Jan Enns Communications

I love sharing tips for being a confident and compelling communicator! Have you got your hands on one of my P3 (Personal Power Presenter) kits yet? Guess what’s inside – and why! Even Knox was curious! 😊

How should we handle misinformation in our communities, especially on social media? This is a topic I'm passionate about, and I had the honour of contributing to an article about it in the recent Local Government Management Association of British Columbia Exchange Magazine. Have you had a chance to read it yet? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Oh yes, and a shout out to Julie Rogers for her excellent Ask A Mentor feature! 👏

As we head into dry season, I shared about something quite personal to me in this month's newsletter⁠—fire season preparation.

In case you missed it, you can sign up below to get my top five takeaways of things you can do now that I guarantee will save your time and mental health down the road.

https://jan-enns-communications.myflodesk.com/790dc15d-500d-4fe0-a85c-7e28642edf3c

Today is Indigenous Peoples Day! Today and everyday, let's recognize and celebrate the heritage, culture, and traditions of Indigenous communities throughout Canada. For those in Kelowna, the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society is putting on a Turtle Island Festival event downtown.

Here is what we have on the schedule today at our Turtle Island Festival! Come down to the block of Leon to celebrate with us!

The first two episodes of the new Wildfires, Floods, and Chaos Communications Podcast are out now! Such a great listen - and please feel free to share any thoughts in the comments!

"Join our team of information officers as we recount the intense 2023 British Columbia wildfire season, marked by 10,000 evacuees, theft and sabotage of firefighting equipment, protests, and nearly 300 destroyed or damaged structures."

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2357757/share

There's no "one-size-fits-all" solution when it comes to the best time to post on social, and it's important to keep an eye on your own insights. But if you're looking for a good place to start, here's a helpful report from Sprout Social:

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/report-highlights-best-times-post-social-platforms-in-2024/716801/

Love LGMA! Sometimes have to leave town to connect friends from home! LOL!

Shoutout to Tracy Hughes of CSRD, Kari O'Rourke of Regional District of Central Okanagan, Jenn Houtby-Ferguson of Twist Consulting, and Erick Thompson from Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen for an impressive, insightful and fact-filled panel on emergency communications at the Local Government Leadership Academy Communicators Forum . So proud of these leaders for their dedication, care and compassion for getting the verified info out!

Appreciate all your do as communicators - and as one of those who lost their home in last summer's wildfire.

Thanks for kicking off this day of learning with BC’s rock star communicators Erick!

Congratulations to my big brother Pete Wise, celebrating his retirement of 60 years in Search and Rescue. He began as a Ranger back in 1964. He used to take me hiking with him and he would carry me on his shoulders. It was the best! Since then, he has helped rescue countless – including my own hubby and brother-in-law. I am so proud of him and continue to be inspired and uplifted by his commitment and dedication. Here’s to you Pete!

PS: you can listen to a Radio West interview with Pete and Sarah Penton online: https://www.google.com/search?q=pete+wise+sarah+penton+interview&rlz=1C1CHBF_enCA952CA952&oq=pete+wise+sarah+penton+interview&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigAdIBCDQzNTBqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Happy Asset Management Day! 🎉 How are you celebrating?

Help spread the word about why by entering AMBC's "Show Us Your Assets" contest this month!

1. Take a photo of your favourite assets that help your community run smoothly 📸

2. Share your photo on LinkedIn and/or X

3. Tag AMBC and use and

4. At the end of May, AMBC will randomly select one entry to win a free registration to their 2024 conference

For more info about the contest: https://www.assetmanagementbc.ca/asset-management-day-local-government-awareness-week-2024/

For more info about the 2024 AMBC Conference: https://www.assetmanagementbc.ca/conference/

Asset Management Day & Local Government Awareness Week 2024 - Asset Management BC Celebrate your infrastructure during this year’s Local Government Awareness Week (LGAW) May 12-18th and Asset Management Day on May 15th! Infrastructure is a significant part of local government service delivery, sadly often underappreciated or overlooked by the public. This year’s theme invites...

I was in William's Lake recently and had an awesome visit with the talented and keen Kim Dressler! I'm excited about the campaign they're launching for and - keep your eyes peeled for it! 👀 How are you celebrating?

I recently had the sheer delight and honour of spending a half day with Tourism Kelowna for media and messaging strategy training. What an impressive team! Thank you so much for having me, and for my new favourite sweatshirt!

It's Local Government Awareness Week! How are you celebrating?

Thank you so much to all the dedicated individuals in working to ensure that our communities thrive. Your hard work is so appreciated!

PS: It's also Asset Management Day this Wednesday May 15th and Asset Management BC is running a contest to help spread the word about why . Learn more: https://www.assetmanagementbc.ca/asset-management-day-local-government-awareness-week-2024/

Happy to all those who play the vital roll of keeping our and communities running! 🌟 Thank you for all your hard work!

I'm speaking at the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators Conference in Fredericton this November about Elevating your Influence: Enhancing your Skills as a Confident Communicator. I'm so looking forward to it!

You can learn more and register here:

Executive Assistants in Local Government | Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) EXECUTIVE ASSISTANTS IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Thank you so much for the honour and the sheer delight of presenting at MATI Advanced Communications - and with the talented Julie Rogers - to such an awesome cohort of smart, engaged professionals
Huge thanks to our hosts Stephen Flemming and Lisa Curry Capilano University, Candace Witkowskyj and the Local Government Management Association of British Columbia - and Adrian Paradis for the socks to add to the !

Get my FREE Tip Sheet! ⭐

I recently had the honour of hosting a panel at the 2024 Local Government Leadership Academy Conference about the role of the spokesperson during a crisis with City of West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom and Fire Chief Jason Brolund, with a focus on comms during the devastating 2023 McDougall Creek Wildfire. As you can imagine, this topic touches close to the heart for me.

I've compiled some of my key takeaways and practical advice for navigating some of these challenges effectively, which you can find at the link below! 👇

I would love to hear your thoughts about this. Let me know in the comments!

https://jann-enns-communications.myflodesk.com/crisis-comms-tips

Crisis Communications Tips & Takeaways When disaster strikes, effectively communicating both internally and with the public is key.

The bottom line for our electeds and staff is that we need to OWN our socials. We need to push for more politeness on our platforms and stand up for our colleagues⁠—and whatever you do, don't feed the trolls.

How do we maintain a civil space for people to have conversations without letting the toxic talkers overrun it? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Check out this article by Kellogg Insight for some great food for thought: https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/trolls-poison-political-discussions-for-everyone-else

PS: You can also download my free tip sheet about how to respond on social media here: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/64765dbbbdfaea673c777730

How Trolls Poison Political Discussions for Everyone Else Online political debate isn’t inherently toxic, a new study of Reddit commenters finds. Instead, it becomes toxic because of the kind of commenters who opt in.

Great update from City of Kelowna - simple and super important message about how to get the latest (and likley most accurate) info - becuase it's all about communications! Thanks for sharing!

Mayor Dyas: Avenues of access – connecting with your city Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas’ column

Excited to be at the Kelowna Innovation Centre today, working with a highly skilled group of communicators today on how to enhance their ability to support their spokespersons!

What do you think of Meta's move away from political content? Users are now required to manually opt-in to seeing politics-related posts in their main feed.

While this could help slow the spread of misinformation and disinformation (which has become a significant issue), it may also make it more challenging for local gov to get truthful and important political messages out there. What other mediums do you rely on to keep your communities informed?

Meta’s Move Away From Political Content Makes Sense Meta’s making political content opt-in, and there’s good reason for the shift.

Today is Transit Operator and Worker Appreciation Day! for keeping our communities moving smoothly every day! 🚌

You can share your own positive BC Transit story at the link below (and read stories from others—some are sure to put a smile on your face!) or by using the hashtag on your posts.

https://engage.bctransit.com/thanks

#ThanksTransit - Share your story with BC Transit operators and workers! From mechanics to cleaners to office staff, BC Transit employees work hard every day to keep our communities connected. And the people we serve are the fuel that keeps us going! We love hearing stories about your positive experiences with BC Transit operators and

Happy St. Paddy Day! Hope your day is as happy as this guy’s!
Knox’s bow tie is a bit soggy from swimming but happy to celebrate in the sun ☀️

Sláinte!

Happy ! ✨ Women in Local Government Administration is hosting a webinar today that looks just excellent. The topic is Breaking Down Barriers and Biases: Inspiring Gender Inclusion with amazing panelists Elle Brovold, Kealy Dedman, Sandra Lund, Nina McCarthy, and facilitator Tracey Lorenson.

While the live webinar is full, you can sign up to receive the recorded version: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/bboS82L/WILGA

How do you break down biases and inspire gender inclusion in your workplace and community?

Sign up to Stay in Touch! On International Women's Day, the Women in Local Government Administration working group (WILGA) will once again bring together a small group of leaders in local government to discuss their experience in gender inclusion.

It's , which feels like the perfect time shed light on the importance of and looking after your team! 🤝

If you want to dive deeper into this topic, Gallagher's recent State of the Sector 2023/24 report is full of gems. Some that stood out to me are the importance of having a strategic communications plan in improving employee understanding, using measurement insights to show ROI, and empowering employees with communications resources (key messages anyone?).

How do you help your employees feel not only appreciated, but also empowered?

image.ukinfo.ajg.com

Your words matter⁠—but so does how you say them! 👌🙂

In my latest newsletter, I shared a free tip sheet about using non-verbal cues to build trust with your audience.

If you missed it, simply sign up at the link below and I'll send it straight to your inbox (along with my top 5 tips for building credibility): https://jann-enns-communications.myflodesk.com/

What non-verbal cues to do you notice when you are speaking or listening to others? Eye contact, facial expression, tone, tempo, hand gestures, posture, pauses, something else? Let me know in the comments! 👇

Free Tip Sheet: Non-verbal Communications Cues What you say matters, but so does how you say them! Get it right with these non-verbal communications cues and tips for local gov.

Such an important message, whether in the school yard or on social media - we all need to stand against bullying in all its forms. Local Government Management Association of British Columbia Local Government Leadership Academy

The last Wednesday of February is known as Pink Shirt Day. A time in which individuals wear pink shirts to stand in solidarity against bullying in all its forms. If your local government is doing something to honour Pink Shirt Day, feel free to tag us as we hope to highlight local efforts as well.

I love using interactive exercises in my workshops and presentations! At this year's Local Government Leadership Academy Forum, we tried an exercise from one of my building trust and credibility workshops. This one was all about how we come across and how powerful our non-verbal communication is when it comes to building our trust and credibility – getting folks to know us, like us, and trust us! Thank you to everyone who attended and to LGLA for hosting such a wonderful event.

Wow, those are some comparisons. It's more important than ever to be vigilant in our battle against misinformation and disinformation according to findings by Institute for Public Relations:

"Our results found that the American socio-political landscape has been increasingly clouded by concerns over misinformation and disinformation, with both perceived as more pressing threats than critical issues such as border security, climate change, and terrorism."

2023 IPR-Leger Disinformation in Society Report | Institute for Public Relations 2023 IPR-Leger Disinformation in Society Report Posted on November 11, 2023 by Institute for Public Relations Download Full Report (PDF): Full 2023 Disinformation in Society ReportDownload Press Release: 2023 Disinformation Report Press ReleaseDownload Social Graphics: Disinformation in Society Repo...