Bite Size Comms
Bite Size Comms is a weekly podcast that will give you a perspective on an aspect of public relations and communications practice. Bite size as they are short opinion pieces on topical issues. The episodes are sometimes contentious, sometimes funny, and they all aim to provoke thought.
Thanks for listening.
Episodes
55 episodes
Excellence
We look at the Typology of PR and the Excellence Theory from 30 years ago, and determine if they are still important to public relations practice.
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Episode 55
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7:19
The Value of Qualifications
A robust qualification system has become increasingly important in the UK public relations industry. As public relations evolves from a tactical communication role to strategic management, recognised qualifications play a crucial role in buildi...
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Episode 54
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7:47
Authentic Public Diplomacy
I recently produced a Bite Size pod about public diplomacy. One way this could be done effectively was to embrace digital communications. I want to present a masterclass on how to do this, courtesy of the Japanese ambassador to the UK. It is an...
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Episode 53
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5:24
Lowercase
You may have seen it. You may be doing it. The trend of lowercase typing has become a significant cultural phenomenon among younger generations, particularly Gen Z. This deliberate choice to forgo capital letters in digital communication has ev...
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Episode 52
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6:59
Public Diplomacy
Public diplomacy is a nation’s strategic efforts to shape international perceptions, foster mutual understanding, and advance foreign policy goals by engaging directly with foreign publics.
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Episode 51
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12:28
Time
This post won’t improve your PR/comms. However, it has some fascinating facts that will amaze (or bore) people in your network or down the pub! It is about how time is represented in communications work.
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Episode 50
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5:54
Creating Content for Search
We look at how to create content that works with present-day search engines, both traditional and AI-powered, using Google's Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness framework.
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Episode 49
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5:41
Tone of Voice
An organisation's Tone of Voice should be friendly, clear, and to the point. Employees should be advised to “say it in the shortest way you can”, “use language real people use”, and “sound human, not corporate”. We use Network Rail's Tone of Vo...
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Episode 48
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5:54
Podcasts
Podcasts in the UK have become a mainstream media format. We use up-to-date research to look at the reach of podcasts in the UK, benchmarks to determine how well a podcast is performing, the equipment and software needed to podcast, length of e...
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Episode 47
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7:13
George Orwell’s Elementary Rules of Writing
Despite the trend toward more visual communication, writing is still a necessary skill in public relations. Clarity, simplicity, and precision in writing make for inclusive and accessible communications. In a 1946 essay on Politics and the Engl...
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Episode 46
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6:12
A picture is worth a thousand words
This phrase from 1911 describes a single image that could impart complex ideas, emotions or messages more effectively than a lengthy written description. It also conveys the work of Oliviero Toscani, the Italian photographer renowned for his pr...
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Episode 45
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6:09
2025
My predictions for 2025 that touch on Public Relations, communications and media. Happy New Year!
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Episode 44
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7:18
Corporate Identity
I help my PR apprentices map their employers' corporate identities using the Birkigt, Stadler, and Funck model. It is a neat way to understand strategy, reputation, and history. I explain how it works, with examples, in this episode.
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Episode 43
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6:35
Think Feel Do
Think, Feel, Do is a well-known marketing model for designing advertising content. Is it relevant to Public Relations? Yes! We will look at what this model means and use examples of its application in PR campaigns.
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Episode 42
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5:17
Separating fact from fiction
As professional communicators, how can we counter misinformation and disinformation? It is our ethical duty to society to counter mis- and disinformation. We look at recent case studies.
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Episode 41
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5:54
What do Asda and Jaguar have in common?
The simple answer is that they are both sensemakers, innovative and not frightened to try a new approach. We explore the marketing and communications approach of both Asda supermarket and Jaguar car manufacturer.
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Episode 40
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6:19
The sky is blue
The mass exodus from X (Twitter) to Bluesky has been the talk of the week among UK PR and comms people. Never one to be left behind, I joined them.
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Episode 39
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5:23
"Talkin' 'bout my Generation"
We often use a ‘one size fits all’ approach in public relations work. Yet research shows there are distinct differences between the age groups. We look at the differences between Gen X, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers in terms of the ...
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Episode 38
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5:23
News Values
What is a journalist looking for in a news story? Understanding this can help public relations practitioners craft media pitches and press releases. In 2001, Tony Harcup and Deirdre O’Neill published their seminal research on UK news values. Th...
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Episode 37
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6:02
Blogging vs. Thought Leadership
We look at the history of blogging and thought leadership and discuss how these two different but similar forms of communication content can be used in Public Relations.
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Episode 36
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6:54
Excellence Theory x Boaty McBoatface
In the 1980s, public relations academics researched that dialogue - two-way balanced communication - was the ideal. We examine this Excellence Theory through two case studies: Boaty McBoatface from 2014 and the NHS improvement consultation in 2...
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Episode 35
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6:11
"Talkin 'Bout a Revolution"
Trust in politics and politicians is low. The media story of the first 100 days of the new UK government has been dominated by freebies, gifts and money from companies and wealthy individuals. We look at the different rules on gifts that apply ...
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Episode 34
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7:03
An A to Z of public relations
We give each letter of the alphabet a public relations angle. With a little humour too!
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Episode 33
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5:03
