Brian Runciman, head of content and insight, writes about the necessary balance between careful planning and easy flexibility. Read for his thoughts on how the right roles find the right people, researching thoroughly, and not being afraid to 'borrow' a good idea.
Why did you choose to pursue a role in communications? For example, has it always been your passion or was it pure happenstance?
I always enjoyed writing at school, but tried a few things before I actively pursued journalism. In retrospect I should have got straight on with it.
What personal skills or attributes do you think are most important for a communications role? Why these skills/attributes in particular?
Clear thinking is required — to have a goal for any given piece of content before you start. In interview situations humility helps too — the person you’re speaking to is the expert, and it’s good to acknowledge it. You also need to be diligent with your research, fact checking and the like. These days, as much more content is video and audio, you also need to be well prepared with content structuring so as to give yourself the opportunity to be spontaneous when the opportunity presents itself. Some of the most interesting content is got when you pursue a line of questions that may have arisen in the moment, rather than through planning — so flexibility is key.
What sort of challenges do you face in your role? Is there a particular challenge that you experienced in the past that stood out?
Most challenges are around getting the right people to do the things that best suits their voice. Some people really thrive in a podcast scenario, some in presentations on webinars, some are better off writing feature articles. The main challenge I find is to keep any type of content focused so that it is of real benefit to the audience.
How is the role of communications perceived in your organisation?
I would say our organisation is largely focused on communications. We are a charity with a royal charter around education — so we need to be out there. We do it is so many different ways: through the editorials, videos, and podcasts that I look after, to policy papers for government; from PR to support school teachers to teaching computing, and through members presenting on their areas of expertise. That’s without including the events we run… it’s all about the comms!
What advice would you give to those at the start of their career in communications?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions — and not just of interviewees. You can learn from anywhere if you have the right inquisitive nature. Talk to different sorts of people; really listen to answers and try to pursue the things that may be unsaid.
What do you think the secret of success is when working in communications?
Being interested in your subject. If you are really interested you’ll work at it.
We at React & Share live for helping communications teams through understanding website content sentiment and improving it off the back of feedback. How do you and your team approach content improvement?
A combination of ways — keeping up with the subject we cover in general, so the basics are right. We read voraciously for new styles or ways doing things — it never hurts to steal an idea… a general idea that is! It is also worthwhile keeping a broad set of interests as well — because connections between disciplines can enrich content. We also survey readers of course. We also keep an eye on the diversity of our contributors in terms of ethnicity, gender, age, and background in general, because that ensure richness in the content and a more balanced approach too.
