Creative Public Affairs

Helps you communicate, campaign, lobby and work with the media more effectively

  • About Me
  • Contact Me
  • How to make joined-up working work well: a nifty idea

    One thing I love about being a public affairs professional is talking to loads of different people and picking up inspiring success stories; then sharing them. Looking back on 2013, The Homework Club – set up by Reading Refugee Support Group (RRSG) and The Abbey School struck me as a nifty idea THAT WORKS. It […]

    Sofija Opacic

    December 12, 2013
    campaigning, communication
    children and young people, networking, public affairs, secondary schools, voluntary organisations
  • 10 questions to ask before setting up a small business

    A friend recently asked me for some advice on setting up a small business from scratch. Let’s call her April. She had a few ideas; and simply needed someone to help her frame her thoughts. In a bid to make her life – and yours – a little easier I cobbled together 10 questions to […]

    Sofija Opacic

    December 5, 2013
    communication
    business, communication, enterprise, networking
  • How to create powerful key messages

    Key messages capture the essence of something that you want to communicate. They’re bits of information that people/organisations want their target audiences to know. They articulate what you do, what you believe in and how your work benefits people’s lives, the planet. . . Here’s a couple of key messages to chew on: “The melting Arctic is […]

    Sofija Opacic

    November 21, 2013
    campaigning, communication, lobbying, policy, public affairs
    communication, lobbying, networking, policy, public affairs, writing
  • Helping people say what they want to say: listening to articulate

    Someone’s trying to tell you something and it’s as fuzzy as a bear. Here’s four simple steps to help people find their own clarity. One: Focus on them. Ask some good, well-pitched questions that get to the heart of their issues, needs and wants. One that’s always worked well for me with potential clients is: […]

    Sofija Opacic

    November 5, 2013
    communication
    communication, writing
  • 8 ways to promote your cause using people’s stories

    Use stories:they’re a great way of connecting with people emotionally. Stories can be used many ways to help you promote your cause, for instance to: Fund-raise effectively: Making things personal for potential donors adds the emotional wow factor by showing how you’ve helped someone or how you want to help someone. Promote policy positions: Using case studies […]

    Sofija Opacic

    August 14, 2013
    campaigning, communication, lobbying, public affairs
    campaigning, communication, lobbying, media relations, policy
  • People’s stories: passion lives here

    One of the key tasks of a public affairs professional is to create content which is then communicated to engage people with what organisations do and what they believe in. We do this by: Commissioning new research Identifying an interesting statistic Developing some key messages Enlisting a “celebrity” or an “expert” and Composing case studies/human […]

    Sofija Opacic

    June 25, 2013
    campaigning, communication, public affairs
    campaigning, public affairs, writing
  • In pursuit of virtue: value-based campaigning

    “Once upon a time there was a small girl who gazed at the last tree in the world . . . “ It’s a short-story exercise an inspirational primary school teacher set me back in the early 1970s. I remember seeing that beautiful tree in my mind’s eye, how we all needed it, how good it felt […]

    Sofija Opacic

    June 7, 2013
    campaigning, communication, public affairs
    campaigning, communication, writing
  • When maybe means no

    “What do they mean?” How many times have you been asked this question by a friend who needs to get a handle on what someone’s trying to say to them? Part of what I do is helping people read in between the lines. People who have crossed continents or have a disability that impacts on their […]

    Sofija Opacic

    May 21, 2013
    communication
    communication, networking, writing
  • Effective e-mails: 6 useful tips

    Contacting influential people – whether they’re newspaper editors or MPs – can be a little like walking a tightrope. You know they’re busy people so you don’t want to hassle them unnecessarily; but you  really want to engage them with your latest news, ideas, campaign . . . Here’s some strategies that have worked for […]

    Sofija Opacic

    April 30, 2013
    campaigning, communication, public affairs
    communication, public affairs, writing
  • How to create good social policy: 10 tips

    1.  Be realistic. We’d all like to have a magic wand but only the fairy queen has one. 2.  Be clear about your outcomes. An outcome is not the activity itself (serving lunch to a group of older people who currently live at home) but the impact it has on their lives (it might increase their […]

    Sofija Opacic

    April 15, 2013
    policy, public affairs
    policy, public affairs
Previous Page
1 2 3 4 5 6
Next Page

Proudly Powered by WordPress

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
 

Loading Comments...
 

    • Follow Following
      • Creative Public Affairs
      • Join 30 other followers
      • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
      • Creative Public Affairs
      • Edit Site
      • Follow Following
      • Sign up
      • Log in
      • Report this content
      • View site in Reader
      • Manage subscriptions
      • Collapse this bar