Calendar

  • secta-headshot-203e4515-268b-40b4-9eb7-be51800d381e.jpgGenerative AI can turbo-charge research for communicators, from horizon-scanning policy shifts to tracking issues, sizing up competitors, prepping leaders, and responding to crises.

    But simply outsourcing your judgment to AI won’t cut it.

    Instead, you’ll learn when to use which tool, how to force citations and provenance, and how to turn raw results into decision-ready briefs your stakeholders can trust.

    In this example-packed session, Shel Holtz shows practical, ethical workflows for Public Affairs and Communications teams.

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    Key takeaways

    • Choose the right copilot for the job: When to use ChatGPT Projects + Deep Research, Perplexity, Notebook LM, Custom GPTs/Gems, and other tools.
    • Prompt patterns that keep you honest: Structure prompts to prioritize primary sources, require inline citations, extract dates/deadlines, and flag secondary coverage.
    • Build reusable research assistants: Set up repeatable watchlists, weekly briefs, 30/60/90-day calendars, and risk heatmaps.
    • Create source-grounded Q&A binders: Use Notebook LM to interrogate curated material (e.g., CEO speeches, filings) with verifiable citations.
    • From findings to executive-ready outputs: Convert research into spokesperson notes, talking points, FAQs, and customer-facing summaries – fast.
    • Safeguards that protect your credibility: Disclosure, provenance links, and “never auto-publish” guardrails for responsible AI use in comms.

    Who should attend: Communicators in public affairs, corporate reputation, media relations, and executive communications who need trusted, timely insights without adding headcount.

    About Shel Holtz, SCMP, IABC Fellow

    Shel Holtz is senior director of Communications for Webcor, a San Francisco-based commercial general contractor and builder. Before joining Webcor in 2017, Shel consulted independently for 21 years, counseling organizations on adoption of digital technology for communication, internal communication, and crisis communication.

     

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  • Harhut_600px.jpgSometimes it’s not what you say but how you say it.  B2B marketers often learn this the hard way … if we learn it at all.

    The truth is, you can have all the right information. All the right benefits. Even all the right prospects. Yet your messages still fall flat.

    In this short, example-stuffed webinar, discover the 7 big messaging mistakes you likely make. As well as the quick fixes that’ll increase your KPIs.

    You’ll see the common, but costly communication errors that tank campaigns today. And gain some easy ways to overcome them by creating messages designed to work with your customer’s brain and not against it. 

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    Takeaways:

    • The easiest and most overlooked way to increase revenue (7x more effective, says the B2B Institute)
    • The misconception about your audience that costs you sales—and makes you look LESS intelligent
    • The simple way to rewrite a headline that’s proven to boost engagement up to 140%

    About Nancy Harhut

    A top-ranked speaker, Nancy’s known for her interesting and actionable insights that focus on the impact of behavioral science on marketing. She's wowed audiences in Sydney, London, Berlin, and all over the US with her high-energy, example-jammed presentations.

    The Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of HBT Marketing, Nancy’s been named one of the 10 Most Fascinating People in B2B Marketing, a Social Top 50 Email Marketing Leader, and a Top 40 Digital Strategist. She and her teams have won over 200 awards for B2C and B2B marketing effectiveness.

    Check out her recent book, “Using Behavioral Science in Marketing,” winner of the National Indie Excellence Award, the NYC Big Book Award, the AMA Leonard L. Berry Marketing Book Award, and several other accolades.

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  • Sara MillerThe C-Suite has moved on from "Are you experimenting with AI?" Now they're asking, "What results can you show me?"

    Most comms teams don't have a strong answer yet. And the numbers explain why. 66% of organizations use GenAI. But 95% of pilots fail to deliver meaningful ROI, and 42% of companies have already abandoned at least one AI initiative entirely. The gap between AI ambition and AI execution has never been wider, and Communications leaders are uniquely positioned to close it.

    This session changes that.

    AI strategist and former AWS comms leader Sara Miller breaks down what it takes to move a comms team from "we're experimenting" to "this is how we work now," using the same frameworks and methodology she brings to enterprise consultancy engagements, built specifically for communications leaders who are ready to move from experimentation to execution.

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    What We're Covering:

    • Where AI Actually Stands for Comms: An honest look at the landscape right now, what's working, what's not, and where the biggest opportunities are for communications teams specifically.
    • Scaling Brand Voice with Confidence: How to keep your messaging consistent when ten different people across your organization are using AI to write on behalf of the company. This is where governance becomes a competitive advantage.
    • The Art of a Great Prompt: High-level prompt framework built specifically for comms work, like crisis simulation, executive ghostwriting, and rapid content distribution.
    • Building AI Habits That Stick: There's a difference between knowing AI matters and using it every day. This section covers practical AI habits and resources that move your team from experimentation to a true "AI-First Mindstate."
    • Measuring ROI in Language Your CEO Cares About: A straightforward framework for tracking time saved, cost avoidance, and output consistency, translated into business language that earns investment and earns you a seat at the table.

    About Sara Miller

    Sara Miller is a practitioner-turned-strategist and the founder of SB Miller Comms. She spent 20+ years leading communications inside some of the most complex organizations in tech and professional services, including nearly six years at Amazon Web Services, with leadership roles at Hitachi Vantara, IHS Markit (now S&P Global), and CH2M (now Jacobs). She's led C-Suite executive and internal communications, IT transformation programs, AI adoption frameworks, and enterprise change management initiatives that moved teams from tactical execution to strategic impact.

    Sara created what she calls the "AI-First Mindstate," a five-step methodology that takes teams from brainstorming problem statements to standardizing and scaling prompts, agents, and workflows, with human judgment built into every step. Her philosophy: AI can draft the message, but it can't read the room. That's the comms professional's value, and that's what she helps leaders prove. Outside of work, this former tennis player, now pickleball enthusiast, finds her peace drinking matcha lattes, traveling, and exploring Colorado's beautiful outdoors when she's not serving as the Uber driver for her two busy teenagers.

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