Communicating for Impact, what I learnt from 3 amazing women on Wednesday night!

I had the pleasure of hosting the first Manly Talks forum this year for Good for Manly on Wednesday night, "StoryLink, Communicating For Impact."

It was an insightful and inspiring panel featuring three remarkable women who have made significant contributions across their very different careers talking about the art of communication and its profound impact on community building.

As someone who has been working in communications for 20 years, I was excited to ?unpack and explore 3 themes that have been central to their success, Advocating for Community Concerns, Shaping the Narrative for Women's Leadership and Bridging Worlds Through Storytelling.

Across her 50+ years working in both corporate and government communications, including the last 12 years as a Councillor for both Manly and Northern Beaches Councils, President of Good for Manly Candy Bingham unpacked how she approaches advocating for community concerns in local government.

Sharing her experiences of navigating the realms of private and public sectors, she illustrated the pivotal role effective communication plays when it comes to addressing community concerns.

She walked the audience through a current example of the redevelopment of Manly Town Hall into multi-use performance and exhibition space highlighting the power of identifying key stakeholders and bringing them together to shape a thorough feasibility plan for the regeneration of this historic community asset.

Angela Priestley started her career in technology journalism before her appointment as the founding editor of the online platform Women's Agenda then a part of the Private Media group of companies.

In a very candid tale of how life and circumstance often shapes unexpected choices, in 2016 with a six week old baby she bootstrapped the acquisition of the brand and went on to co-found Agenda Media Pty Ltd with Tarla Lambert-Patel.

Today, they reach over 500,000 women each month covering everything from business, tech, leadership and politics through to lifestyle, finance, health and wellbeing from a woman’s perspective.

She illuminated the importance of media in shaping narratives around women's leadership, drawing the vital connection between community, climate, and survival and stressing the need for diverse perspectives in conversations about gender pay gaps.

Rounding out the panel was Bonita Mersiades, who like Angela experienced that life and circumstance change to move from public policy in Canberra to becoming the Founder of Fair Play Publishing which focuses on non-fiction sports books.

She brought a unique perspective on the intersection of sports and literature, drawing parallels between sporting history and Australian history. Bonita gave us all food for thought about the unifying power of sport and how its intergenerational nature serves as a microcosm of society before we moved to talk about the upcoming Manly Writer’s Festival which starts next week and how by design, she is seeking to foster community, encouraging critical thinking, and nurture creativity.

I was inspired by the courage of each panellist to share of a time or experience when communicating had really challenged them and in the current environment of 24/7 opinion cycle, this sparked a marvellous conversation about resilience and what it takes to stand back up again when you experience an unexpected backlash or pile on which as the facilitator I could see really resonated with the audience.

Each panellist offered a very unique lens through which we explored the intricacies of connecting with diverse audiences, making an impact and and how we all play a role in ensuring respectful communication, regardless of the medium.

On the backdrop of International Women's Day, the theme of Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress echoed through our discussions. Women's economic empowerment is central to a gender-equal world and it’s how as a society, we focus on pathways to greater economic inclusion for women and girls worldwide, that can and will make the difference.

The reality remains that women of all backgrounds and the life circumstance we talked about on the panel, face significant obstacles to achieving equal participation in the economy. Our discussions reflected the critical importance of equal access to education, employment pathways, financial services, and literacy enabling women everywhere to learn, earn, and lead.

This year's theme reminds us that investing in women is not just a goal; it is an accelerator for progress, propelling entire communities toward a brighter and more equitable future.

A special thanks to Candy, Angela, Bonita and everyone who joined us at Balgowlah RSL for an enriching evening of stories, insights, and lessons - let's continue these conversations and strive to make every word count in the pursuit of a better-connected and more empathetic world. #IWD2024 #countherin #investinwomen #accelerateprogress