organizations.
Is this conference technical?
No. Ragan's Internal Communications Conference is designed for communications professionals, not software developers or IT teams.
Sessions focus on practical communication strategies, AI adoption, leadership communication, employee engagement, change management and modern internal communications workflows. You won't need coding or technical experience to benefit from the conference.
How is artificial intelligence (AI) covered at the conference?
Yes. Artificial intelligence (AI) is woven throughout Ragan's Internal Communications Conference. Rather than treating AI as a standalone topic, the conference explores how communications leaders are using AI to improve employee communications, executive communications, content creation, change management, measurement and strategic decision-making.
Conference topics include:
- Agentic AI workflows
- AI governance
- AI-powered content creation
- Responsible AI adoption
- AI in employee communications
- AI for managers
- AI change management
- AI measurement
- Human oversight
What topics are covered at Ragan's Internal Communications Conference?
Ragan's Internal Communications Conference covers today's most important topics in internal communications, including AI, employee engagement, executive communications, change management, crisis communications, leadership communication, intranet strategy, measurement, employer branding and manager communications.
- Pre-Con (Tue., Oct. 13): Hands-on workshops on integrated content strategy, agentic AI workflows for IC, and building an IC scorecard that wins budget — plus an exclusive tour of Microsoft’s Garage innovation hub.
- Day 1 (Wed., Oct. 14): Opening keynote from Microsoft’s Katy George on leading AI transformation, dual-track sessions on IC career skills, executive onboarding, intranet redesign, manager toolkits, crisis-ready newsletters and brand positioning, and a closing fireside on IC’s seat at the leadership table.
- Day 2 (Thu., Oct. 15): Sessions on video-first townhalls, employer branding during AI-driven layoffs, digital crisis response (deepfakes, cyber incidents), cross-generational mentorship, and a closing keynote panel on protecting executive visibility under pressure.
Who are the speakers at Ragan's Internal Communications Conference?
Ragan's Internal Communications Conference features more than 20 speakers from Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, higher education and leading organizations. Keynoter Katy George (Corporate VP of Workforce Transformation, Microsoft) headlines a lineup of 20+ speakers including leaders from PepsiCo, FedEx, Hasbro, The New York Times, Gates Foundation, Santander US, The Trevor Project and Idaho National Laboratory.
What will I learn at Ragan's Internal Communications Conference?
You'll leave with practical communication strategies, AI workflows, communication frameworks and ready-to-use resources you can immediately implement within your organization.
- Frameworks for aligning internal, PR, social and marketing messaging (“mixternal” comms)
- Practical ways to build and pilot agentic AI workflows for IC
- Crisis-readiness playbooks for deepfakes, cyber incidents and safety emergencies
- Manager toolkits and cascade design that actually get used
- Measurement frameworks and dashboards to defend and grow your budget
- Speaker decks, session notes from Ragan’s editorial team, and bonus guidebooks (including a practical AI-for-IC guide and a mixternal measurement strategy guide)
Will I receive presentation materials and recordings?
Yes. Depending on your registration package, you'll receive access to speaker presentation slides (when provided), detailed session notes prepared by Ragan's editorial team and practical bonus resources you can use long after the conference ends. All-Access attendees also receive access to the conference recordings, making it easy to revisit sessions, share insights with colleagues and catch any presentations you couldn't attend live.
Will there be networking opportunities?
Absolutely. Ragan's Internal Communications Conference is designed to help you connect with peers facing the same communication challenges. From workshops, networking receptions, shared meals, roundtable discussions, breaks and interactive sessions, you'll have multiple opportunities to exchange ideas with internal communications, executive communications, employee experience and corporate communications professionals from across North America.
Speakers and attendees represent Fortune 500 companies, leading nonprofits, healthcare organizations, higher education institutions and government agencies, giving you the opportunity to build meaningful relationships across industries and learn how communications leaders are solving today's biggest workplace challenges.
Many attendees say the conversations they have outside the sessions are just as valuable as what they learn inside them, often leading to new ideas, lasting professional connections and solutions they can immediately bring back to their organizations.
Can I attend if I don't work in internal communications?
Yes. While the conference is built for internal communications professionals, the content is equally valuable for anyone responsible for communicating with employees or supporting organizational change. Attendees include leaders in executive communications, corporate communications, employee communications, change communications, public relations, marketing, HR communications, employer branding and employee experience. If your role involves informing, engaging or influencing employees, you'll find practical strategies you can immediately apply.
Is this conference good for executive communications professionals?
Yes. Executive communications is a major focus throughout the conference. Sessions explore executive messaging, executive and CEO communications, leadership visibility, executive onboarding, change leadership, crisis communications and building trust with employees during periods of transformation. Many attendees oversee both internal and executive communications, making these sessions especially relevant. If you support senior leaders or shape executive communication strategies, you'll leave with practical frameworks, real-world case studies and new approaches you can immediately put into practice.
Is this conference appropriate for both new and experienced communications professionals?
Yes. The conference is designed for communications professionals at every stage of their careers. Whether you're building your first internal communications strategy or leading communications for a global organization, you'll find sessions that match your experience level. Most attendees range from communications specialists and managers to directors, vice presidents, chief communications officers (CCOs) and heads of internal communications. Hands-on workshops, practical case studies and strategic leadership sessions ensure everyone leaves with actionable ideas they can immediately apply, regardless of where they are in their career.
When and where is Ragan's Internal Communications Conference held?
Ragan's Internal Communications Conference takes place Oct. 13-15, 2026, at Microsoft's Building 92/Learning Center, 15010 NE 36th Street, Redmond, WA. Once registered, attendees receive hotel recommendations, travel information and a curated list of nearby accommodations to help plan their trip.
What is it like attending a conference at Microsoft's Redmond campus?
Located just outside Seattle, Microsoft's Redmond campus provides a unique setting for communications professionals to learn where many of today's workplace technologies and AI innovations are being developed. Beyond the conference sessions, attendees receive exclusive access to Microsoft's campus, including a tour of Microsoft Garage, the company's innovation hub where employees collaborate on new ideas and emerging technologies.
When you're not at the conference, you'll be just minutes from some of the Seattle area's most popular attractions, including Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, the Seattle Great Wheel, the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Woodinville Wine Country.
Why is Seattle a good location for an internal communications conference?
Seattle is home to many of the world's leading technology, healthcare, aerospace and consumer brands, making it an ideal place to explore the future of internal communications, AI, employee communications and workplace innovation. Hosted on Microsoft's Redmond campus, Ragan's Internal Communications Conference gives attendees the opportunity to learn where many of today's workplace technologies are being developed while networking with communications professionals from Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, healthcare organizations, higher education institutions and government agencies across North America.
How much does it cost?
Multiple registration options are available for individuals, teams, nonprofits, government organizations and higher education institutions.
- Conference All-Access Pass (includes pre-con workshops + recording): from $3,345 (Ragan Insider priority) to $3,895 (standard regular rate)
- Conference Registration - Individual: from $2,945 to $3,495
- Recording On Demand: $1,999
- Vendor Registration: $4,999
Discounts are available for nonprofit/government/education, Ragan Insiders, groups of 3+, and Ragan Communications Leadership Council members. Pricing tiers up in stages (Priority → Advanced → Early Bird → VIP → Regular), so registering earlier saves the most.
Can I bring my team to Ragan's Internal Communications Conference?
Yes. Discounted group pricing is available for teams of three or more. Many organizations send communications teams together so they can divide sessions, compare notes and return with a shared communications action plan, making it easier to implement new strategies across the organization.
Does this count toward SHRM recertification?
Yes. The conference is valid for 15 SHRM Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification (Activity ID: 26-DZZUQ). Each registration also comes with a personalized Certificate of Completion.
How do I convince my manager to approve attendance at Ragan's Internal Communications Conference?
Ragan provides a downloadable justification letter on the event page you can send directly to your manager.
Does registration support a cause?
Yes. A portion of proceeds goes to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska, which supports families with children in medical crisis.
Who do I contact with questions?
For registration, sponsorship or speaker questions about Ragan's Internal Communications Conference, please contact the appropriate member of our team:
Registration: Contact: Shallon Blackburn, Director of Client Services
Sponsorship opportunities: Hannah Lavelle, Executive Director of Sales
Programming and speaking inquiries: Alyssa Smith, Senior Director of Event Programming
How do I register?
Register directly at the event registration link. Pricing increases in stages, so earlier registration means bigger savings
The conference fun doesn’t start and stop at the event! Follow us on socials and sign-up for update emails.
Contact us for group rates and share with friends!
