– What People Said –
About Comms Unplugged 2022
“I love coming away with really practical tips… totally inspired and loads that hit home for me.”
“I loved being barefoot in the field”
“What a keynote speech. Such a journey and so many life lessons in there.”
“So many handy stories shared that I could apply to work.”
“Love love LOVE the wellbeing sessions - especially the more hands on activities.”
“I love that there is no pressure and the vibe was very chill.”
“The Friday evening was amazing! I almost wish I could split myself it two so I could also enjoy time around the fireside, but I wouldn't miss the music for the world. A perfect night, lots of laughter and love shared.”
“There really is a sense of community at Comms Unplugged, and I love it for that.”
“There was a lovely, friendly vibe to the evenings.”
“I'm so glad we had a trip to the beach again. Being by the sea with your feet in the sand is really soothing and makes a nice contrast to the green field and woods. It's a lovely way to end the weekend.”
“How relaxed it was. Wasn't too regimented with sessions which I enjoyed.”
“The welcoming energy the organisers brought to proceedings - just amazing!!”
“Everyone is warm, like-minded and welcoming.”
“The place - the light at Burnbake is special, the sunrise and sunset are always stunning, the crisp clean air and dewy fields is the perfect setting.”
“I'm so thankful that I get dedicated time to unwind, to breathe, to think and to reconnect with myself.”
“I think it's the connections you make with everyone in the field that continues long after you leave, and is still going, 4 years later… priceless.”
“The acknowledgement that - and putting into practice of - learning is best done outdoors.”
“I loved making the connections and sharing stories and advice.”
“How easy it was to talk to others and exchange stories and learnings but also just talk about any old nonsense.”
“Hearing from knowledgeable like-minded professionals in the workshops.”
“I cannot thank you enough for putting on this wonderful event. It's got it all and it's truly an honour to feel like I'm a little bit part of it.”
“Just brilliant. It is that vital breathing space that helps me to refocus professionally and personally every year.”
– Keynote Speaker –
Chris Croft
Management trainer
Happiness at work
Did you know that your brain doesn't know what's good for you? In fact it actively gives you bad advice most of the time!
Do you know how to get rid of all negative emotions? But then again, would you want to?
Is working hard a good idea? Is life fair? Would a bit more money make you happy?
Chris will answer all these questions and more in this unique, philosophical but also practical talk.
Chris Croft runs popular leadership courses on Udemy.com and LinkedIn Learning, including Project Management, Time Management, and Happiness. He is one of the most viewed trainers in the world with about 20,000 people a day taking his courses.
He says he's baffled by this, having worked as a pretty poor engineer, a reluctant manager, and quite a good (but badly paid) university lecturer, before discovering what he was born to do, which is design and run training courses. He then travelled endlessly around England running training courses pretty much every day before being discovered by Linkedin Learning, so now he does the occasional live talk, the occasional zoom session, and spends the rest of the time sitting in the sun with his dog, listening to music and planning more video courses.
Of course, being Unplugged, we couldn't wait to get him in our field, in real life, as our fabulous opening speaker.
Dr Youmna Mouhamad
Inventor and entrepreuneur
Dancing on the beach
Youmna's journey is a masterclass in overcoming obstacles and learning how to believe in yourself.
Originally from the French overseas Department of Mayotte, off the southeast coast of Africa, she studied in France and the UK, earning a PhD in polymer physics and an enterprise fellowship with the Royal Academy of Engineering.
But life was challenging - at times she was in such a dark place she forced herself to dance on the beach in an attempt to lift her spirits.
With the help of a coach, she realised how her life experience had impacted her self-belief and mindset. She knew that if she wanted to reach her full potential she'd need to tackle that negative, inner voice and work out her real purpose in life.
Now an inventor and entrepreneur, she created the company Nyfasi to market the deluxe hair detangler she developed. Her company name is inspired by Nafasi, which in Shimaore means ‘having free time’.
Based in Swansea, she's an inspirational, award-winning black woman in engineering who has pledged to give back by supporting a coaching programme for young women.
Youmna will share her uplifting story, illustrating how much you can achieve when you believe in yourself and seek the support you need to reach your potential.
– Workshop / Leaders –
Five ways to get more done!
Chris Croft, Management trainer
Why do some people achieve so much more than other people, with the same hours in the day?
How can you get more time for the important things?
There are only five ways to do this, and you have to be reasonably good at all of them or you'll never really get on top of your life.
In this session we'll explore all five!
Dammit! The world keeps bl***y changing!
Matt Desmier, Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Manager, Bournemouth University
How ready are you for change?
Whether you're reacting to the shifting sands around you, the pace of innovation or the rapidly evolving expectations of your customers; knowing what'important to you, your team or your business can help meter the depth of your reaction.
In a revealing workshop that takes in aspects of Japanese cinema, Newtonian physics and Einstein's Theory of Relativity, Matt will hopefully help you be more prepared for change.
*Honestly it's less heavy and more engaging than it sounds!
Matt is a CU veteran. He was one of our keynotes in 2018 and a session lead in 2019. Either he can't get enough of the CU field or he's hoping that his third appearance will be pitched just right!
A seasoned public speaker and workshop facilitator, he's delivered programmes for Saatchi & Saatchi, Vice, Hearst Publishing and the Montenegrin government, exploring topics related to branding, culture and innovation. More recently he's joined the esteemed team at Bournemouth University as a Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Manager and is using his fresh perspective to strengthen relationships between the institution and a host of public and private organisations.
Do you know who you're talking to?
Sally Otter, Global Internal Communications Lead, Bibby Financial Services
The answer may well be yes, I do, thank you for asking. But if you'd like to learn more about mapping the people you're communicating with in order to have the greatest impact then you'd be really welcome at this workshop which looks at a foundation stone of healthy internal comms - stakeholder engagement.
This session will revisit the basics and bring some fresh thinking on identifying the people you want to engage, why and how. Along with the theory there'll be examples of when this has worked like clockwork, and a few occasions from which Sally has learnt the hard way…
Sally trained as a journalist at Sheffield University. She worked in print, television and script-writing in Leamington and Brighton before joining the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, where she was Head of Communications with responsibility for PR, publications and online. She moved to Oxfam GB in 2010 and took on the role of Head of Internal Communications in 2015, where she led communications and engagement with 5,000 colleagues based in 30+ countries.
She became Head of Internal Communications at the National Trust in April 2019. Her team won the Institute of Internal Communications' Not-for-profit Team in 2021 and she was shortlisted for Internal Communicator of the Year. Sally moved to Bibby Financial Services to as Global IC Lead in August 2022.
Talent activation
Jamie Tott, Talent Activist
Could it be time to radically empower people in pursuit of better outcomes?
Jamie pops his CU cherry in this fun, turbocharged and interactive session. He reveals three simple truths that could shift your thinking on how organisations do cultural transformation and galvanise behaviour change in their communities.
As change happens faster today than at any other time in human history, empowerment and distributed leadership - inside and outside your organisation – have never been more important. But what if outdated mental models we use to create and deploy new strategic blueprints were getting in the way? Jamie argues that they are, that this sets us up to fail, and that rigging the change game in our favour means flipping the narrative on organisational change management and behaviour change campaigns.
Chief Talent Activist at Noble Rebels, Jamie describes his career as the first three lifetimes in a saga of human relationships. As ‘a PR’ he cut his teeth in the reputation world, with media, community leaders and politicians. He became a ‘fake HR’ after a spate of sticky issues and crisis management rodeo rides that drew his interests to the underlying drivers of messy situations: leadership, engagement and culture. The past eight years he's been working as an associate consultant, facilitator and executive coach. Now largely unemployable in anything resembling a real job, he's set out on his own in what he calls ‘a fight for meaningful work.’ He's a husband and father married to an amazing musician and mother to three very expensive children, based in Suffolk.
Coaching to unlock potential
Dr Youmna Mouhamad, Inventor and entrepreuneur
Our keynote speaker Youmna knows only too well how important a good coach can be.
Originally from the French overseas Department of Mayotte, off the southeast coast of Africa, she faced her fair share of challenges as she worked through acamedia in France and the UK to earn her PhD in polymer physics.
At times she's been in such a dark place she forced herself to dance on the beach in an attempt to lift her spirits.
With the help of a coach, she realised how her life experience had impacted her self-belief and mindset. She knew that if she wanted to reach her full potential she'd need to tackle that negative, inner voice and work out her real purpose in life.
In this workshop Youmna will take you through some coaching exercises to help you overcome the doubts and unkind self-talk that limit potential.
Coaching can support you to focus on the here and now - and you know we love that at Comms Unplugged - as well as helping you to learn and improve performance.
Delve into data
Alex Waddington, Founder, Whetstone Communications
Last year the most senior government communicator in the land called for new breed of superhero communicator able to combine hard data analysis with brilliant story-telling and artistry. That's akin to ‘fusing fire and ice’ according to one expert. But can we bring the two together for some spectacular results?
In this workshop, Alex Waddington will encourage you to be data curious. He'll feed you some inspiring examples of data-driven communications (and the odd biscuit), helping you explore how data exploration could unlock deeper audience insights, enhance standard analytics and spark bright new story ideas.
Alex is founder of Whetstone and helps organisations use data to sharpen communications strategy and tactics. Across 20 years he's worked in PR, internal communications, marketing, policy and public affairs in not-for-profit organisations. In 2021 he had a ‘data epiphany’ and start self-teaching himself to code and crunch data in his spare time. After failing lots at first and drinking too much coffee, he's now studying data analytics.
Enter the Dragons' Tent!
Kathy Kyle and Dave Worsell, Co-founders of DigiKind
Where is your organisation on its sustainability journey and how are you building community to help you get there?
Changing behaviour can be tough. Step into the Dragon's Tent where you will create and pitch your very own sustainable, social impact, and purpose-driven concepts to the group and get buy-in from the ‘dragons’.
In this highly interactive session, Kathy and Dave will share best practice for creating community, engaging audiences, and creating purpose-driven campaigns. They'll cover what it takes - in their experience - to build a resilient, sustainable community that benefits your organisation for years to come.
They believe that sustainability is a journey - not a destination. And they've got the framework to help you get there (or at least get started). You'll then create your pitches and the winner will be creative, results-driven and have a positive impact on local communities (and our planet).
Kathy Kyle Bonomini is co-founder of DigiKind. She is a multi-award-winning branding, PR and marketing expert with over 20 years of international experience launching and leading transformational communications campaigns.
Kathy is recognised as a branding and digital transformation expert and enjoys working with purpose-driven startups, local councils and businesses on community engagement and empowerment.
David Worsell is co-founder of DigiKind and a successful GovTech leader with an extensive background in public engagement technology. Dave serves as Commercial Director at Hello Lamp Post, overseeing the international growth, sales and marketing for the company. He is also helping Tarmac.io, an innovative US tech business, accelerate their growth in the UK and across Europe.
Formerly MD at Granicus UK, he loves digital, product, marketing and sales and likes nothing more than bringing new products to market and applying innovative technology solutions to solve problems.
– Activities –
Bushcraft basics in the woods
Layne Hamerston, Community Partnerships Manager, Bournemouth University
Learn the art of survival just the way our ancestors did
Layne led an incredibly popular forest bathing session at CU21 and we are delighted to welcome him back to the field with a brand new session this year. Like all Unpluggers, Layne loves the outdoors. In this fabulously interactive bushcraft session, head off into the glorious woods around our CU field, to learn some centuries-old techniques that will truly bring you closer to nature.
Layne is Community Partnership Manager for Bournemouth University. A strong advocate of the impact of nature on wellbeing, he also runs the immersive wellbeing community supporting male mental and physical heath, arisingman, is a Director of Resurface Therapy community interest company and speaks regularly on the importance of wellbeing.
Qigong meditation in movement
Martin Common, Qigong Teacher
Martin discovered Tai Chi and Qigong through a friend and teacher of the practice. Martin says, “I will be forever grateful to her for introducing me to this path of relaxation and inner balance.”
He further embraced Qigong through public sessions in Lumpini Park, Bangkok whilst travelling in Asia in 2009. Upon returning to the UK, Martin embarked on a Teacher Training Programme for the practice and has been teaching here in Dorset and Hampshire since 2015. Having experienced stress and anxiety in his younger years, Martin's teaching speciality now is helping people release those tensions and feelings, to help lead their best possible life.
The session will either be held out in the open or in the main marquee, depending on weather, but either way, we are delighted to bring Tai Chi Qigong to the Comms Unplugged field.
Get arty crafty
Sally Northeast, Comms Unplugged co-creator
Drawing, painting, cutting, sticking, printing, stamping - create a mixed media forest scene in your own style
Remember how much fun arts and crafts were when you were a kid? You didn't care what other people thought of your efforts - you just enjoyed scrawling, cutting, sticking, moulding, colouring and painting to your heart's content.
Getting lost in an art or craft project is good for the soul - you can be so immersed in it that time flies by and you're fully in the moment, focussing on your creation.
Comms Unplugged co-creator Sally Northeast invites you to reconnect with your inner child and muck about with paint, glue, scissors and anything else you fancy.
We'll be getting creative, working to a theme of ‘the forest’ (very appropriate for our venue at Burnbake) to produce our own unique pictures. The marquee will be equipped with materials for:
- Drawing and painting
- Cutting and sticking
- Printing and stamping
Mix em up or stick with one - it's totally up to you. We'll have an hour of mindful artistic pursuits with a gallery of fabulous, diverse artwork to share with all the unpluggers at the end.
Sally is a keen amateur artist who started teaching herself to draw when she began bullet journaling. She's dabbled in a range of media including sketching, line drawing, watercolour and gouache painting, colouring, collage and lino printing.
During the pandemic she ran a series of online mindful drawing sessions both for Comms Unplugged and at events for the CIPR and LGComms. She's always learning - being a fan of online courses by Domestika and on LinkedIn - and loves to try out new techniques to develop her art and craft skills.
Cyanotype
Angela Heron Watkins, Arts Workshop Leader
Cyanotype is an alternative photographic process that creates images by placing objects directly on photosensitive paper. This traditional printing process, also known as a blueprint, is a 19th Century technique that uses UV light. No darkroom is needed, instead it uses the power of the sun and iron salt solutions.
Join Angela for a fantastically hands-on session, and watch your creations develop, literally, before your very eyes!
NB UV light is required to run this session, which will be split into two groups of 30 minutes. An alternative workshop on nature photography will replace cyanotype if it is unable to proceed. Fingers crossed everyone for Comms Unplugged's traditional sunny weather!
Fill yourself up
Fresh Air Fridays
We do this through taking groups of people outside into nature and exploring 12 key themes in a way that allows them to build good habits to enjoy healthier, happier lives with greater purpose and joy!
From ‘Filling Yourself Up First’ to stretching our ‘Comfort Zones’ and deciding who we want in ‘Our Team’, our proven programme explores different aspects of wellbeing - encouraging personal responsibility and building resilience which helps people create more open, trusting relationships with their colleagues and customers.
We were part of the very first Comms Unplugged event and have been here ever since, running ‘taster’ sessions so you can experience this for yourself. We'd love to show you what we're all about and how Fresh Air Fridays could support you and your teams!
The famous CU Vent Tent, hosted by Darren Caveney
A safe space in the unplugged field
Laugh, share, cry, VENT - it's your choice!
Whether you want to solve a particular work or interpersonal problem, fancy a supportive chat or simply want a good rant, the Vent Tent is for you. Surrounded by like-minded Unpluggers in this safe, supportive space, take a full hour to share and solve together.
@CommsUnplugged
Relaxing yoga
Irena Beniston, CU's resident yogi
Whether you're a seasoned practitioner or just fancy an easy stretch with a bunch of Unpluggers in a non-challenging atmosphere, this lovely yoga session with Irena, who's been with us in the CU main marquee since the first event in 2017, will leave you feeling calm, relaxed and ready for an evening round the CU fire.
Dance fit
Carla Black, Fitness and dance instructor
Get your dancing shoes on and go for it!
Our Dance Fitness hour will be fun and uplifting for mind and body. There will be a warm up to get us in the mood followed by a group routine set to a very apt tune (chosen by Georgia!) then a relaxing cool down. Don't worry if you think you have 2 left feet-the session is aimed at all abilities, and when in doubt-freestyle!
Carla runs a variety of sessions for all ages and abilities; Pilates, Dance Fit, Aerobics, Nice n Easy, themed Hen Parties and Parkinson's Dance classes - all with the aim of getting your body moving whilst putting a smile on your face. She teaches regular fitness classes across a range of venues in Bournemouth alongside private Pilates tutoring and bespoke one-off dance or fitness sessions for independent companies such as Diverse Abilities and Bounce Studios.
– Entertainment –
Tom Clements
Live and unplugged in the main marquee
Musical magic for a Friday evening from our fabulous Tom
Part of the CU family since our first event in 2017, Tom's set features a brilliant combo of crowd pleasers, both covers and originals. There's even a song inspired by Comms Unplugged - One Night in September - which is bound to be on the set list. Jump up and have a dance, sing along and lose yourself in the music.
If you're really lucky, Darren Caveney might even hit the dance floor….
– 2022 Sponsors –
– 2022 Charities –
In 2022 we supported Dorset Mind and Dorset Wildlife Trust again as they fit so well into the ethos of Comms Unplugged. Our raffle, which offered prizes worth a total of over £4000, raised over £1000 between the two charities and we aim to do even better next year.
– 2022 Gallery –
– SPONSORED BY –
- © Comms Unplugged LLP
- Website designed by Alive
