On April 11 – 12, 2024, the Logos team led a two-day, immersive Master Class in Strategic Communication for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in Chicago, Illinois.
This two-day Master Class brought together more than 30 professionals from across the country. The Master Class was designed to elevate communication professionals’ capacity by applying principles of strategy to the processes of communication. It focused on how to think clearly; how to influence people; and how to use language with impact.
Logos president Helio Fred Garcia and Logos Senior Advisor and Chief of Staff Katie Garcia served as faculty for this program. Logos has previously led five Master Classes in Crisis Communication for PRSA – in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023. This was the first year Logos led a Master Class on strategic communication for PRSA.
On the first day we began by centering participants around foundational elements of strategy. Strategy is a system of ordered thinking that helps an individual or organization mobilize resources to accomplish clearly defined goals. The first rule of strategy is to think clearly:
to understand the situation that presents a challenge or opportunity;
to understand the desired outcome; and
to deeply understand an audience and what it will take to change what that audience thinks and feels and how it behaves.
We then turned to how communication professionals can prevent or overcome the marginalization of the communication function and earn a seat at the table as important decisions are being made. We explored how communication professionals can use their craft in the service of goals that matter to management, in ways that deliver value to an enterprise, and in ways that transcend specific functional areas.
We began the second day by taking a deep dive into framing and the management of meaning. Specifically, we looked at how to create context that leads audiences to a desired conclusion. We then explored how we could use elements of effective storytelling to structure content in ways that inspire audiences to support an idea more quickly, change a behavior, or say yes to a request.
We then transitioned to how to convey executive presence when speaking. We explored how incremental changes in posture, body movement, facial expression, and gestures have a disproportionate effect on voice intonation and on audience attention and engagement. We also explored specific techniques on how to effectively engage audiences through a screen.
The Master Class featured robust discussion, learning, reflection, and network building between the participants in the program.
Some feedback we received from program participants included:
“This photo [of the Master Class] represents one of the best classes I have attending in my over 30-year career… Together we learned how to bring valid strategy, compelling storytelling, and thoughtful outcomes to any communication we develop.”
“I recently had the privilege of attending one of the most impactful classes in my career… This session, with over 30 communication strategy professionals, emphasized the critical role of being trusted advisors within our organizations… The experience was enriching and will undoubtably shape my approach to communication strategy moving forward.”
“Thank you for equipping us with a new set of tools and making complex concepts easily accessible and understandable.”
“If presented with the opportunity to learn from Helio Fred Garcia and Katie Garcia, I implore you to run, not walk to sign up. Thankful to Fred and Katie for not only sharing their wisdom, but creating an environment where we could also be authentic and vulnerable in sharing our experiences and insights to learn from one another.”
We are always grateful to have the opportunity to teach, learn from, and be in relationship with participants in PRSA programs.
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