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Rob Briggs is Senior Manager, Communications for RBC Wealth Management in the British Isles. Rob has over 15 years’ experience developing communication strategies for multinational companies. He is President of the Netherlands Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and Vice Chair of IABC's Europe and Middle East Region. Rob holds an MSc in Corporate Communications and Reputation Management from Manchester Business School and an Advanced Diploma in Communciation Studies (AmCAM) from the Communication, Advertising and Marketing Foundation.

So you've landed a job that includes talking to colleagues, employees and staff? This is a highly visible and highly political position in any organisation and it pays to be able to influence the right sort of people. You may have a grand title (or not so grand) and you will almost certainly be faced with a lot of people who believe that they can do your job. Or that anyone can do your job. Or that anyone can write. (And sometimes they may be right). 

Your day to day job may involve news management, sourcing stories from the organisation to feed into hungry news channels such as magazines, e-zines, press releases, websites or the COO's pet project announcement. No doubt you will also be asked to write speeches, produce slogans and translate complex technical information into the appropriate language for your audience. And sometimes your audience will have PCs. And sometimes they will get email. And more email. And more email. And now your boss wants an email newsletter and wholeheartedly believes that pushing out information is communicating. Oh, and then there's the company video, the annual business plan communications and something called 'employee engagement' that all of a sudden you're responsible for... ok.... woooah. Let's stop and catch our breath.

This is a lot to do. Let's cut back to what internal communications is there for. There are many definitions but one that works reasonably well is 'the design and management of information within an organisation'. You may have a team to help you, you may even have a budget, but often your resources will be tight. So how the heck are you going to cope with all the demands the business places on you?

Learning how to influence different types of person and personality is core to your role - perhaps even more so than technical skills such as writing or editing. The very first, and perhaps easiest tip, is to try and keep up with current affairs and read broadly. Make sure you understand the nature of your business. A common complaint from non-communication professionals is that the comms person 'doesn't understand what I do'. Whether you work in the heady heights of high finance, the depths of North Sea oil production, retail, pharmaceuticals or any other industry, if you can tap into some common ground, you're halfway there.

Think about, and understand, the people you want to influence. Is this your boss, the board, key people in your department?

Dale Carnegie's excellent book 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' still sets the standard in influencing skills and is well worth looking out for. You may also wish to invest some time in going on a sales training course; understand social styles (how to influence people with different personalities, such as those focused on detail or who wish to help others). Investing in some understanding of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) will also give you an insight into how other people behave and how to influence them.

Consider not what it is you want to get done, but how it will benefit the person you are looking to influence. Are you going to save them time? How much? Are you going to save them money (always a good start)? And if so how? One of the simplest ways to offer a return on investment figure is to simplify a comms process, such as monthly team briefings. By doing so you may be able to save one manager one hour of time per month. Now think about how much that manager's time is worth. £50 an hour? £100? Multiply that saved hour by just 10 managers and you're starting to make the business more efficient. Multiply it by 100 managers (ok, big organisation...) and you're well on your way to paying for your salary. 

There are two key areas of influence you should aim to cover within the first three months of starting a new communications role. Number One - What does the boss want doing? Ask your boss for their top three priorities and work out what you can accomplish relatively easily. This may be getting a plan for a staff magazine together, to putting a new news gathering process in place. Whatever you do, build up goodwill with the guy or girl above you. Keep close to them and keep them informed. Let them know what you're planning to do to meet their needs and ask for their advice.

Number Two is identifying the other influencers in the organisation. You should get to know your leadership team or board, but beneath them will be a whole host of people who actually make things happen. They may be at different levels, senior, middle or junior but these are the people whose networks you'll need to tap into in order to get things done. This may not be easy - first off, you need to find them. Ask your immediate contacts for who has the organisational knowledge in a particular area, e.g. sales or production.

Invest in some time getting to know them, what drives them, what their reputation is and how what you do can make a difference to their life. Sometimes they may be driven by recognition and most people want to be recognised for doing a good job. What about the people who can make your life easier in the company - IT, Facilities, receptionists, etc? These are all folk who can make your life easier next time you need to send out an urgent announcement, make a deskdrop or get into a senior executive's diary.

Oh, and there's a third one too... be humble. Not forelock tugging, knee-scrapingly worshipful but respect yourself and others. This means making a suggestion and asking for an opinion, rather than trying to sell a fait accompli. Especially when dealing with more senior people. That said, you can still stand your ground, offer your professional opinion. It's best to try and focus on the strategy rather than the tactics - whatever you do, keep asking yourself - what do I want to achieve? Is this the best way of getting there? How will I know when I've achieved it? Negotiate on any unrealistic expectations. Most of your work will be constrained by the standard project management holy trinity of time, budget and resource. Put all these together and you have an expected outcome. Change any of these factors and your outcome is going to change. Don't be afraid to go back and let your boss or project sponsor know the material impact of any changes in these factors. They may even be more reasonable than you expect.

Quick summary:

• Anyone can write - but more than likely you do it for a living. You're likely to have at least some journalistic, PR or writing experience or qualification. When pressed, stress your professional capabilities.
• You have a lot to do - check in with your boss, understand the business, understand their top three priorities and keep up with both industry developments and current affairs.
• Identify the other influencers in your organisation - Who are they? What do they do? How can you mutually help each other?
• Demonstrate return on investment - prove your worth by agreeing meaurement factors / expected outcomes at the start of a project
• Be humble - keep your self-respect but ensure you agree on expected outcomes and negotiate any unrealistic expectations

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